Authors note - would just like to thank Becky for her suggestion to write a chapter from Jens point of you. At the moment I'm struggling to truely believe that Jen would do what she did so don't think it would be a very convincing read. I promise to take your advice if I get some inspiration tho! Thank you again for all your reviews. Enjoy :) Ruben x
Tilly woke early the next day, immdediately sensing the shift of emotion inside of her. Gone was the gripping anxiety and tortured guilt. She felt light as a feather, adrenaline surging through her as she jumped out of bed to shower and dress. She headed straight for the mirror and was relieved to see the spark in her eye. She smirked at her reflection. The fire was back, and she was definitely ready to start fighting.
Freshly showered, she took a while choosing her outfit and picking out a matching bow for her hair. She was itching to start working out her plan of action, but wanted to face her parents first. Let them see that she was still the Tilly the knew and loved. Slicking on some lip balm, she made her way downstairs to the kitchen.
"Morning guys" she smiled, reaching past her dad for a mug.
"Well you look brighter. Good nights sleep?" her mum asked, looking up from the magazine she'd been flicking through.
"Yep, really good" she replied. "Anyone for coffee?"
"Not me for me, I'm off now", her Dad replied, giving her arm a squeeze as he walked past.
As she turned to fill the kettle, she watched her parents glance at eachother, communicating with their eyes. What were they thinking? That her happiness was fake? Smiles forced? No way. Whatever had been going on inside her head yesterday had, thankfully, disappeared. Thae brick wall she'd been desperately trying to build around her heart was now a solid foundation. Nothing at all was knocking it down. She smirked to herself as she turned off the tap. Today was going to be a good day.
Once her parents had left, she settled herself down at the kitchen table with her phone and laptop. She switched on her phone, waiting for the influx of messages. She didn't know whether to be relieved or dissapointed that it only buzzed three times. Two messages from George, and one from Pheobe. She didn't bother reading the texts, just carried on scrolling through to her conversation thread with Jen. Clicking onto it, she waited for the flood of emotion, an onslaught of longing for the woman who could change her mood with one simple text. But no. She felt nothing. Just the need to read back through the messages and work out where she should start.
An hour later, and Tilly was on a roll. She'd successfully kept her feelings at bay, the numbness allowing her to form a manipulative and calculating plan. She'd realised quite quickly that not telling the truth about her and Jens relationship had given her alot of power. She relished in the thought that Jen would carry on living in fear, knowing that Tilly could go to the college at anytime and prove that she'd lied about the harrassment. A part of her still wondered if thats what she should do. Get it over with, and put the whole sorry mess behind her. But Tilly knew that the implications of that meant her parents finding out, and would probably wreck any chance she had left at getting into a good university. She wanted to bring Jen down, but wasn't prepared to chuck her own life away in the process. She'd already lost too much. She stood up and flicked the kettle on, butterflies flittering away in her stomach. Stage one of her plan was complete. Once it had come to her, she couldn't believe how stupid she'd been to have overlooked it before. After researching it thoroughly on the internet, she knew it was foolproof. She was going to appeal her expulsion.