They Died And Came Back To Destroy Me Again Chapter 02

They Died And Came Back To Destroy Me Again Chapter 02

When I came back to class, Vanessa slipped a note to me from behind.

I opened it. It was full of apologies.

She said she never meant to come between us, told me not to overthink it, and promised she wouldn’t hang around us anymore.

But I recognized that paper immediately.

It was the prayer note I’d waited in line all day for last weekend, the one I got for Caleb at a church retreat, along with a small sachet.

I instinctively looked back.

Sure enough. The sachet was hanging on the side of Vanessa’s backpack.

And on her desk was the binder of study notes I’d spent an entire month staying up late to put together for Caleb.

Now I realized, the subjects he asked for were exactly the ones Vanessa was weak in.

I stood up right away and stared at her. “Who gave you that binder?”

The commotion caught the teacher’s attention; he frowned, called my name, and scolded me.

“Emma Hartwell, what’s all this noise? Sit down.”

I clenched my fists, asked to step out, and pulled Vanessa outside by the wrist.

I was done playing dumb and laid it out directly.

“Caleb has always liked you, hasn’t he?”

Vanessa’s face paled, and she immediately denied it.

“Emma, you’ve got it wrong. Caleb and I are just friends. He’s only nice to me to ask about you.”

I looked at her quietly, feeling nothing but coldness inside.

Vanessa knew better than anyone how much I liked Caleb.

My parents died in an accident when I was ten. At the funeral, relatives whispered about taking me in, but I knew they just wanted my inheritance.

Caleb stood in front of me without hesitation and said, “Emma, I’ll protect you from now on.”

That was when I started falling for him.

From then on, I set aside a part of everything I had for Caleb.

My journal was all about him.

I considered Vanessa my best friend. I shared my diary with her, and my crush too.

I introduced them and brought them closer.

And in the end, I had handed her the knife to stab me with.

Just then, Caleb rushed out.

Without a second thought, he stepped in front of Vanessa and shoved me hard.

I lost my balance, staggered back, and hit the back of my head against the corner of a wall.

Dizziness washed over me. My vision went spotty.

My already hollow heart twisted in pain.

Some classmates gasped. One pointed at me, panicked. “Emma, you’re bleeding from your forehead!”

I touched my forehead. My hand came away wet and sticky, bright red when I looked at it.

I lay in the nurse’s office, half conscious, and vaguely heard Caleb arguing with Mr. Donovan, the homeroom teacher.

“Caleb Thornton, you’re getting way too close to Vanessa Reid.”

Caleb’s tone was confident. “I like Vanessa. But I promise it won’t affect my studies. I’ll help her score higher than Emma on the SSEE.”

I slowly opened my eyes and spoke calmly.

“Mr. Donovan, I accept Caleb’s challenge.”

“And you don’t both need to beat me. Just you, Caleb. Beat me.”