Learning to Live (The Infinite Love Series Book 1) (21 page)

“Well aren’t you just precious?” she asks snidely as she comes to rest right next to my locker. She is wearing next to nothing, and her boobs look like they might pop out of her halter top at any moment. It’s almost as if she went the extra mile today as her hair is curled into loose curls, and her makeup is extravagant.

I sneak a peek over to the other side of the hall, and notice Topher is in a heated discussion with Joe. It’s not loud enough for me to eavesdrop, but I know he won’t be able to come to my rescue. I guess I am just going to have to learn to stand up for myself.

“Don’t you ever get bored?” I ask, closing my locker.

“Excuse me?” she exclaims, throwing her hand onto her chest dramatically.

“You heard me. I’m starting to wonder what Topher ever saw in you,” I whisper under my breath.

There is a fire burning behind her eyes, and before I know it, she is pouncing on me with claws out. We go crashing to the floor roughly before my head starts to pound with a vengeance. I grab it with my hands, but I feel as though someone is gutting it from the inside out. I curl up in the fetal position as the pain surges through me. Soon my vision and hearing go along with it, and all I’m left with is darkness.

Chapter Twenty One

Topher

As I open my locker, Joe appears beside me. “You know, you’re not fooling anyone,” he says under his breath.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I growl.

“Ciera fucking Nelson? I know Sophia cheated on you man, but at least have some standards.” He has a condescending smile playing across his lips.

“Shut the fuck up,” I warn him, taking a step closer so that I am in his face.

“I’m doing you a solid, man. You still have time to save your reputation.”

I grab the collar of his polo, gripping it firmly. “I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks, least of all you. Get the hell out of my face.”

I’m still revved up when I hear the sound of a struggle across the hall. I turn my face to where Ciera’s locker is, and notice Sophia is on top of her, a fistful of Ciera’s hair in her hand. I shove Joe roughly out of my way, when I see Ciera curl up into a ball, her hands covering her head. Sophia looks utterly confused. I can’t tell if she hit her or what. I rip her off Ciera as quickly as possible, pushing her out of the way. “What the fuck is going on here?”

“I don’t know,” Sophia says shakily. “We were fighting and then all of a sudden she curled up into a ball and stopped moving.”

I touch Ciera’s shoulder gently. “Ciera, are you okay?”

When I turn her over so I can see her face, it is obvious that she is unconscious. My heart begins to race rapidly as I look around the hall at my peers. “Get help!” I scream with enough force that it sends people scurrying in every direction.

Joe inches closer, his face contorting as he looks down at Ciera’s still body. “What’s wrong with her?”

“I don’t know,” I answer dismissively.

No one is moving quickly enough for my liking so I reach my arms under her body and lift her into the air. I carry her all the way to the nurse’s office. By the time I make it, my arms are needing a reprieve, so I gently lay her down on a cot in the middle of the room. Nurse Gregory comes rushing over. “What happened to her?” she asks frantically.

“I don’t know,” I reply helpless. “She just fell to the floor clutching her head, and now she’s unconscious. Is she going to be alright?”

Nurse Gregory’s face takes on a look of concern. “Thanks for bringing her in Topher, I can take it from here.”

I look up at her incredulously. “I’m not leaving.”

Her expression softens. “Listen, you have to get to class. Let me do my job. I will make sure you are updated as soon as she wakes up.”

My stomach dips as I realize I am not going to win this fight. I nod slowly, and then take one long look at Ciera before I leave. I feel like the biggest asshole in the world, but I know Mrs. Gregory is right. I end up in first period fifteen minutes late, but I can’t focus one bit. I keep glancing at Ciera’s empty chair in the front, and my stomach continues to eat itself alive from the nerves.

Mack looks back at me through his thick black framed glasses, and I know he’s heard the news by now. It’s not surprising that by the time the bell rings, he is headed straight for me. “What happened to her?” he asks in an accusatory tone. I know he is only worried, but it’s not helping.

“I don’t know,” I answer honestly.

“Where is she?” he asks.

“At the nurse’s office. I’m headed there now to check up on her, want to come?” I offer.

He nods stiffly. As we walk down the hall together I can see the tension in his shoulders. “Whatever you have to say, you might as well say it now.”

He looks over at me through narrowed eyes. “What is going on between you two?”

I sigh. “Look man, I know you told me to stay away from her…but it’s not that easy.”

He glares back at me. “Sure it is, you just go back to treating her like she doesn’t exist…it can’t be that hard.”

I stop walking abruptly. “I was an asshole. I did a lot of things I regret. To the both of you and I’m sorry.”

“Were?” he basically spits out.

“I’m doing the best I can here, man. But you gotta let me try.”

I’m not sure if he’s satisfied with my answer but we walk in silence for a few moments before he speaks again.

“So, are you two like together?”

I open my mouth to answer before realizing I’m not even sure what we are. We never established that. I know I like her, and she likes me, but I don’t know if there is a title to what we are yet.

I inhale deeply. “I’m not sure what we are.”

This seems to anger him. “Oh, great. You’re going to lead her on, and then break her heart. Ciera is not like the other girls you’ve been with.”

I grab his shoulder. “No she’s not. She’s better. I would never do anything to hurt her intentionally.” And then I pick up my pace toward the room I left her in earlier.

When we make it inside, it is empty. Ciera is nowhere in sight. Mrs. Gregory is sitting down at her desk, her eyes trained onto her computer screen. She looks up from it, and then a guilty expression washes over her face. “Topher.”

“Where is she?” I ask angrily, inching toward her.

“Her mother came to pick her up. I’m sorry, it only happened within the last half hour.”

My shoulders tense up.

“Do you know what is wrong with her?” Mack asks in a gentle voice. Much calmer than I am.

Mrs. Gregory’s facial expression turns sad. “I’m not allowed to discuss student records. I think that is something you two should be speaking with Ciera about.”

“You’re no fucking help,” I mutter under my breath as I rip open the door and stalk out into the hall.

“Mr. Carlson!” I hear her call after me, reprimanding me for my foul language, but I couldn’t care less.

I decide to ditch the rest of my classes, and instead head straight to her house. I can’t focus on anything but if she will be alright. Mack shows up at my locker as I am about to leave campus. “I’m coming with you.”

“Hell no you aren’t,” I growl.

“Yes I am. Ciera is my best friend. I have a right to know what is going on too.” He is just as worried about her as me, if not more. I realize I’m being unfair in thinking I’m the only one who cares about her. He’s in love with her, I’ve known it for a while now. I have no idea if she has realized it yet, but it doesn’t matter.

“Fine,” I bite out.

I push out the front doors with Mack in tow.

* * *

“Mack?” Ms. Nelson peeks her head out from behind their apartment door. “What are you doing here?”

He rubs the back of his head uncomfortably. “We heard about what happened with Ciera, and just wanted to make sure she is alright.”

Ms. Nelson sighs softly. “She’s going to be okay. You know you didn’t have to come all the way out here.”

Mack shrugs. “I know, but we wanted to.”

Ciera’s mom looks a lot like her. She has the same piercing blue eyes and nose structure. She has a smaller frame, but I can see the resemblances. “Hi, I’m Topher.” I reach out my hand to shake hers.

She looks down at it and then back up at my eyes. “So you’re the infamous Topher…”

I pull my hand back in awkwardly. “She’s talked about me before?”

Ms. Nelson nods her head, smiling lightly. “She won’t shut up about you.”

My cheeks begin to flush as Mack’s eyes land on me as well.

“Mom!” I hear Ciera shout. And then she appears behind her mother in the doorway.

“Oh, dear, I didn’t realize how rude I’ve been. Would you guys like to come in?” her mother asks, opening the door wider.

“No, no, it’s okay,” Ciera says quickly, taking a step toward us, but her mother is too fast.

Before I know it, we have been pulled inside the mysterious apartment. There are toys scattered around the floor, and as my eyes dart around, I realize it’s the smallest apartment I’ve ever been in. It can’t be more than 500 square feet. I see two separate doors off the living room, and make a guess that it is only a one-bedroom apartment. I notice that the couch appears to be made up like a bed, and I wonder how long they’ve had to fit four people into such a small space.

Ciera looks beyond mortified that we are inside of their personal living area, and she is rushing around the room attempting to tidy up. She looks fine.

Mack engages in a conversation with her mother in the kitchen while she grabs some water for us, and I approach Ciera slowly. “Hey,” I say softly, reaching my hand out to touch her elbow.

She looks up at me with a pained expression. “Hey.”

“Are you okay? What happened back at school?”

She drops an armful of toys into a bin next to the wall and then sighs, placing her hands on her hips. “I’m fine, why?”

She is acting as if any of this is normal. “You were in the fetal position, unconscious. I know because I was there. I carried you to the nurse’s office.”

Ciera’s cheeks grow pink. “Just a migraine, that’s it.”

“People don’t normally pass out from a migraine, Ciera,” I tell her.

She shrugs. “It’s really not that big of a deal.”

“If it’s not that big of a deal, then why aren’t you in school right now?” I ask the obvious question.