30 Days

by Grace Owens

  “Since I got a boyfriend and went against my every stand in life,” I muttered, trying to get the blanket back.

  “Yeah, but, Bells. This has been going on since Friday. And now you’re skipping school? Don’t you think you’re overacting?”

  “It’s almost graduation, so we don’t learn anything new anyway.”

  I was lying on his couch, stinking and watching old movies. I felt bad for taking up his space like this, but he had let me… until now.

  “If you don’t get your sorry ass up from my couch and into the shower, I might force you because you need to deal with this shit,” Josh said, pulling my arm.

  It wasn’t like Josh hadn’t seen me naked before, I mean, we had grown up together, but it had been at least ten years since last time. Things had changed since then.

  “Fine, fine. I’ll do it, but only because you’re so handsome,” I joked.

  “Aww, now my Bells is coming back,” he teased back.

  I did what josh told me to do – shower, got dressed and grabbed my car keys to go to school. He had been fixing my car now that I had been babysitting. I had missed my beauty and smiled as I started it.

  A kick in my ass was just what I needed, because today, I was going to confront Collin. How, I had no idea. I didn’t even know what I was going to say for Christ’s sake. I just knew that I was going to do it.

  I somehow managed to find out what class Collin had. A big part might have been that I knew almost his whole schedule, as if it didn’t make me any more pathetic, but it was true.

  He had gym and he should have been let out a few minutes ago, but he still wasn’t around and my patience was wearing thin. My adrenaline would only last for a little while. That was why I found myself taking determined steps towards the boys’ locker room.

  “Hey, you’re not supposed to be in here!” a dorky guy with bracelet and pimples yelled, covering himself up as I entered.

  “Oh, please. Like I haven’t seen a penis before,” I said, rolling my eyes and continued to walk.

  I found Collin standing with Duncan just outside the showers, wearing towels. That was good because I didn’t think my reasoning would have been that great if he was naked. It was enough with him being all wet and almost naked.

  A poor girl could only take that much.

  “Dude,” Duncan said, slapping Collin on his shoulder.

  Collin turned around in surprise and his eyes widened in shock as he saw me. For a moment, I almost forgot why I was here. Almost.

  “Asshole,” I said through clenched teeth.

  Duncan walked away with a sympathy stare while everyone in the locker room stood at least ten feet away. It made me a little uncomfortable, but it was too late to back down now.

  “Listen, I can explain,” Collin started.

  “Explain what, huh? That you made a bet about me? Making me fall for you, and then what? Were you just going to let it all fade, hoping the bet would be forgotten? Well, guess what? It didn’t work.”

  “It’s not as bad as you think. I was just going to make you Prom Queen,” he mumbled, looking at me with that pained expression.

  “Just Prom Queen,” I mimicked. “A bet is a bet. It doesn’t matter as long as you bet about human beings, Collin. Shit like that hurts!”

  “I ended it!”

  “But you didn’t tell me!”

  “I was going to, but you just had to eavesdrop, didn’t you?” He was getting more upset by now and the argument had gotten heated.

  “Yeah, because it’s all my fault,” I said in disgust, nodding my head.

  “I didn’t say that-” he said, but I cut him off.

  “You know, for one moment, I really thought you were different. A decent guy in a sea with assholes. I guess I was wrong, huh?” I said defeated and turned around to walk away.

  “Bella, come on! Please. I’m sorry,” Collin said in a desperate voice.

  I turned around to face him and said, “Just leave me alone” before I walked out of the locker room, feeling all the guys staring at me.

  Okay, that felt good to get off my chest.

  But the look on his face just made me feel… bad.

  DAY 28

  COLLIN

  I WAS NERVOUS as hell.

  I was on the verge of throwing up.

  My palms were sweaty.

  You get the point, right?

  I had put a note into Bella’s locker today, asking her to meet me here at the diner after school. And to my utter surprise, she had texted me with an okay.

  Just as I was about to ask for my third round of coffee, Bella walked in. She looked as if she had just taken a shower, which wasn’t that odd since she probably came straight from soccer practice. It appeared as if she was wearing one of my hoodies, but I was smart enough not to ask or point that out.

  She asked for a cup of coffee before she sat down opposite me. It was kind of awkward at first because I didn’t dare say anything. And honestly, I had no fucking idea what to say in the first place.

  “I’m sorry,” she blurted and I looked at her in confusion. What the hell did she have to apologize for? “You know, for what I did yesterday… in the locker room. That was way out of line.”

  “I deserved it,” I muttered, looking down at my napkin.

  “Actually, you didn’t,” she said, looking at me with her big brown eyes. “I should have just kicked you in the balls after school instead.”

  There’s more like my girl!

  A small smile tugged at my lips.

  There was no way for me to hide it.

  “Yeah, you should have,” I agreed with a small chuckle.

  She smiled sadly and looked out the window. A waitress came with her coffee and refilled my cup. Then Bella spoke again.

  “Why did you want to see me, Collin?” she whispered, looking down in her coffee.

  “I wanted to apologize,” I murmured.

  “You already have.”

  “Yeah, but not like this.”

  She hadn’t let me talk to her before now and I really hoped she would listen to what I had to say.

  “Then talk,” she said softly and the fact that she didn’t look like she wanted to hit me like she had yesterday, made me feel a little relieved.

  “I’m really sorry for making that stupid bet. I know I shouldn’t have, but I was bored and Rose dared me into doing it. I know that’s not a good excuse, but-” I started, but she cut me off.

  “Why me, though?” she asked.

  “Because you would be a challenge. You wouldn’t even let that fucker Mike Nelson get close before kicking his balls.”

  “That was because he groped me, so he deserved it.”

  I chuckled because that sounded just like Bella.

  “Yeah, well, it wouldn’t be easy to get you to like me enough to even go to prom.”

  “It wasn’t. I didn’t like you at all in the beginning. To me, you were just a good-looking player who was trying to get into yet another girl’s pants.”

  “And you were just a bitchy girl,” I told her honestly since we were confessing anyway.

  “Never judge a girl by her cover,” she whispered.

  “I’m sorry,” I said once again. “I never meant for things to turn out the way they did. I was honestly going to tell you, but I guess Duncan, and me, got there first.”

  “I know you are. I just don’t understand why you ended it in the first place? Who knows, you might have won.”

  “I ended it because it felt so fucking wrong. Especially after you told me all that shit with James. And because… I fell for you and you stopped being a bet to me after just a couple of days.”

  “You fell for me?” she asked, tears in her eyes.

  “Yeah, I did. I’m still falling…” I trailed off.

  “I fell for you, too,” she admitted so quietly that I had to strain my ears to hear. Her words made me hopeful. Until she opened her mouth again. “That’s why I think we should take a break.”

  “Y
ou’re breaking up with me,” I said and it was more of a statement than a question.

  “Yeah.” She sighed sadly. “I just think we need to start over, you know. There is too much shit in our relationship right now.”

  “So it’s not a ‘goodbye, it’s over?’ It’s more, ‘goodbye, I see you later?’”

  “Exactly,” she agreed. “I liked you, and you liked me. There’s nothing that says that we can’t become a couple again. It just… it needs to be on different grounds. Not a bet.”

  I nodded my head, running my palms over my face and letting my fingers go into my hair, grabbing it lightly. I was relieved that she hadn’t completely given up on an us, but sad that she had broken up with me.

  “I should go,” she said quietly, standing up.

  She didn’t leave. Instead she just stood beside the table, looking a little hesitant. I decided to take a chance and stood up, bringing her body to mine for a hug. She wrapped her arms around my neck, holding me close and buried her face in my neck.

  I held her small body tight to mine, slightly lifting her off the ground and smelled her hair. She still smelled like strawberries and chocolate. I was going to miss it until next time I had the chance to be this close to her.

  “I’ll see you around, Collin.” Bella sighed, releasing me after giving me a small kiss on my neck.

  I was doing shit right this time, so even if I wanted to hold her for so much longer than that, I released her as well and gave her a smile.

  “I’ll see you around, Bella,” I said, mimicking her words.

  I’m not going to fuck shit up… not this time.

  DAY 29

  BELLA

  ”DO YOU REALLY have a headache, or are you just faking it?” Amanda asked from the doorway.

  I squinted my eyes to look up at her. I groaned at the light.

  “I do have a headache,” I mumbled, snuggling back to my pillow.

  It was true and that was why I had been spending the day at home instead of school. It wasn’t like I was missing out on anything anyway so it didn’t really matter.

  “Oh,” she said quietly and I felt the bed dip as she lay down beside me. I didn’t mind and when she started massaging my scalp and temples, I definitely didn’t mind. “Sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “For accusing you of faking a headache.”

  “It’s okay,” I whispered.

  I must have fallen asleep, because the next time I opened my eyes, Amanda was gone and my room was darker. The pounding in my head had eased off a bit, but it was still there. I had to suit myself, though. If I had just worn my glasses as I have been told more than once, I wouldn’t have gotten the stupid headache in the first place.

  I hate them. Stupid eyes for not working.

  I looked over at my phone to check the time and saw that I had a new text. It was from Collin.

  I hope you feel better soon. x.

  I smiled, surprised that he even knew I was home sick today. It was sweet and simple, and I couldn’t help but smile at it.

  I remembered the conversation we’d had yesterday and how hurt he had looked when I told him it was over between us. It made me feel guilty, but I hadn’t broken off completely. I just wanted us to start over, as friends and then if we felt like it, we would take it to the next level. Because we wanted to, not because you had a bet to win.

  I smelled coffee so I decided some caffeine might help getting rid of the headache and walked downstairs.

  Jackson snickered as he saw me. I guess I wasn’t looking my best, but who could blame me?

  “Shut up,” I muttered and walked over to the coffee machine.

  “Feeling better?” he asked, raising his eyebrows as he looked up from his homework. I wondered what homework he had this late in the semester.

  “A little,” I answered, sitting down opposite of him.

  “Collin asked for you today,” Amanda said, appearing out of nowhere, sitting down in Jackson’s lap. I didn’t even know she was still here.

  “I got a text from him,” I admitted with a small smile.

  “Are you still going to prom with him?” Amanda blurted.

  I had almost forgotten about that. Collin had asked me a few days before all this shit and to my surprise, I had said yes. Amanda had already made me get a dress, but I no longer had plans on going.

  “We’ve broken up,” I mumbled.

  “What?!” she shrieked. “Bella… that guy liked you… a lot!”

  “He did,” Jackson agreed.

  “I know, that’s why we’re starting over. No secret meanings… just us.”

  “And who says you can’t start over with prom?”

  “It’s too big and too soon. Going together is practically the same as being a couple. I want to start over with smaller things. Like dinner and a movie or something.”

  “Jackson,” Amanda whined.

  He looked up at me. “You can go with us if you want.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” Amanda said. “You’re supposed to tell her to go with Collin.”

  “It doesn’t matter if he does because I’m not going with Collin. I even doubt he’s going in the first place. And, Jackson, thank you for the offer, but I don’t want to be the third wheel.”

  “Oh, I know.” He shrugged. “I was just saying that you could go with us, but hang out with Collin. That way, you’re not going with him, you’re just meeting him there.”

  “I knew there was a reason why I loved you,” Amanda joked, giving him a kiss on his cheek. “That’s genius, Jacks!”

  I just shook my head at the two of them and stood up. I didn’t give them an answer, because honestly, I had no freaking idea what I was going to do. Collin had once told me how much he had hated prom, just like me, so the chances of him even being there were slim to none.

  And I’m too chicken to ask. Go figure.

  DAY 30

  BELLA

  I COULDN’T REMEMBER the last time I was this nervous. Not even when I opened my acceptance letter from college, which I hadn’t known if it was a rejection or acceptance at the time.

  I was going to prom. Or, I was actually already there, sitting in a corner and watching as my brother danced with Amanda. They had been sitting with me at first, but I could tell that Amanda had been eager to head out to the dance floor. So, I told them to go.

  I had even asked Josh to come with me since he had a way of pushing me when everyone else failed. He was my sunshine. When he said he was sick of high school and was never going back, and definitely not to prom, I asked if I could take Claire.

  He had said no.

  So, I relented and went with Jackson and Amanda. They weren’t that bad when they weren’t sucking faces or whining about me looking bored. I was bored, so it wasn’t that strange.

  I hadn’t seen Collin yet, but I had seen James. And for the first time in three years, I wasn’t angry towards him. I didn’t like him, but I guess I just kind of felt… numb. After all these years of built up anger, it felt good to feel nothing when you looked at him. I deserved that.

  My knee was bouncing nervously.

  What if Collin didn’t show up tonight as Amanda had promised?

  My dress made it hard to breathe and I cursed myself for letting Amanda talk me into a dress so short and tight. I didn’t give a fuck about the designer. To me, it just looked like dark purple colored bandage.

  God, I’m pathetic. Why did I even come?

  Just as I stood up to leave, a dark form with a messy bronze-colored hair stepped into my view, smiling widely, causing me to get like goo.

  ”Hello, my name is Collin Jacobs, but you can call me Collie-kins,” he said, reaching out his hand for me to shake.

  I tried not to smile, but failed miserably. I shook his hand and said, “Nice to meet you, Collie-kins. I’m Isabella Andrews, but you can call me Belly.”

  “Well, Belly, would you care for a dance?”

  I thought about it for exact two seconds before eagerly
I nodded my head. It was a nice beginning for something new.

  Besides, a dance could never hurt, right?

  THE END

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for taking a chance on my short story. If you liked it, please take a minute or two to write an honest review. You can go ahead and leave one even if you didn’t like it.

  This is my first story that I have ever published and I was never planning on doing it, but I wanted to try it out, kind of like a trial run on what it would be like to publish something; to share something that has been kicking around my brain for over a decade.

  I know that not a lot of people read these notes, so I’ll make it quick so that you can move on to the next book. Speaking of the next book, if you stick around, you have the chance of reading the first chapter of my full length novel that will be published sometime this summer!

  Again, thank you so much for reading my words. Hopefully, I’ll see you around for the next book.

  Love,

  Grace

  PREVIEW OF ‘ALWAYS YOURS’

  EXPECTED TO BE PUBLISHED

  SOMETIME IN THE SUMMER OF 2019

  INHALING DEEPLY, THE scent of a man’s cologne hit my nose, reminding me of the glorious dream I’d had last night. If I remembered correctly, orgasms and a shower had been involved and I wanted nothing more than to go back to it. All I had to go back to was loneliness, and a massive headache by the feel of it.

  I tried my hardest to keep my eyes closed and snuggled back into the warmth of the blanket. I didn’t think I had ever slept in such a comfortable bed before and I had to remind myself to thank Hanna again for providing such a nice hotel, or I guess I should technically thank her dad since he was the one paying for all of it. Sure, it was her bachelorette party and as a bridesmaid, I should have helped pay for it; but there was no way a poor college graduate as myself could have scored a hotel with this kind of luxury.