Chapter 43: Pain

Third Person POV

The entrance to the school girls’ CR was starting to gain attention from some students passing by who decided it was a better and more entertaining sight than their classes which they probably have missed already. The school bell has rung for some time now.

Ari was actually just hiding at the end of the stairs, crying. It was then that she heard their shouting. The sound of Bree’s voice cursing and hearing her name being said, called her attention. She climbs back the stairs and saw a group of junior students starting to crowd around the area. She leaned on the adjacent wall. She could hear them, audibly and intelligibly now.

“I’m nothing like you.” Says a voice she recognizes. She wonders why they are arguing. The Breana she knows would rather avoid useless fights than actually win them.

When Bree responded, she understood now. The girl is defending her name.

“Yes you are. You refer to Ari as ‘our cheerleader’. You’re not the lead either. I guess you cannot be like her. Maria is obviously waaay better than you. You are a loser. All of you.” Then Bree’s chuckling resounds in the tiled room but her voice sounded constrained like she’s being on a choke hold.

What came after made Maria to close her fist so tight that her long nails dug into her palms. She gritted her teeth as the series of smacking echoed inside the enclosed space of the CR. Her heartbeat races, her blood boils. She knows she’s outright mad. Her wrath going up a notch by each second that passes by. She took a step towards them but then she saw a familiar figure approaching before abruptly deciding to step back again.

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Breana kept her head down, whatever they decide to do with her, she’s just too tired to fight back. She’d rather get hit and hurt than let them talk bad about Ari. Maria. The one who adored her. Her best friend. Her chance is now gone. She had hurt the girl. Mental and emotional exhaustion get the best of her.

When their leader was in the act of throwing Bree’s bag to her, someone held her back. A tall figure stood behind them, holding the bully by the wrist.

Alex grabbed the leader’s wrist. She held on to it as tight as she could, earning an outcry of pain and grimace from the girl causing the bully to let go of the bag. Alex caught it with her other hand before it touches the ground.

“LET ME GO!” The leader among the three cried out as the other two stood still. They don’t know whether to fight back or run away. They outnumber Alex but the look on her face holds so much threat in them. Plus, the way their leader, which is the biggest among them three, is being subdued just makes them conflicted on what to do.

“GO!” She ordered at the two who are still standing. When they didn’t bulge, Alex glared at them as she tightened the grip on their leader. She shrieks louder. It made the other two hurriedly scuffle out of the place.

“And you…” Alex started. The girl looks back at her, cockiness replaced with meekness in her expression. If looks could kill, the bully would have been dead ten times over with the way Alex is eyeing her. “…If I ever see you or any of you minions near Breana again, I’ll make sure to make the rest of your time here or anywhere a living hell. Are we clear?” Alex didn’t have to act or look threatening, because she is. Her towering figure over the girl is ominous enough for her to be feared.

“Ye-yes, I-I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Breana. I’m sorry, A-lex. I-I swear I won’t do it again.” The scared girl pleads, almost crying. Her lips trembled at each words that parted from her lips.

Alex lets her go. The girl went out in an instant, taking along the look of defeat along with her. The junior stared her down.

Breana stays sitting on the floor, unmoving. Her knees and elbows are bleeding from the impact of being pushed down. Her body aches from places where they hit her. She kept her head low as the tears flow on her heated cheeks.

She does not know what hurts more, her body or her heart. Maybe the latter, because she can’t stop crying. Wounds don’t really make her cry, well, physical ones.

Someone is calling her name but she sees no point in responding.

Alex crouched down to Bree’s level. She taps her friend’s shoulder but Bree did not react.

With her other hand, she put the stray hairs behind her friend’s ear and held her face. She looked into Bree’s eyes but Bree could not return her gaze. Her vision was too clouded by the tears streaming down her face.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” Alex tries to quiet her down, her hand falling on Bree’s shoulder to rub. It took more soothing words until she stopped crying. Alex handed her a handkerchief then gathered the scattered things on the floor. She placed it on the bag she retrieved.

“Can you walk?” She patted Bree’s lap. She knows the girl is externally wounded and might have internal ones she doesn’t know of.

The girl slowly nods. Her face is bare from make up now with all the crying and wiping she’d done.

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Ari stood by, watching the two slowly walk away.

“I would have come Breana, but I wasn’t the one you need. I wasn’t the one you wanted.” Ari whispers the truth she knows as her heart constricts in pain, once again.

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P.S. How is your holiday going?