Left Behind

CARTER

“How’d it go with your parents?”

“Fine,” Bryce replied sitting sideways in his desk. He had really been being quiet all day. Maybe he was avoiding me, I don’t know, but he was acting very different.

“Okay.”

A substitute walked into the room with a huge grin on her face. She examined the room and sat down at the teacher’s desk, placing her things on the flat desk surface. “Good afternoon,” she started. “I’m Miss D. Your teacher left me specific notes to make sure you complete your study guides for Chapter six. You may work quietly with a partner, if you choose to, but manage your time wisely. You have to turn in all of your work by the end of the hour.”

We all groaned at the last statement. I hated when I had to rush to finish an entire assignment and turn it in the exact day. “Bryce,” I whispered.

“Hm?” he said turning halfway in his seat. Usually when the word ‘partners’ came out of someone’s mouth, he would be the first to jump over to me, but today, he was being… well, different.

I hesitated to ask. “Partners?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I’m gonna work alone this time,” he replied.
I nodded and began my work.

***

“Well, look what the fucking cat drug in,” Casey said as I walked over to their lunch table. She smiled at me, and I sat. “Spill.”

“Spill what?” I laughed. “I don’t have anything to spill.”

She glared at me. “Honey pie, I know something’s up. When’s the last time you sat with us at lunch? If this is about Bryce and Kristen—”

“What?”

Aliyah shot Casey a look.”She doesn’t know?” Casey asked Aliyah.

Aliyah shrugged. “You don’t know?”

“No, what’s up? He was with me yesterday, he went home, came back to school, and now he’s acting different. I knew something had to happen in between all of this.”

“I don’t know, but Kristen and Bryce have been together all day. Has he told you anything since yesterday?”

“Nothing that I would be concerned about. He only answered a couple of questions that I… freaking forced out of him.”

“Look, we all know how Bryce is. He switches his feelings like a girl changes her hair color. I tried to warn you.”

“Warn me? We aren’t together, Aliyah.”

“Carter Deville, you are in love with him,” Casey accused. “You don’t have to hide it anymore.”

“Love? I don’t think so.”

Casey rolled her eyes at me. “Love, Shmove. I don’t give two shits what you have to say. I’m Casey the love doctor, and I’m here to save the day! Step into my office, sit down in my chair! We’ll take all the feelings in your heart and pull them out of there! So come with—”

“Shut the hell up, Casey. I hate when you start that crap,” Aliyah laughed.

“No, you love it. That’s why you talk to me every day.”

“Well, tell Drake that I said hello,” I said getting up. “I’m gonna go eat in a bathroom stall now.” They both laughed and told me bye. I walked through the line, alone, and got the pizza that came in the packs. I scrunched my nose at it, before walking to the commons area where some other people were sitting around and chatting.

Honestly, I needed to be alone. Sometimes, my life was too hectic, and I just needed a break from everything. Why did it have to be me?

Lucy’s funeral was the worst day of my life. It was worse than when being left alone as a child and having to make a way for myself. I’d known Lucy longer than I knew my own parents, or Charlie, and she was gone. I was always in these sorts of situations, and I was sick of it.

I sat on a brick wall, alone still, and unwrapped my pizza, beginning to eat it. It wasn’t fantastic, slightly cold, but it was food. I learned to be grateful after years of poverty. Lucy taught me that one.

It was crazy how when everything first happened it didn’t really register that Lucy was gone. Yes, I cried, but it wasn’t until the funeral that I realized that she was going into the ground and never coming back. After seeing all of those crying people, I felt bad, but I wanted to scream at them. I wanted to yell “I’ve known her way longer than all of you, so suck it the fuck up!”, but I couldn’t. They were her family too.

Lucy.

“Carter?”

I turned and smiled. “Hey, Peyton. What’s up?”

“Nothing, but why are you out here alone? Where are all of your friends?” He looked around dramatically. I laughed and shrugged my shoulders, because I didn’t care.

“What friends?” I replied sarcastically, but there’s always a little truth in a joke.

He frowned. “Do you want me to eat out here with you? The weather’s great anyway.”

“You don’t have to,” I assured him.

“But I want to,” he smiled.

Peyton and I ate and talked about different things. We mostly chatted about school, since he really didn’t know much about my personal life, and it was too much to explain in forty-five minutes, anyway. I started to regret not talking to Peyton more. Ever since that party, we’ve spoken in the hallways, had small conversations, and hung out, but I intentionally kept him at a safe distance.

The bell rang, and I hopped down from the wall. Peyton offered to walk me to class, so I agreed, being the nice person I am. In the process, I bumped into someone, making that person drop his books, and I felt extremely bad. That is, until I noticed that I was picking up Bryce’s books from the floor, and he was stooped beside me trying to gather his things before I could start a conversation.

“You can go, Peyton. I don’t want you to be late,” I said because he was standing against the wall waiting for me. He nodded.

“I’ll walk you to the next class then,” he replied before smiling.

“Deal.” I gathered up the last things from the floor, and stood up, adjusting my clothes. Bryce looked at me like he wanted to tell me something, but I didn’t want to hear his excuses for putting me off all day, so I handed his papers to him, and rolled my eyes.

He stood there with a look that I found irritating, probably because I was pissed at him for ignoring me, and opened his mouth to say something.

“Here,” I interrupted, as I shoved the last things into his hands and walked off.