When It All Fell Apart

The first few weeks of school was nothing different compared to the first day. It was as if someone had pressed replay repeatedly, time and time again. By now, I was getting a little more than tired of seeing the girls and guys hanging off of every word that came out of Colton's mouth. It made me sick when he would talk to everyone in school without a second thought; except for me.

I was absolutely positive that I was the farthest thing from his mind; meanwhile it was the exact opposite for me. I know that this is quite pitiful on my part. I feel as if I have been stalking Colton these days, though it's hard to go anywhere without hearing something about him. He's the talk of the school; a legend almost. Apparently, he's the only one in this high school that has managed to do a complete 360, popularity wise. As for me, well... I've still got a few friends.

If you can count William and a few random people that come up to me in the hallways as friends.

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"Seriously? He doesn't even talk to you at home anymore?" William asked, raising his eyebrows in mild disbelief.

"Yea, it's not really a big deal though...we were never particularly close to begin with." I said, not sure if I was lying or not. Maybe Colton was just humoring me before. He probably wouldn't mind if he went to hell for whatever horrid sins he had committed; so I'm sure incest isn't a big deal to him. Right? Or maybe I just haven't got enough sleep lately. I honestly can't come up for any other reason as to why that whole thing with Colton even ever happened.

I'm trying to convince myself that we were both merely caught up in everything that had been going on in our lives. We had just lost someone close to us, and our mom had more or less vanished from the face of the Earth. Could that be the reason that we both resorted to each other for comfort?

I'm starting to think that maybe I never loved him like that. And maybe he didn't either.Lies.

The sound of William's fingers snapping obnoxiously in my face pulled me out of my thoughts.

"What?" I spat, regretting it instantly. William's hand retreated to his side again and he let out an exasperated sigh.

"What's been with you lately?" He asked quietly, sounding genuinely upset. I cocked my head to the side in slight confusion.Not that I couldn't guess what he was talking about.

"What do you mean?" I asked stupidly, wanting to hear exactly what he had meant by that.

"Since the very first day of school, you've constantly been out of it. When people talk to you, you hardly hear them. You respond to every question almost robotically, and no offense or anything, but you look like you've been run over by a train several times." William said. Wow, way to be blunt...

I slumped back into the wooden headboard of my bed. Twisting a few loose strings on the hem of my comforter, I formulated a believable lie in my head.

"Sorry, I just don't feel up to much of anything more. I'm tired of being the center of attention at school. One friend is enough for me." I finally told him. And it was true, for the most part.

William nodded slowly, as if he was processing every word I had just spoken. "I guess that's fine; as long as you don't mind loosing your status as the 'king' of Bishop High."

I shrugged nonchalantly. I could care less if I wasn't in the spotlight anymore. I was just worried that Colton's ego would inflate. And on top of everything else, I don't need him to become a conceited bastard. The thought made me cringe internally, because there would be no chance of this happening in the old Colton.The one that I knew and loved.

I must have sat there thinking for a while, because before I realized it, William had gotten off of my bed and walked over to the door leading out of my bedroom. "I've got to go home, dinner should be ready at my house." He said simply, waving before he exited the room. I sighed deeply, not making any attempt to move or walk him to the door.

I lay relatively silent on my bed, the slight sound of my breathing almost nonexistent. Suddenly, footsteps echoed throughout the hallway. And before they even arrived at my door, I knew exactly who it was. I turned over in my bed so that my body was facing the open doorway.

"What is it Colton?" I questioned monotonously. His face was flushed with anger or embarrassment, I couldn't tell which, and he looked utterly flustered. His hair was tousled and splayed out in random directions on his head, as if he had run his fingers through it numerous times. Colton strode into my room, slamming the bedroom door behind him.

He ungracefully plopped onto the edge of my bed and opened his mouth to speak,

"It's Mom," He breathed. My heart beat faltered a little and I looked up at his face to catch his gaze.

"She's finally lost it." I raised an eyebrow is confusion and waited until he continued.

"Have you looked at the front lawn recently?" He asked. I shook my head, giving him a look that clearly questioned his sanity.

"While I was walking home, I saw Mom in the hardware store. I figured that she was just buying something for the house, so I didn't bother stopping and asking her what she was doing. When I got home a few minutes ago...she was just pulling into the driveway. She started rambling on and on about how she was sick of this house, and how she needed a change..." he trailed off, motioning for me to walk towards my bedroom window that had a great view of the front of the house.

Slowly, I rose from the bed and peered out past the opaque glass window pane. And there, on the front lawn, stood a sturdy looking sign with the words: For Sale in bold letters.

"Cameron," Colton said from behind me.

"We're moving."