Chapter 11

                                    

                                          
Chapter 11
                          



                          
Chloe couldn’t stop the tears from coming.  She desperately tried to get a hold of herself but the river of teardrops kept flowing down her cheeks.  Her hands trembled and she was at a complete loss for words.  She didn't know what, if there was even anything at all, she could do or say. She had come here to see Justin, tell him it was all a mistake, that she didn’t mean for any of this to happen but now that Chloe was here, and he was standing in front of her, all she could say to him was "I didn’t know."
                          
Who would have thought that such a mindless prank could have turned out so disastrously?  Chloe didn’t.  All she wanted was for them to feel just a little bit of the humiliation that they had caused her.  Just a hint of it and that was it.  She definitely didn’t expect anything like this.
                          
Sniffling and making all kinds of sniveling and runny nose noises, Chloe tried to compose herself the best that she could.  Wiping her cheeks with the back of her hands, she finally garnered the courage to lift up her head and met Justin’s accusing gaze.
                          
His face was blank, not giving her any inkling as to what he was thinking.  He stood stiff with his long arms dangling by his sides. At first he just stared back at Chloe, a cold stare that she could have sworn she could feel all the way down to the marrow in her bones.  When the chilling silence between the two of them almost became too much to bare, he let out a tired sigh and broke their tense connection, giving Chloe his back.
                          
She watched on, not sure if she should say something or just wait for him to speak when she noticed him running his hand through his already mussed up hair.  It was a habit that Chloe had seen him do several times before and she realized that it was a show of his pent of frustration.
                          
“Chloe,” he breathed out in a dead tone, not even bothering to turn around and look back at her, “Now is not the time nor the place to talk about this.  I understand that you didn’t mean for this to happen but the fact of the matter is- it did happen.  And now my friend is in that hospital, fighting for his life all because of what, a prank… a freaking prank!  The best thing that you can do right now is just go home.”
                          
She felt like there were so many words on the tip of her tongue that she wanted to say but when she tried to open her mouth and say them, not one of them wanted to come out.  Chloe stared at his back, willing herself to speak, but still…nothing came out.  Not even a single syllable.
                          
“Did you hear what I said Chloe?” This time Justin yelled and did turn around to face her.  Even in the blackness of the night, she could see the clear worry in his eyes for his best friend.
                          
Feeling completely defeated, Chloe dropped her head and bobbled it in a nodding gesture.  “Yes.”  The one word response wasn’t much more than a squeak but she had heard him, loud and clear. And she knew that she was the last person he wanted to see right now.  Staring down at the concrete parking lot up under her feet, Chloe absently mumbled. "Yes I understand, I'm not wanted here but I had to come.  Not only for him, but for me, too."
                          
Unable to meet his eyes any longer, Chloe quickly spun around on her heel and headed back towards her own car.  She didn’t know where she was going just yet.  All she knew was that she didn’t want to go home and that she didn’t want to see Erica- but there was really no where else to go. 
                          

                          
Opening the door to her car, Chloe slid in the driver’s seat and slammed it closed behind her.  The pain that she was feeling burned deep in her chest.  She hadn’t hurt this bad since the horrific incident with Craig Conner back in Greensboro.