The Dark Side {Chapter Three}

Imagine the woods,
Without a tree,
Imagine the rivers,
Without the sea,
Imagine yourself,
Without me,
Imagine how lost,
I would be.

~ Pete Shilling


Chapter Three
So now its my fault?

         After that little flare-up with me and Ali on Monday, Sierra had really tried hard to calm me down. Now, Thursday afternoon, she shook her head gently, tracing a slim finger along my cheek. "Gabie, you really need to just forget about it. So Ali wrote a poem that seemed to be about you. Oh well. I'm sure it means nothing." she assured me. I snorted. Like reassuring would help.

         "Yeah. Nothing except that she hates me and thinks I'm the devil that ruined her life." I growled in response. I knew Sierra hated it when I snapped at her, but I really wasn't in a mood for caring. She frowned, but I ignored it. "I don't even know why I care. Probably because she made me seem like some evil thing that would kill anyone who got near."

         Sierra sighed gently, playing with loose strands of my hair, pushing it away to fully glance into the deep, chocolate depths of my eyes, which mostly stayed somewhat hidden. She only did this when she really wanted to get something, "through my thick skull", as she had playfully explained a while back. "Gabriel. You know as well as I do that no one thinks you're like that." she said sincerely, her soft, tender voice feeling like lemon juice being poured over my open wounds.

         Sierra had her hand on my arm. I quickly pulled away, moving backward and away from her. I crossed my arms across my chest, narrowing my eyes darkly. "Oh, but why don't you think I'm like that? After all, aren't I?" I spat out coldly. Sierra's eyes widened; Her thin brows pulled together, and her pretty face went tender, as if I'd just touched a nerve. I knew I had. Sierra was sensative - That fact caused me to wonder how she'd ever decided that she wanted a guy like me, one that built walls up around himself and rarely let anyone in.

         "Don't talk to me until you're over this, Gabriel Fox." Sierra snapped back. "I hate talking to you when you're like this, and you know it. Come find me when you've decided not to slam the gate to your mental walls in my face." and with that, she hitched her purse up higher over her shoulder, turned, and walked away without looking back. Great. Now even my girlfriend hated me.

         Two girls hating you in one week? Plus an old friend who now thought you were a loser because you're ex-girlfriend chose him over you? And topped off with mountains of homework higher than the Kilimanjaro? That had to be some kind of worst-week record.