Count On Me(75)

If I want to do what I promised my mom, then it’s gotta start now. As much as I don’t want Dillon to be the one I’m dancing with, it’s just the way it has to be. Letting him take me by the hand and lead me to the dance floor, I swallow down the trickle of fear that’s rising to the surface. I focus on the guy leading me, until we’re in the middle of the room and he’s resting my arms around his neck as the music starts.

I’m still filled with an uneasy feeling and it’s obvious to Dillon in how frigid I’m standing. It’s when he leans in and speaks that I finally let it go.

“Don’t let them get to you, Isabelle. Just focus on me. I’ll get you through it.”



Kayden



After leaving Isabelle’s, I did what her mom said and went home. I showered, dressed, making sure I looked exactly the way I wanted to look when I thought I’d be picking her up. I did everything that way, so that if she did show, she would see that I’m alright.

I must have been standing here like this for a half hour or more, finally reaching a point where I gave up believing she would show. I lost the smile and reverted back to the way I’ve always been. Something happened when I finally stopped faking it. I actually felt alright. Not perfect or the way I wanted to be, but at least I wasn’t feeling completely empty anymore.

I’m not sure what happened, but one second, I’m standing in the corner, my face angled down toward my boots and suddenly it’s like there’s this pull inside me to look up. I catch a bit of a breeze pass by, thinking that someone ran by me, but when I look up, I start to see what the breeze was all about. It was a sign.

Standing in the doorway, in a dress that looks like it was ripped straight out of a fairy-tale, is Isabelle. Her hair tied back and out of her face, except for two bits hanging down on either side, falling into her cheeks. Her dress is strapless and light blue, the top tight to her body, yet for some reason glowing under the lights above us. The rest falls away from her and as her eyes catch mine, it hits me exactly who she looks like. With the way her hair sits and the way her dress shapes around her, she looks like Cinderella.

She’s breathtaking.

Shaking myself to stop from staring, I start to move forward, but before I can even take two steps in her direction, I see him. Dillon comes up from behind her and I watch as his lips move and she responds with a nod. I can’t make out what they’re saying, but considering she doesn’t seem eager to get away, it isn’t anything bad.

It’s only when she places her hand in his that my blood starts to run hot. I’m reminded of the day in the locker room when I told him she was mine. Seeing her moving across the floor with him, ties me up in knots. It’s not supposed to be him leading her to the dance floor. It’s supposed to be me.

The knot tightens as he wraps her arms around his neck and she leans into his body as they sway to the music. It’s no longer just my blood boiling over now, but my head too. I can feel the urge to rip her away from him driving me and I fight it. As much as I want to act like a Neanderthal right now and take my girl back, I can’t do that. I have to let this play itself out.

“Amy’s gonna kill her.”

Great. Apparently standing here focusing on them, left me open for people to start conversations.

“Screw off, Charlotte.”

“Way to be a total asshole, Kayden.”

“You know it. Now go away.”

“You know what Kay? Screw you! A couple months ago, you couldn’t get enough of me, but now, all because of some retard in an ugly dress, you treat me like I’ve got some disease. I don’t, you know, she does.”

I’m against hitting girls. That’s not to say I’ve never purposely knocked into someone before in the hall, hell, I did it to Isabelle a lot, but never actually come right out and hit a chick. I’m getting dangerously close to that point right now. Charlotte is seriously pissing me off.

“You really wanna know what you were, Char? A fucking distraction, that’s it. You’re like every other girl in this school, shallow and bitchy. Sure, your chest distracted me for awhile, but like most toys, it got boring.”

“Asshole.” She seethes at me under her breath and I laugh. She really thinks calling me that is gonna wound me. She’s as stupid as she looks.

“Run along, Char. Amy must be going out of her mind, not having you there to follow her around like the dog you are.”

It’s harsh and I know it, but it has the desired effect. She turns on her heel after I catch her rolling her eyes and stalks off, leaving me alone again.

The song is changing now, to one with a heavier beat and I watch Isabelle and Dillon. When they make no move to get off the dance floor, even going so far as to start dancing to the song, I know I’ve had as much as I can take. I’m not sure what his game is, but if it’s turning me inside out so I become the jealous asshole, he’s succeeding.