XANDER'S POV
I was discharged on my fourth day in the hospital. I still find it surprising Romeo never visited after he left that day.
I called and texted him several times but he never answered or replied to my text messages.
I was finding it difficult to accept our friendship has ended. What I was always afraid of finally happened.
I should've just told him the entire truth about myself from the beginning, maybe all this wouldn't have happened now.
I went to his house the next day, I wanted to tell him everything, I wanted to apologize to him.
"He doesn't want to see you Xander, what happened between you too?", Mrs Williams asked.
"Nothing happened, we'd fix it", I said confidently and left.
ROMEO'S POV
"The cut has left a scar on your arm", I said pointing to Lucille's arm.
She looked at it and smiled, the last time I asked what caused the cut she just laughed and told me to forget about it.
"What really happened, how did you end up cutting yourself?", I asked her.
"I don't want to lie to you Romeo, please don't ask again", she said looking at the scar.
"Did you try committing suicide again?", I asked looking at her.
"Maybe", she said before putting some bread in her mouth. We were having breakfast in the cafeteria.
"What do you mean by maybe?", I asked out of concern.
"I used it to blackmail my mom", she said taking a sip of her tea.
"Wait no, no. You injured yourself to make your mom change her decision?", I asked angrily.
"Everything is fine now", she said holding my hands.
I looked at her in disbelief, should I be angry or glad? What she did got us together, but did she have to hurt herself?
"I'm not happy about it Lucille.."
"I'm so sorry, but that was the only thing I could think of", she said calmly.
I knew she would cry if I continue to talk about it, so I just decided to stop.
"We would continue this conversation later", I said to her.
XANDER'S POV
I got out of the house hoping to see Romeo, he promised to give me a ride always.
He wasn't there, "maybe he's running late", I said to myself.
I decided to walk towards the school, I might see him passing by. I walked for about ten minutes but I didn't see him.
I was about to stop a taxi when a black Corolla stopped right in front of me. I looked closely and it was my dad.
I quickly stepped back and walked faster. He followed me with his car, I decided to run but he still followed me.
I was about to cross the road but he hit me with the car, thank God I wasn't badly injured.
My reflexes kicked in at the right time, I fell on the ground and as a result had scratches on my elbow and knee.
I was too frightened to clean myself, I got into a taxi right away and went to school. The first lesson was still in session when I entered the class.
"Why are you now coming?", the teacher asked.
I stood still trying to calm down, I was trembling in fear.
"You have blood stains on your shirt, what happened?", Cassandra asked coming closer to me.
"Take him to the nurse, come to my office after that", the teacher said.
I turned to look at Romeo, he looked very worried. Cassandra held my hands and walked me to the school nurse.
"Have you eaten breakfast already?", she asked after the nurse was done dressing my wounds.
I didn't know if I should respond to her or not. She came to the hospital several times to visit me, but I always sent her away.
"Why are you here?", I asked her.
"Erm.. I school here too remember? Or you want me to leave?", she asked.
I could tell my actions were hurting her so much, why did she have to be called Cassandra?
"I'm always treating you badly, why do you still care about me?", I asked trying to sit up.
"It's because I love you", she responded calmly.
"I don't love you Cassie, I dislike you so much. I don't care about you", I said to her.
She stood up and wiped her tears, "why do you call me Cassie and not Cassandra? It's because you love me", she said confidently.
I laughed at what she said, "it's because I hate the name Cassandra, Cassie sounds better", I said.
"What happened to you?", she asked looking serious.
"I got involved in a car accident, nothing severe", I said standing up.
"Wait, where are you going to?", she asked holding my hands.
"To class, I can't miss any lesson neither should you", I said to her.
"Okay fine, let's go", she said with a smile.
"I can walk, let go of me", I said pulling away from her.
She held on tighter, "the teacher asked me to take care of you", she said.
I looked at her angrily and pulled my hands from her with all my strength.
"Ouch, you'll hurt me", she said looking at her hands.
"Are you okay?", a voice said behind us.
We turned and it was Liam, the head boys prefect.
"Yes Liam, thanks for asking", Cassandra responded smiling from ear to ear.
"Hope I'd see you in church tonight? I'll save a sit for you beside me", he said to her.
"Okay, just like always", Cassandra said still smiling.
"Why are you smiling so much?", I asked after Liam had left.
"Nothing, do I have to frown?", she asked hilariously.
"Why is he saving a sit for you?", I asked her.
"We like sitting together anytime we're watching a movie in church", she replied.
"Since when did you start going to the same church?", I asked.
"Why all this questions Xander? You're behaving like a jealous boyfriend", she said laughing.
"A jealous what? You wish", I said and walked away.
"You didn't come", I said to Romeo after sitting down.
"Sorry are you talking to me?", he asked me seriously.
"Yes, erm.. you promised to always come get me", I responded.
"We're no longer friends, so I don't have to", he said looking away.
"Don't you want to know what happened to me?", I asked trying to get his attention.
"No", he said standing up.
"I was trying to.."
"I said I don't want to know", he yelled angrily and walked away.
Everyone turned to look at me, I felt very embarrassed. Lucille stood up and came to me.
"What's happening?", she asked calmly.
"I annihilated my friendship with Romeo , he no longer wants to be my friend", I responded.
"What actually happened?", she asked.
"Let me just say, there are certain things about me I'm afraid to tell him. Things about my family and.."
"Calm down Xander, breathe in and out, relax", she said holding my hands.
I did as she said, I breathe in and out several times.
"You know you can tell me everything right, you don't have to keep everything to yourself", she said to me.
We went to the old school building to talk more, since what I wanted to say was something personal.
I spent a lot of time trying to explain everything to her. She was in tears by the time I finished.
"Are you trying to say your own dad tried to hit you with his car?", she said wiping her tears.
"He abused you and your mom for so long, oh God", she said angrily.
"It's a good thing you had him arrested", she said trying to calm herself down.
"You trust her more than me?", we heard a voice say outside the class.
We rushed outside only to see Romeo sitting on the floor. His eyes were red, you could tell he has been crying for a long time.
"Were you here this entire time?", I asked helping him stand.
"I followed you here out of curiosity", he said wiping his tears.
"You didn't think.."
"No, I didn't. I knew you'd tell her about what happened since you love her", he said looking at Lucille.
I immediately turned to look at her, I could tell she was surprised by what Romeo said.
"I told her because she understands me better", I said trying to defend myself.
"You love me? Since when?", Lucille asked looking at me.
"No I don't, I love you, but not romantically", I said to her.
"Oh okay", she said hilariously.
"We have to report your dad to the police", Romeo said after a brief silence.
"Your mom would hate you for it, she's still in love with him", Lucille said.
"We'll escort you to your therapy sessions every weekend, Romeo would drive you to school and home always", she added.
"Does that mean we're okay now?", I asked looking at Romeo.
"Maybe", he said looking away.
"I'll take that as a yes", I said hilariously.
"When are you going to stop being mean to Cassandra?", Lucille asked changing the topic.
"I'm trying", I replied.
"Try harder", Romeo added.