Welcome back to the monthly Witness in the Window chapter! As we last left off, Abby was filled with panic and anxiety after seeing Margaret dead, but somehow that feeling was relieved. It was relieved by a boy named Zaine, it seems that maybe the two of them could be friends. But Abby now has a nagging feeling about Tom, a feeling that says there wasn’t just a car crash.
Witness in the Window
Chapter 4
It’s been a little while since the crash. Saying that makes it seem like it was a life-changing moment. Maybe it could end up being one. I’ve been taking pictures with my old Polaroid camera and keeping them safe in my jewelry box. Zaine and I are friends now, not best friends, and we are not even close. But I feel safe with him. Even though we just found out each other’s last names, I feel like I could tell him my deepest secrets.
Chloe, on the other hand, has been more distant than ever. I’ve been forced to hang out with the weird kids in my art class when Chloe decides to ditch me for lunch. That’s become a usual thing. I’ve started to resent her, to loathe her. Sometimes Zaine has asked me to have lunch with him when Chloe is gone, but I refused. He’s a grade above me and I’d rather die than hang out with his immature, gross friends.
Today I got to school and found Chloe on the bench where her and I normally meet. One of her new, bratty, friends was with her. I walked up ready for her to tell me that she’s going to walk to class with this other girl.
“Hi, Chloe,” I said when I finally reached her.
“Hi.” Her voice was faint and hesitant. I lowered my eyebrows to show sympathy.
“Umm, I really need to talk to you.” She stood up and signaled for her friend to move away. Grey clouds had formed by now and it seemed as though a boss fight in a video game was brewing.
“Ok, what is it?” I tried to remain calm, but my mind was racing.
“Look, you are one of my best friends. And I care about you so, so much. But, I think you’ve been distant, and bitter recently.” She paused. “I think we can still be friends, just maybe not, ‘best friends’.” Her words floated in the air like she was dangling them in front of my face. “Ok?” Bitter? Distant? What was this?
I felt everything in me break. I felt that this was coming, I was almost waiting for it to happen. All the bad looks she’d given me, all the times she said she was going to hang out with someone else, it was like it had already happened. It was just unspoken, but now, hearing those words, in front of my face. It was like she had spit on my shoes and called me a bad friend. And I knew she said that we could still be friends, but with Chloe, there was no way I could do that. With all those years we had been friends? With all the moments we’ve shared? That time my swim bottoms came loose in the public pool and she swam as fast as she could to help me so that they didn’t fall. Did that mean nothing? In my eyes, it was either we were best friends, or, we didn’t speak at all. I didn’t want to do that, but how could I talk to her casually again? It didn’t feel right. Maybe I was in a fever dream. Maybe God was punishing me for something. What had I done?
She slowly walked away, and that’s when her words hit me. It felt like they physically hit me because I collapsed onto the bench and sobbed, I didn’t stop to wipe my tears, and I didn’t care that my mascara was running and that it was now raining, ruining my hair, outfit, and every hope that today was going to be a good day. I spotted Zaine and dragged myself to him. Once I saw him the bell rang and his friends walked away. He didn’t ask what had happened, he didn’t even wait for me to talk, he just walked over and hugged me. He hugged me tight and I fell into his arms. I cried harder until the tardy bell rang and he let go. He got my backpack for me and then walked me to my class. And, surprisingly, I wasn’t overjoyed about that hug, I couldn’t think of anything else for that matter, just…Chloe.
Come back next month for chapter 5! And check my profile for chapters 1, 2, and 3!
