Chapter 22

Chapter 22

How did she know about that! That was supposed to be kept top secret and somehow, she knew. This wasn't good in the slightest and I was freaking out on the inside. I swear we were doing an excellent job at being careful. The times were always when everyone was asleep. There's no way we should have been caught. Especially not by Jenna. Someone who is weirdly close to Farah. She could go to her and tell her anything. Making it sound worse than it is. The reason she was looking at me the way she did is because this was something that could not get back to Farah by any means. Little did she know, Cyrus and I were not talking to each other anymore now. The good thing is there was nothing she could gain from this secret.

It was still a huge secret that led to the question how did she know? How did she know that we were sneaking around? Was she somewhere watching from afar? Did someone else clue her in on our secret? There wasn't anyone else that knew aside from Jeremy. I doubt he would say anything to her. Jeremy is a lot of things, but he isn't a gossip. Besides, what would he gain from conspiring with Jenna? There wasn't anything that she could offer him for that even to come close to happening. But if not, Jeremy, then how did she know?

My stomach started turning into knots, not sure how to respond to this. "H-how do you know that?" I stuttered nervously.

She chuckled maliciously, eating up the fact that she knew she'd won. "I have eyes. Don't think you could slip past me so easily." She simply says, "I thought something was up when you suspiciously stayed back after we played volleyball. Now why would you do that?"

Dammit! I knew that day would be risky but of course Cyrus wouldn't listen to me. She saw everything that happened but chose now to say something? It's a mystery to what else this girl has seen. This wasn't something to take lightly either. Jenna opens her fat mouth then I'm done for. Not that it would matter now. If I went home, then I could get what I wanted and that's far away from Cyrus. But deep down I wanted to stay here. I wanted to be near Cyrus even though I was in no mood to talk to him. Just knowing he's around here somewhere made me feel content. However, I couldn't want him. I couldn't even talk to him without Jenna obviously knowing.

Now what she was going to do with this information was the issue. There was no sense in hiding it from her at this point. It was out there, and she saw with her own eyes. But what was she going to do? Would she use it as extortion against me? Would she go straight to Farah with this information? Anything she chose to do I was going to be fucked. That was the scary part of this whole thing. The ball was no longer in my court, and I was about to suffer the consequences of it for certain.

I gulped nervous about what to even think at this point. "So now what? You're going to run to Farah?" I questioned to get a clear understanding of what I should be preparing myself for.

She snickered, shaking her head walking closer to me. "Oh no, that would be too easy." This bitch. "No, I think I'll hold on to this little secret of yours. I know there'll be a time when it comes in handy." She took one more step towards me. "This competition is in my hands now."

With that, she left leaving me to ponder on what to do next. I couldn't talk to Cyrus because I had no idea where he was. I couldn't tell Jeremy because for all I know he could also be a part of this whole thing. Then the girls would be useless because they were completely clueless as to what was going on. Which it wouldn't matter if I told Twila, but Bradyn wouldn't be too happy with me. She was in this competition to win him over as well. Telling her that would make her put a target on my back and I don't want to lose my friendship with her. My gut was right, and I should have listened to myself. But dammit, Cyrus is such a smooth talker. I told him something like this would happen and now what?

My mind was racing and the only thing I could think of doing to calm down was going to the fountain. It wasn't the smartest idea because when I got there my heart sank. It was the first time Cyrus, and I were with each other. Without the theatrics, without any lies, and were free. This was where we shared a genuine moment with each other. Admittedly a bit childish but still a moment that I couldn't forget. Although hesitant, it was the moment I knew Cyrus and I were going to have more times like this. It's a shame how abruptly that ended, making me sad all over again.

A tear was going to roll down my cheek until I realized I wasn't alone. Sienna was there looking lost again. The look in her eyes was very much like mine. Sad, confused, not knowing what to do or even how to act. She sat looking at the water, her hands clutching at the end of her skirt. I'm not even sure she noticed that I was there making this kind of creepy. However, it didn't stop me from walking over to her. It was shameful that I had to find her in this sort of state again. Though I was liking getting to know her without the influence of Jenna being right in her ear. It was a breath of fresh air talking to Sienna. Something that if you told me would have happened when I first got here; I'd think you were crazy.

Sienna gave me a soft smile, her chestnut hair flowing slowly in the breeze. "You again? Why do you always find me at my lowest?" She questioned not surprised to see me.

I laughed lightly getting where she was coming from. "To be fair, this is only my second time running into you like this." I remind her. "Clearly, you need someone to talk to so here I am." I made myself open to her.

Sniffling, she bowed her head not sure of how to begin to speak. "I-I... there's.... I'm lost." She tries to get her thoughts across but fails.

I nudged her slightly this time giving her a soft smile. "Hey, it's ok. We weren't put on this earth to be perfect. We were put here to just live." I try to be somewhat of a positive light to her.

We were both going through something, and I wanted to be a helping hand to her. There was nothing I could do about my situation. Whatever Jenna was going to do with the information she had was going to be very detrimental to me. There wasn't any guessing what she would use it for, but I knew that at some point it wasn't going to be good. That didn't mean I couldn't help Sienna though. It is hard to try and help someone else when you could barely help yourself. But she needed someone. Her so-called friends were nowhere to be found again and she really wasn't that bad of a person. In a way, I could relate to her emotions right now. Let's face it, we couldn't relate on much else, so I was taking this as an opportunity to gain an understanding of her.

Sienna sighed, taking in what I said but not really. "How can you live when you don't even know the person you are?" She questioned, sounding defeated. "I thought coming here would give me those answers, but it only made things worse."

"What do you mean?" I was intrigued by what she said.

"My heart says one thing, but my mind says another. Do I listen to everything everyone has been telling me or do I listen to myself?" She looked at me searching for answers.

There wasn't a clear answer I could give to her because I had no clue what she was talking about. But to be objective I was going to try my best to give her some clarity if nothing more. Now, there's no way she should be taking my advice. It's hard to listen to someone when you don't even tell them all the details. The way she looked at me told me she needed to hear something at that moment. Otherwise, she was going to lose her fucking mind. I knew that feeling all too well and it would kill me if I just left her here to figure it out on your own. Sometimes you need that little push to get to the decision you so desperately need.

I shrugged, not too sure how this would go over with her. "If it were me, I'd listen to my heart. If you don't feel it in your heart, then why focus on it at all?" I tried to be a voice of reason. "Your heart is telling you how you truly feel so feed off that."

She nodded looking satisfied with my response. "Yeah, that makes sense. Though, it's a little more complicated than that." She admitted. "I'm sorry to bore you but you're right. My so-called friends are never anywhere when I need them. Nor do they listen."

"Then fuck them." I say so calmly making her laugh. I laughed along with her not seeing where this was funny at. "I'm serious. They can't be here for you when you're down then fuck them."

She laughed some more, agreeing with me in the end. "Oh no I agree but your friends aren't here either and you seem just as pathetic as I do." Of course, she'd come for me.

I gave her the benefit of the doubt though because it's true. "Yes, but I haven't told them anything for them to be here."

"Touché."

We both laughed again, enjoying each other's company. It was unexpected but I couldn't lie and say I didn't enjoy our little conversation. Sienna was a little different than the other two and it was fun getting to know her even in small increments. We won't ever be best friends but at least I know that I can go up to her and speak without it being awkward. Plus, she seemed like a sweet person that is going through a lot. A lot that I won't ever understand but could come in place of her friends that don't even bother to understand her from what I'm getting. Nevertheless, Sienna and I were going to be ok.

Suddenly, she stood up dusting herself off before pulling herself together. "I should probably go now. I'm sure they're wondering where I am." She said not sounding so happy about meeting up with them again. "We should hang out sometime, ya know?"

I stood up smiling at her. "Yeah, that works for me. I have nothing better to do." I joke getting one last laugh from her.

With that we said goodbye and it made me feel rather good that I could leave her in a better place. All that was left was to figure out my own issues. How fun.