I'm a teenage girl, living the teenage dream. No, not really.
I woke with the shittiest headache ever created in this world. I can't see straight and my head feels like there's a jackhammer inside. I yawned and stretched my arms, groaning in the process. And that's when I felt a body beside me. I glanced to my side and saw Jesse Zeklos.
"Shit!" I said, a little too loudly.
"What's wrong, Rosie baby? Still sore, or ready for round 10?" Jesse muttered beside me, chuckling.
"Wha- ROUND 10? You don't mean-?"
"Yes, dear. We did it 9 times last night." He said, then dozed off again.
Ah, well. It's not that I'm not used to this. I almost slept with different guys every other week. But, I don't have any STDs, thank you very much. It's just that, it's Jesse Zeklos. The hottest guy in our academy, if I do say so myself.
Jesse is the son of one of the owners of this school. So, he is very rich, very popular and has one of the biggest rooms in the whole school. I went inside his humongous bathroom and let the cold water run down my body, hoping it will do something for my headache. After a few minutes under the water, I started to remember what had happened last night.
My bestfriend, Lissa, throwing a secret party, me, giving Jesse a lap dance, Jesse carrying me to his room, us shedding clothes...
I quickly put on my dress last night, went outside the sleeping Jesse's room then walked across the campus to my dorm. I changed into clean pjs and was just getting ready to lay down and take some rest when my phone vibrated on my nightstand. Have I left it there last night?
I smiled when I saw the caller ID.
"Hello there, Princess Vasilisa. What can I do for you this beautiful Sunday morning?"
"Oh, stop the dramatics Rose. Can you come to my room, now?"
"Why? I want to sleep." I said, whining.
"Please?" I did a double take when I detected a hint of hysteria on her voice.
"What's wrong? What's the problem? Are you hurt?" I said, panicked.
Since we were born, Lissa and I were inseparable. Our friendship started when we were trying to introduce ourselves to each other in kindergarten. I tried to read her name in her ID, but ended saying something like "Vasilaysa Dragomayr". She just laughed and corrected me. When she tried to read my name, she also ended up saying something stupid like "Ros e marye Hat haway." I giggled and said the right pronunciation. We were bestfriends since then, until now, on our junior year.
So, when I heard her panic-filled voice, I can't help but worry.
"No, no. Just come to my room and I'll explain everything." She said calmly, obviously for my sake.
"Okay, okay, be right there."
We said our byes and hung-up. I changed my pjs for a white v-neck shirt and skinny jeans, then hurried off to Lissa's room.
I was holding my laughter since I heard what Lissa's dilemma is.
"Oh just let your laughter out, Rosemarie. I know you want to." She said with a pout in her angelic face.
And so I did. I fell of my chair, laughing so hard. Lissa just glanced at me and a small smile crept up her face and she, too, was laughing. To someone who doesn't know us, we might've looked crazy. We were literally rolling on the floor, shaking with laughter, with tears streaming down our faces.
When we finally calmed down, I just shook my head at her and said,
"Liss, I can't believe that's your problem. You just slept with your ultimate crush and you're worried? What the hell is wrong with you?"
"And that's exactly the problem, Rose! He's the guy I like! The only one I adore! What if my bed skills ruined whatever chance I had with him? I like him Rose. We are meant to be. We are a match made in heaven. I just know. But, what if the feeling is one-sided? I can't take it. I can't..." She said, really and sincerely worried.
"Um, Liss... I got a confession to make." I said sheepishly
"And what is that?" She said accusingly.
"Um, Christian kinda, um, said to me last month. No, last, last month that he, um, likes you, really, really like you." I peeked at her from under my lashes, nervous.
Christian Ozera, the school's biggest bad boy, is Lissa's ultimate crush since first grade. I didn't tell her what Christian said to me because I simply don't trust the guy.
I just stared at Lissa's face in shame. Her face showed different emotions in the span of three seconds: Shock, disbelief, confusion, anger, outrage, murderous outrage.
"Christian likes me, Rosemarie?" She said in an eerie calm voice, which just shows that she is anything but.
"Um, yeah." I said hesitantly.
"Why didn't you tell me, bestfriend?" Her calm facade slipping off a little.
"'CauseIdonttrusthim." I said in one string of sentence.
"Pardon? I didn't quite understand you." She said, her voice hinting at her outrage.
"'Cause I don't trust him, Liss. He has this badboy reputation and it's like a dark shadow is always following him."
"What the fuck, Rose? You knew I liked the guy. I'm almost in the edge of fucking obsession towards him. I really liked him, Rose! This is not just a simple crush, for fuck's sake! "
I flinched at the swear words she used. Lissa is not one to cuss. If she does, it means she's really, really, really pissed off. And it pains me to think that I'm the one who caused her to be.
"I'm really sorry, Lissa. I'm just trying to protect you. That's all. I love you Liss, you know that. I don't want anything hurting you."
"It's a shame you're the one who did hurt me." She said, more sad than angry now.
"I'm really sorry Liss." I said in a low voice.
Saying sorry is one of the things I find very hard to do. I only say those words to Lissa, and to Lissa only.
"I know you have good intentions, Rose. I really do. I'm sorry for snapping at you, but it just hurts that you're keeping secrets from me now. And, I slept with the guy without even knowing that he likes me back! I was planning to tell him my feelings last night, but I thought that if I did, I'd miss my one chance of doing the deed with him when he realized I wasn't just fooling around. But if you actually told me, I may have had the guts to tell him the truth."
"Sorry again, Liss. It won't happen again. I swear it on my life. And I promise to make it up to you." I said with a fierce determination in my eyes.
"Really?" She said, already smiling.
"Of course."
I hugged her and we just chatted for a while.
That's what I really love about Lissa. She forgives and forgets easily, no matter how big your sin to her is.
That's also the reason why I think we complement each other. She's outgoing, yes, but more of a silent type of person. While I, on the other hand, is loud and reckless. She also has a long temper, while I snap at very simple things. She's not a virgin anymore, but she's choosy about who she will sleep with, and she doesn't have the reputation I have. I'm respected here in our school, but everyone knows about my sex records. To summarize things, I'm the bad girl, and she's the angel.
Even our looks contradict each other. She's built like a runway model, skinny and tall. She has blonde hair and her eyes have that rare jade-green colour that I really like. My body is more of the sporty build. I'm not as tall and skinny as her, but I have my curves that girls envy. I have dark brown hair and dark eyes.
We might be different in many ways, but we love each other very much. We protect each other and understand each other.
We were just talking everything and anything when my phone rang inside my jeans.
I looked at Lissa and she made some gestures in her hands that I think says "go on."
I grabbed my phone and looked questioningly at the unknown number.
"Who's it?" Lissa said, peeking over my shoulder.
"No idea." I muttered then answered it.
"Hello?" I said.
"Hello? Rose, baby? Is that you?" The voice in the other line said. It was a male
"Um, yeah. This is Rose. May I know who you are?" I glanced at Lissa who was also listening and she just shrugged.
"Rose! Don't be like that! I love you baby. I really do. Just give me one more chance. I'm begging you." His voice sounded like he's crying, but he's starting to weird me out.
"I don't really know you. So please just tell me who you are?" I said, annoyance all over my voice.
"You know who I am. This is Adrian, babe. Adrian Ivashkov. Don't pretend that you've forgotten about me. I still love you, Rose. So much. And I know that you still love me, too. So please, babe. Please."
"Look, if this is some sick joke, please stop now, okay? I don't know any Adrian at all. I'm hanging up now and please don't call me again, ever." I said angrily then hung up.
"What was that all about?" Lissa said, who actually found the situation funny.
"Not funny, Liss. And I don't have any idea. The guy was so weird." I said with a frown.
She just laughed, shooed me out of her room, saying she needed to clean her room, and told me not to forget my promise about fixing things up between her and Christian.
I rolled my eyes and said bye.
When I got to my room, I checked my phone.
14 missed calls. 37 messages.
All from the same number who called me awhile ago. It's really starting to creep me out. What if I have a stalker? What if he's some kind of pedophile wanting to rape me?
I just dismissed the idea and dialled Christian Ozera's number. Yeah, yeah, I know his number. He gave it to me when he said he liked Lissa, in the hopes that I would call him someday and tell him that she likes him back.
"Hello?" He said, sounding a little too hopeful.
"Hi there, Christian. "
"Hey Rose. 'Sup?"
"I'll just get straight to the point okay? Lissa likes you. An awful lot. Since first grade actually. I didn't tell you because, well, I didn't like you for her. But I realized that it's not my decision to make, and that she can date whoever she likes and I will be there to support her, no matter what." I said all this matter-of-factly.
He was silent for 5 seconds.
Then he said, "Thanks Rose, thank you very much." I thought he was being sarcastic, but I detected the smile and joy on his voice.
"No problem, Anything for Lissa."
He said bye then hung-up.
And then my phone started ringing again, Mr. Stalker's number on the screen. I just rejected it and lay down on my bed. This day is so weird.
Oh well, at least I fixed the problem between Christian and Lissa. At least my bestfriend is happy. At least one of us is.
No one knows I'm lonely. No one knows I'm still broken. Lissa knows the reason why, but she didn't know that up to now, I'm still shattered and weak. I may be all tough and flirty outside, but inside I'm broken. I think I would always be broken, and nobody would know about that but me. Because of one incident, I would always and forever be alone, just like he said.
"You would always be alone, slut." He walked away from me, a smile on his cheating face, while I sit there on the wet pavement, heavy rain pouring all over me, drenching me.
Uh-oh. That is dangerous territory for you, Rose. I mentally slapped myself and quickly removed the thought from my head. I so don't want to think about that now.
Before I drifted off to sleep, my phone ringed again. It was Mr. Stalker. Again. And I ignored it. Again.
Little did I know that the person I'm calling "Mr. Stalker" would be the one to change my life forever.