CHAPTER 19

"Hey Gabby,"

"Nancy, so glad you finally decided to come back," Gabriella said with delight. She was so happy Nancy had finally decided to let go of her trauma and come back to school. 

"Yeah, I'm sure that Nicole would have wanted me to come," She said with a faint smile. 

Gabriella felt ecstatic because, not only Nancy but also her childhood friend lake came back. Asides the female friends she had, Lake was Gabriella's best friend, he was also Rosalind's grandson. 

It was a surprise visit planed by Rosalind and Lake, and she was both surprised and happy.

He was finishing senior year with them, so she didn't have to feel lonely at all.

She wasn't the only one happy to see lake, Devon was also, Lake being the only person he talked to before he left the first time.

Gabriella figured that was probably the reason he had been acting weird. Maybe he also knew of Lake's arrival and was sticking around because of that.

"I've been meaning to ask, why is your table far away from the other?" Lake dropped the question, making her freeze. Right before she could answer, Nancy sat by her surprisingly.

She wasn't seated with any of her old friends, this shocked a few people, including Gabriella herself.

"Stop looking at me like I've grown a second head," Nancy said, without looking at Gabriella.

Shortly after Nancy joined, Devon joined, making their table the center of attention. 

"I also wanted to ask, what happened while I was away?" Nancy also asked. Gabriella dropped her food and lowered her head. Devon, who knew what, happened from the beginning, focused on his food while Gabriella explained everything.

She wasn't ready for it, but she couldn't keep it from them. Nancy looked surprised, which was understandable, Gabriella was ready for anything she had to say. After all, they weren't that close.

"That's bullshit!" She exclaimed, "I'm really disappointed in both Iris and Avery, the least they could do was to remain indifferent, not completely believe Cleopatra's words. For all we know, she could have been under the influence of something. Plus, every other person acted like total jerks. The people who clearly have issues with you are your friends, not the whole school," Nancy said with an eye roll and continued eating. 

Gabriella didn't expect Nancy to say things like that because they were never close. In fact, they rarely spoke. 

Although, Nicole was popular before she died, and she was friends with Nancy, they had their friendship group. Unlike other schools where there is a Queen Bee or HBIC, theirs had separate popular friendship groups which rarely came together. Renee and hers, Nicole, Nancy and so on.

"I was hoping there'd be drama before my arrival, I never imagined the drama would revolve around my little sister," Lake said, winking at Gabriella, who gave him a death glare. 

"What kind of parents have children who are two months apart?"

"Scientific parents," Lake said and laughed at his joke. Gabriella had always liked that about him, bring carefree.

Everyone, except Devon, had said something, he just remained quiet and focused on the food he was eating. Gabriella couldn't care less, she was just happy she wasn't alone because she wasn't too used to loneliness.

★ ★ ★

She managed to lock herself inside and hid in a corner of the room. She couldn't take it anymore, so she ran, the scars and bruises she had on her body made her ache all over. She sat to cry when a knock was heard at the door.

"Babe, open up, I'm truly sorry," a voice said. There was a brief silence and all that could be heard were her almost silent cries and sniffs. "Please open up, I didn't mean to hurt you."

She had almost believed that and was just about standing to open the door when the pressure used to knock increased. The once gentle knock on the door turned into a furious knock. 

"Open this door, I said I was sorry," The voice angrily said. She cowered in fear and could only sit there because she had lost her strength.

The knocks and shouts intensified, and the thought of opening the door made her scared. It was obvious her life was in danger, she wasn't sure she could take more of what was done to her earlier. She picked up her phone to call someone, but there was only one person she knew she could call that'd understand her. Although she knew she had no right to call her after what she had done, but she did anyway. 

The first call didn't go through, and she attempted to try a second time when the banging stopped. She wasn't sure, so she moved towards the door and heard faint footsteps, like someone was walking away from the door. She debated on whether to open the door after she was sure no one was outside, the proposing side won, and then she opened the door slowly and quietly. She looked around, no one was in sight. She needed to get out of there, take her frail and already bruised body out of the house to avoid being bruised once more. 

Once she stepped out completely, she walked towards the same direction she heard the footsteps when two hands suddenly grabbed a hold of her neck, strangling her. The person hadn't left, just pretended to, just so she could be lured out.

"How dare you!?" The person said, eyes red with rage as tears rolled from them. "How dare you test my patience?!" 

She gasped for breath, trying to set herself free but failed. The pain she felt entirely caused tears to roll down her face as she managed to mouth 'I'm sorry'. She was immediately released as the raging eyes continued to let tears flow.

"You make me do these things to you. I love you, but you keep being stubborn," said the person. "I think it's best if I stay away, I would rather not keep hurting you." Just as the person was about to leave, she grabbed one of the legs.

"Please don't leave me, I promise not to be stubborn anymore. I can't stand the thought of living without you." She cried, holding the leg…

"Hold on! Isn't that a bit too much?" He asked as she placed her laptop which was on her lap on the table, so she could have a sip of her coffee.

"What do you mean?" She inquired after the sip.

"Well, their relationship seems a bit too toxic…" she chuckled eerily.

"Toxic? Without it, where's all the fun?"