Road to Ruin

CHAPTER 7

I didn’t get a hell of a lot of sleep that night but when I did finally get up I got dressed and packed my school bag with all my unfinished homework before I went to the kitchen in my apartment to get something to eat.

When I walked outside there were empty alcohol bottles everywhere and people even sleeping outside.

I had to step around then as I headed for the forest and I started walking towards town.

It took me 45 minutes to reach town and I walked down the main street of town until I reached the high school.

As soon as I got there Finn saw me and he jogged over to me and hugged me.

“What’s that for?” I asked.

“For last night. I’m sorry I got pissed on the phone. And I know that you can take care of yourself.” He said.

“You don’t need to worry about the bikers.” I said.

“How long are they staying for?” He asked.

“I have no idea. But my f*****g yard better be cleaned up before I get home this afternoon.” I said.

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“They were up partying all night. Hopefully that won’t be a regular occurrence.” I said.

“Do you know what business they have in the area?” He asked.

“No. And I’m not going to ask them either.” I said.

“Alright. Why don’t you come and stay at my place for a while. I know my mother won’t mind. Not if I explain what’s happening.” He said.

“Finn. Stop. I can take care of myself. I don’t need you to save me. Those guys aren’t going to hurt me. I’ve known them since I was a kid.” I said.

We walked inside the school building and I walked down the hall to my locker where I saw Rachel standing near her locker looking like she was ready to cry again.

“Hey Rach, is everything alright?” I asked.

“Oh yeah. I’ve just got a lot going on right now.” She said.

“Yeah. I know the feeling. Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.

She looked at Finn briefly and then back to me before she shook her head.

“No. It’s alright. I better go or I’ll be late for class.” She said leaving quickly.

I looked over at Finn who also looked at me strangely.

“Class doesn’t start for another 20 minutes.” I said.

“Yeah. She’s been acting weird for weeks.” Finn said.

“She hasn’t said anything to you?” I asked.

“No. We’re not really that close.” He said.

When Finn and I finally went to class we sat in our usual seats before I saw a couple of our other friends walk in.

There were some seats in front of us where they could have sat at but they sat at the other side of the room for some reason.

“Alright. Now what’s wrong with them?” I asked, looking at Finn.

“I don’t know.” He said.

“You’ve been talking to them a lot more than I have. Why does it feel like everyone’s avoiding me?” I asked.

“They’re not avoiding you. I think you’re just a little paranoid.” Finn said.

“Really?” I asked.

Wow. Gaslighting me now. That’s original.

I let it go for now but I wasn’t going to forget about this.

As soon as class was over I was watching my friends try and get out of the classroom as soon as the bell went and Finn wasn’t looking too impressed either. He actually looked pretty pissed at them and I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell was going on around here.

As soon as I got in to the hallway I saw Rachel walking towards me and when she saw me she stopped walking. So I approached her.

“Hey. How’s everything going?” I asked.

“It’s great. Why do you ask?” She asked.

“Because you’ve looked really upset the last couple of days. If there anything that you want to talk about?” I asked.

“No. Everything’s fine. It’s just some personal stuff going on.” She said.

“Well, that’s what I’m here for. We’re friends.” I said.

I saw Rachel’s expression change when Finn walked up beside me and I looked at him and then back at Rachel.

“Attention students. There is an assembly in the gym in 10 minutes. Everyone needs to attend.” The principle said over the loud speaker of the school.

“We better get there. You know that he’s always looking for you to get you in trouble.” Finn said grabbing my hand and pulling me down the hallway.

Alright, enough of this bullshit. It ends now.