Drop Dead Bitches

Chapter 14: The Change
“I’m just so excited to get this thing off!” Caitlyn grunted as she banged her fork against her cast.
Nick chuckled. “Hitting it with utensils won’t make it come off any faster.”
“I just hope it comes off this month rather than next month! I’m dying to get back to cheering and exercising. I mean, look at me! My arms are jelly and I’m growing a muff-top!”
“Caitlyn, you’re perfect.”
“You’re just saying that,” she sighed, taking a bite of her salad. “But anyways, thank you for taking me out on this… picnic. I didn’t know people still had them.”
“Yeah, I’m just a little weird.”
“You’re perfect.”
Nick smiled at her, his face only inches from hers. She smiled back and he reached out, wiping away a piece of salad stuck on her teeth. She giggled.
“And you’re absolutely beautiful,” he murmured. He leaned in closer but when Melanie, Christina, Amy, and Sydney caught Caitlyn’s eye as they strolled in the park heading her way, she quickly backed away and looked down.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Don’t be. It’s my fault. I think I’ll just go…?”
“Nick, you don’t have to.”
“But I want to. I feel like such an idiot,” he mumbled as he packed up everything and put it into the basket.
“Can you let me explain?”
“The way you retreated earlier said everything. I like you a lot more than you like me and I get it. It’s fine. You have nothing to explain. I’m such an idiot!”
“No you aren’t. Nick, don’t go!” she hissed, looking around to see if anyone could see her begging him to stay.
“I’ll see you tomorrow at school.”
She wanted to get up and run after him and tell him how much she wanted him to kiss her but the girls were still there and by now they probably already spotted her with Nick. Nick, the loser that she couldn’t deny feelings for.

“Derek?”
“Yes, Isabella?”
“Why haven’t I met any of your friends?” she asked as she rolled out the dough for the peanut butter cookies she was baking.
“Well… because all my friends hate me,” he mumbled.
“Why is that?” she asked with deep curiosity.
“Uhm… let’s just say that I did some things that I wish I didn’t.”
“Don’t you trust me?” she asked as she sprinkled peanut butter chips onto the dough.
“Of course I trust you! It’s just that I rather not dwell on the past,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.
“You know, cousin Derek, no matter where you are, who you are, and who you’re with, you can never forget your past and unfortunately your past never forgets you.”

Alexis looked into the mirror and struggled to keep her face from going red. She was absolutely not ready for school that day considering what happened over the weekend and the embarrassment that still lingered. Derek was in her first period class and she was not looking forward to face him and his interrogations.
“Alexis, honey! You’re going to be late for school,” her father called from outside her closet.
“I’m almost finished!”
“That’s what you said ten minutes ago. Your breakfast is getting cold.”
Alexis sighed with annoyance as she opened the door. “Will you stop nagging me? You’re worse than mom.” She turned away from him and began to walk out of her room, leaving her father standing there appalled by his daughters lack of respect for him.

“Colin, I don’t know what to do about him!” Caitlyn groaned as he drove to school.
“About who?” he asked blandly.
“About Nick! Weren’t you listening to anything I’ve been saying?!”
“I’m sorry,” he sighed. “Would you mind telling me what’s going on with him? I told you to stay away from the freak.”
“Forget about him. What’s going on with you?” she asked, sincerely concerned.
“Nothing.” He shrugged his shoulders and tightened his grip on the wheel.
“Colin, you can tell me, you know that, right?”
His breath came out unsteady and his lip began to quiver. “It’s just Theresa.”
She reached over, rubbing his arm. “It’s going to be okay.”
He shook his head and tried to stay concentrated on the road. “You don’t understand,” he said, still trying to hold in his tears that were building up in his eyes. “I love her.”
“With all that happened and as much as this seems to be false, I’m positive she loves you too.”
He shook his head, the tears finally beginning to fall.
“Colin, you may not have noticed it but I did. I saw the way she looked at you, the way she talked about you, the way her face would always turn bright red every single time you told her you love her. She loved you Colin and she still does. She’s just having a rough time.”
“I just wish she’d care enough to call me. To tell me she’s okay. I haven’t heard from her since the Christmas party. I don’t know what I’d do if she….” He suddenly broke into sobs and luckily they were already at the school parking lot or he would have spun off the road.
“Don’t worry about her. I’m sure she’s fine.”
At the back of Caitlyn’s mind, the past suddenly began to resurface. She remembered about the time she almost lost her best friend. For good.

“Hi, Barbara!” she chirped as Barbara let her in.
“Hello there, child! Have you come for Theresa?”
“Yeah… how is she?”
Barbara shook her head and sighed. “Not good,” she murmured. “She’s been locked up in her room ever since she got home from school. She wouldn’t get out of the room except to go to the bathroom where I would hear her… gag and flush the toilet several times, wouldn’t talk, wouldn’t eat but that isn’t much of a surprise. What happened? Come sit down and tell me.”
Barbara led Caitlyn into the kitchen and got her a glass of milk and a slick of cinnamon coffee pound cake which Barbara had made to lure Theresa out of her room but had been unsuccessful.
“So earlier today we had an all school pep rally,” Caitlyn began, “and Theresa was chosen to represent the freshman in the class games. The game was like this obstacle course and at the end of the obstacle course you had to eat your way through a blackberry pie to find the prize which was a thousand dollars to which ever class wins but the thing was that you had to get your hands tied to your back so the only thing you could use is your mouth.”
“Oh goodness,” Barbara sighed, already knowing where this was going.
“Everyone laughed at her,” Caitlyn mumbled. “She ran out crying, not even caring that she won the thousand dollars.”
“I don’t even know what to do anymore,” Barbara whispered.
“Does her parents even know?”
Barbara scoffed. “Of course not. Don’t get me wrong, Mr. and Mrs. Santos are amazing people. Wonderful in the business field but not so great in the parenting field. They know absolutely nothing about their own children and the saddest part of it all is how little Tamara points at a picture of them and asks who they are. You know, she called me mommy the other day. It was heartbreaking.
“But anyways, I’m glad Theresa has friends like you. At times like these, she can really use them. Why don’t you go run upstairs and see how she’s doing? I’m sure she’ll let you in.”
“Thank you, Barbara,” she said sweetly.
As she made her way to Theresa’s room her sweet mask turned into pure annoyance. This was typical Theresa. A little baby crying over her appearance. Maybe if she learned that the world wasn’t her buffet she wouldn’t be in this mess, she thought.
“Theresa,” she said as sweetly as she could when she got outside her door.
No answer.
“Theresa?” she said again, knocking this time.
Still no answer.
“Theresa, I’m coming in.” She opened the door and searched the room for Theresa. Then she spotted a pair of feet behind the bed. “Theresa, what the hell are you-” Caitlyn gasped at the sight of her best friend covered in vomit, a couple bottles of whiskey surrounding her, and a nearly empty bottle of pills in her hand.

Alexis walked into class, her head held high even though she wanted to drop it and try to hide away from Derek’s eyes but unfortunately that didn’t stop Derek from greeting her when she took her seat behind him.
“Turn around, Derek. Class is about to start,” Alexis murmured as she straightened out her books and papers.
“Today. Lunch. Me and you. We aren’t done talking,” he said, refusing to turn around until she agreed even though class begun.
“We always have lunch at our table with our friends and you know that. It’s our rule.” As she spoke, she didn’t bother to look at him.
“I’m not taking no as an answer.”
“Mr. De Luca,” the teacher called. “Face the front, please.”
Alexis gave him a smug smile in a show of her victory.
“We’re going to talk,” he said in a low voice before he turned around.

“Nick!” Caitlyn called in the hall when she spotted him putting away his books in his locker.
He threw the rest of his books in his locker, threw his backpack over his shoulder and right before he could shut it, Caitlyn held it open so he couldn’t leave.
“What do you want?” he mumbled.
“I want to talk,” she begged.
“Then talk.”
She looked around the hall and there was still a couple people lingering on to lunch. “Just not here. Please.”
“Why? Because someone might see us?” he hissed. “Oh, don’t give me that face, Caitlyn. I’ve noticed how you get all jumpy when people are around. How you always have to watch what you do and say. I’m not stupid! You’re embarrassed of me. I get it.”
“Can you please not talk so loud?” she begged, looking away.
“Fine. I just won’t talk at all,” he said as he begun to walk away but Caitlyn grabbed his arm, pulling him back but quickly let go when a couple guys walked by.
“What?!”
“Can we just… go somewhere? Alone. Give me a chance to explain.”
He examined her face as he thought about it. The sincerity in her beautiful blue eyes was irresistible. “Oh, alright,” he sighed, giving in.

“Hey, Isabella! Where’re you going?” Derek asked. “The lunch room is this way.”
“I know. I’m actually going to help tutor students in Mathematics. You’re welcome to join as well if you need a little help for the SAT’s.”
“See you in class, Miss. Giordano,” Ryan said as he walked by, his eyes on Derek.
“You’re tutoring that…?” Derek asked in disgust.
“Yes, Mr. Washington along with other… failing students.”
Derek stifled a laugh. “Okay, well have fun with that. And if he tries to make a move, call me right away.”
“Got it! See you after school, cousin!”
Derek walked into the lunch room and spotted only Alexis at their table. He smiled at walked over to her and when she saw him, she looked around the lunch room frantically for Caitlyn.
“Hi there!” he greeted cheerfully.
“Where’s everyone else?” she asked, praying her head that it wasn’t just the two of them.
“Isabella is tutoring, Ryan is being tutored, no clue where Caitlyn is, and here comes Colin right now!”
“Oh, thank goodness!” she sighed in relief. “Colin, you saved me life.”
“Sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be sitting here today if it’s just going to be the three of us.” He glanced over at Derek.
“No, Colin! Come back here! Colin!” Alexis yelled. She sighed in frustration. “Have fun eating by yourself, Derek,” she said as she began to pack up her lunch.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! What ever happened to always have lunch with our friends at our table?” he asked.
“Obviously things have changed between all of us. Things aren’t the same.” She said the last line slowly and clearly.
“But this is your pride, Alexis. You can’t just leave the table,” he said mockingly.
She put down her stuff and looked him in the eye. “If I stay here long enough for you to tell me what you need to tell me, will you stop irritating me?”
“It’s always irritating you because you keep ignoring me every time I want to talk to you.”
She rolled her eyes and continued to put away her food.
“Okay, yes. Just listen to me, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Can you look at me?” he asked.
“Just talk, Derek.”
“I’m just… confused-”
“That’s okay. Tolerance towards the homosexual society is increasing,” she said with a light smile.
“Ha ha, very funny. As I was saying, I’m confused. I’m confused on where we stand, how you feel about me, and how I feel about you. I just… don’t know.”
By now Alexis was facing him, her eyes locked on his. She felt as if her heart was going to explode with how fast it was beating. She wanted to lean in, to kiss him, to tell him she wanted him as much as she was sure he wanted her…. But she couldn’t. She couldn’t let herself fall deeper into this… whatever this was. “You really want to know where we stand?”
“Yes,” he begged.
She shrugged her shoulders. “The truth is I don’t know but at the moment I refuse to come to terms with myself. I can’t let myself fall for you, Derek. I’m sorry.”
“You just said that you refuse to come to terms with yourself…. So you like me.”
“I have to go.” She stood up and rushed out of the cafeteria, once again leaving Derek there but this time, not confused at all.

Nick leaned in for another kiss which Caitlyn gladly accepted.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Nick whispered against Caitlyn’s lips.
“No. I want to do this,” she murmured, pulling him in for another kiss as a couple stunned girls walked by her and her boyfriend.
He chuckled. “And your reputation?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I guess I don’t care about it anymore.”
Nick smiled. “I always had a feeling your were different.”
“Oh really? Even after I was a bitch when we first met?”
“You had your reasons,” he laughed. “But are you sure you’re willing to give it all up? I mean, your reputation means so much to you!”
“I mean, it still does. I don’t think ruling the Harbor will ever get boring but it’s time for me to step down for a while. Take a break, you know?”
“Caitlyn DuPaul is stepping down from the throne?! What else shall we do now?” he joked.
She giggled. “Theresa would have stepped up if she never left and didn’t get herself knocked up,” she said seriously now. “But by default of course.”
“How about Alexis?”
“Alexis isn’t really into it. Honestly, I think she would be Queen Bee if she really wanted it like I did but she has more important things to worry about.”
“The Harbor is without a ruler?” Nick mused. “No one to boss people around, no one to make people feel intimidated, no one to be a complete bitch…. I think I’m liking this. Let freedom ring!”

Alexis sighed when she got inside her house. There was nothing more that she wanted to do except take a nice hot bath but the arguing coming from behind her parents door stopped her on her way to the bathroom.
“Ashley, stop walking away from me!” her father moaned, annoyed.
“Why? So I can just sit here and be lectured by my husband on how to raise my own child? I think I know what I’m doing, Marcus!”
“I never said you didn’t! Why are you blowing this out of proportion? All I ever said was that we have to do something about that attitude of Alexis. This has gone on for too long. You always giving her what she wants, treating her like a little baby, you’re spoiling her rotten!”
“That’s it, I’m done.”
Alexis’s heart faltered and she felt the blood in her face drain.
“I’m sleeping in the guest room tonight,” her mom added calmly.
Alexis sighed in relief.
“Ashley, you don’t have to….”
“I want to. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
Alexis quickly ran to the bathroom when she heard her mom walk towards the door.
In the bathtub, Alexis pulled her legs up to her chest and laid her forehead against her knees. She squeezed her eyes tightly, begging the tears to retreat.
“Everything is going to be fine,” she whispered to herself right before a tear escaped and fell into the water.

“Commencing phase one -E.”
In just a few seconds, my phone lit up with incoming text messages from my minions. Operation: Destroy Derek De Luca was about to begin. Watch your back, bitch.