002 - Creepy

Leithe’s POV

As I relive an astonishing event that my good friend and classmate Bella gave me, I stare into the mirror and see my reflection.

(Flashback)

As we made our way into our last class of the day, Griffin and I were walking in. We discussed various unrelated topics, such as how Griffin had discovered that a random girl who was walking by us was adorable and was about to grab her phone number.

Because I had read her beforehand, I declined his suggestion in a manner that , I believe, was polite. From the outside, she may appear to be completely innocent, but what I observed did not accurately reflect her appearance.

Not only does she have an affair with one of the professors to get a good grade, but the worst part is that it does not appear to be a one-time event. It is common for her to offer the professor the opportunity to have a brief nighttime fun behind the professor's wife.

It is her call whether she wants to engage in questionable behaviour for her grade. But Professor Milan? He is in his 60s or so, and he already has seven grandkids, to be exact. I do not think Griffin should be with someone who is problematic because I am worried it will backfire and bring him down with her.

Upon witnessing her reaching in the man’s boxers, I promptly shielded my eyes and halted the vision. I may as well go ahead and burn my eyes while I am at it.

"No, Griff. In my humble opinion, a lovely girl like her won’t like you.” I lied. Excuse me? I cannot just tell him the truth.

“You did not just say I’m in rough shape.” His lips curled into a pout as he fixed his gaze on me. It makes me laugh.

“No, I’m begging you to spare her. She seems like a good girl. Plus, I have never once seen her going about her day with a phone in her hand. My guess is she didn’t have one.” First, I said, and then I let out a nervous laugh.

My fingers were crossed that Griffin would believe me, and fortunately, he did believe me, albeit with a hint of scepticism. He glared at me and stated, "There is something fishy around here, but I am going to consciously let it pass." His eyes never left mine as he explained his decision.

Though I can feel his gaze on me, I continue to chuckle awkwardly and stroll casually towards our class.

It appears like there are only a handful of students in the room when we get there. Perhaps it is because we have fifteen minutes to kill before our lesson.

The third row from the back was where we sat down. Griffin asked me sometimes to pick a different spot, but my personal preference is to be seated at the back since it allows me to avoid making eye contact with the lecturer or during the presentation.

Bella appeared in the scene just a few minutes after we had finally put a stop to our never-ending argument. From the minute she strolled towards us, I was aware of her presence; nonetheless, I chose to ignore her.

“Hey, bitches!” she said, laughing.

Yes, that's how she greets her friends. She's a realist, which makes her a target for many haters. She is the type of person that I avoid reading because she doesn't come across as bad, but she also doesn't display herself to be good either.

When dealing with someone who I am not sure of, like her, staying out of her business is the best course to follow.

“Back at you.” Griffin said.

As a response to Griffin, she rolled her eyes and turned to face me, her chin in her palm and elbow resting on my desk. “Hey, Leithe.”

“Hello.” I muttered under my breath as I drew back from the desk, making sure we wouldn't be breathing in the same air.

"Aw, how cute. Am I THAT stunning today that you need to take a step back?” She stood up straight and spun around, giving us the silent cue to admire her checkered miniskirt and red satin top.

Hold your judgements. She is beautiful, with her lovely blue ocean eyes and blonde hair that falls just below her waist, but I am not into her. She mistakenly concludes that I’m shy whenever I fall short in my replies.

I just want to shoo her quickly before I get in her mind. This is a fact the unfortunate girl is unaware of. But then again, I obviously can't say it out, and it may be something I have to keep hidden till the end of my life.

"Looks like your breath is the main reason." Griffin, who is scrolling through his Instagram feed, cuts in casually.

I am eternally grateful. Griffin saves the day because things would be AWKWARD without him.

"No, I am not. Hmph!” she said before stomping her feet and heading back to her second row spot from the front.

I breathe out the air I didn’t realize I was holding as I watched her walk away, but little did I know she turned back toward us, catching me off guard, and I involuntarily made eye contact with her eyes.

“You said your parents are out of town, right? Let's do it again while they’re not around.” His voice is low and raspy, which reflects his desperation.

Upon turning her head, Bella beheld a man sprawled on the bed, wearing nothing but his boxers. The room is pink and adorned with girly decorations, so it might as well be Bella's. Additionally, there is a painting of her alongside her puppy displayed on the wall.

In a flirtatious manner, she stated, "I want it too, baby," while her hand was already massaging the bulge that was obvious on the man who was only partially clothed.

“But it’s boring if it’s just us.” She adds. Now, I can see Bella looking at the man’s face while she continues to caress him, and I can hear the sound of friction going on between their bodies. “So I called Joey and Caleb to join us.” She said with a chuckle.

“I see you wanna have us all to yourself.” He appeared to be eerily content.

Bella gave a little nod as she bit on her lower lip. After what seems like an eternity, the door opens, and she turns to face it. Standing at the door frame are two men donning identical varsity jackets, which seem to be the rugby team varsity. Each one bearing their name on the left side of the chest.

Joey, Caleb. Griffin mentioned their names a few times.

They are staring directly at Bella while grinning. "Let us have a good time!" exclaimed the man on the left. The sentence made Bella laugh.

"Remember how you mentioned wanting to do it with Griffin and his shadow friend? I thought they were coming,” the partially clothed man complained.

"I’m still working on it, okay? If I want to avoid their suspicion and have it with them, I need more time to get close and build trust." She said as she lay down on the bed.

“I may be able to talk it out with Griffin, but his other friend was a bit reserved. Asking him directly probably will not get us anywhere.”

“That ghost friend of Griffin, you say?” Joey said, as he removed his jacket.

“Yeah.”

Caleb interrupts, “Oh, you mean Leithe.”

“Leithe!”

“Huh?”

“I was calling for you five times already, Leithe. What’s wrong?”

As I try to recuperate from the information that I have just learnt from Bella, I notice that Griffin's tone is one of worry; yet, I choose to turn away. That one read has an excessive amount of insight, and it was a bit hard to swallow when I finally discovered her true intention of approaching us since the beginning of the semester. Well, maybe just me. Griffin was okay with her way before taking this class.

I looked the other way as I made an obvious attempt to ignore Bella, who had moved to stand in front of Griffin’s desk, apparently enquiring about his teammates.

“Coach made Caleb and Joey have extra practice today. They didn’t come yesterday, so I don’t think they can make it to the party if he goes hardcore on them.” Griffin said.

She nodded and then left with a look of dissatisfaction on her face.

(End of flashback)

That is the first time I ever read her, and I’m going to make sure that it is the very last time I do so. I am unsure how to feel right now.

First and foremost, it is not something too surprising given the fact that Bella sleeps around. As I said, she does not really portray an innocent girl, and that is her preference, so I don’t want to care about that. But having them at the same time in her parents’ house? Is that even possible?

Fortunately, Griffin dragged me back to reality just in time before I could obtain the answer to that question by sight. I swear I will really burn my eyes if I have to see all the way to their intercourse.

But the highlighted part of that read was her real intention of getting close to us. It is disgusting that she plotted to exploit our trust into engaging in their sickly activity while associated with us as friends as if nothing were amiss.

Rumours have been circulating among the faculty that she is a whore and has tasted every rugby player except Griffin and that one guy, Eben. I did not believe a word of it because, despite her vicious tongue, she was the one who chatted with me every time Griffin was away for a tournament.

It was overwhelming at times but over time I got used to it, like how I get used to Griffin's talkativeness.

For the sake of being a good company, I have made it a point to avoid reading her at all costs despite my growing curiosity. I have found myself feeling disappointed the majority of the time so I want to spare her privacy.

By the way that she dressed and acted around guys, I doubt she is anywhere near innocent and that is her life choice but that evil scheme of hers is simply intolerable.

The problem is that my circle is already tiny, so losing another person was a major letdown. Plus, how am I supposed to tell Griffin? What rationale can I offer him this time?

That she is a whore? He is tolerant and understanding; therefore, he will accept it even if that is the reason. Even something as basic as that will not budge him.

Now that I know, it is not like I can act normally around her. It is already a mess.

With my eyes wide open, I remove my contact lenses, put them in their case, and then put the case back behind the mirror.

It seems like I have sighed a thousand times today.

With stooped steps, I exit the bathroom and make my way to the window. When I glance out the window, all I can make out are hazy silhouettes. I do not understand how a 21-year-old man can be so blind. I am completely confused.

Then, I grab my glasses that were resting on one of my many books that I read last night and put them on so I can see clearer. Near my house, I can make out a few kids playing on bicycles and a group of teenagers lounging beneath a large tree, all on skateboards.

This freedom is what I long for. I wish I could be normal so I could go out carefree, but perhaps I am destined to spend the rest of my life alone.

I sigh.

Thanks to my fixation on them, I failed to notice that one of the teens perched on the tree was staring at me. By mistake, we locked eyes.

“What is that creepy dude lookin’ at?” The tanned boy with blue eyes and curly hair is talking to his friends, looking at me.

The blond hair standing next to him turns his head to face me.

“If I don’t get the money by today, I’m gonna kill you!”

“Say it again, Benny!" A middle-aged woman shouted while dressed in her pyjamas and shower cap. The way she provoked him screams mother. So it might be his mom.

“Mom, I swear I will kill you if you insis-”

Before he could finish his words, his mother disappeared into the adjacent room. Her son's threat does not appear to bother her as much. She may think it is just her son’s usual outburst.

The boy, Benny, appeared to be in a state of anger and his breathing became rapid. He looked around the room and to tell you the truth, there was nothing that appeared to be harmful. As a result, I did not anticipate him going for his clock that was on his bedside table.

It is a metal, old-style mechanical clock with two bells on top. I wonder what he will do with it.

He walked to where his mother was supposed to be and when he spotted her by the kitchen table writing something down on the paper, he rushed to her.

“What is it Ben-”

*Thud*

As the force of the blow caused me to briefly shut my eyes, the voice of the memory's owner spoke the words, "Creepy weirdo."

The clock that had been in the grasp of the small hand plummeted directly onto the right side of the woman's face, poking her eye and the bell to become embedded in it. She hit the table with her head as a consequence.

It would not do any harm under normal circumstances. But the way he stood so close to her mother and threw at such a pace, hitting a vital point, made her bleed out and eventually pass out.

It does not end there. Benny, who appeared to be dissatisfied with it, reached for the wooden pencil that his mother had used to write with.

“I warned you!” After he had uttered the word in a fit of rage, he proceeded to stab her in the head until she sank to the floor. While her son relentlessly dug into her skull, the sound of blood and anger-filled breaths created a disturbing backdrop, and she remained unconscious.

I stepped back from the window with my eyes closed and when my leg hit the bed, I deliberately allowed myself to slump onto.

I am still closing my eyes, and I can feel the agony in my head throbbing violently. Even though I am aware that the agony is coming from within, I let my hand massage my forehead.

“Is she…?”

Because I cannot bear to watch it, I did not see it through, thus, I cannot conclude it with such a tragic note. She may be, though, because he is coated in blood. I wonder what he has to say about it after that.

I could see more but no, I feel kind of nauseous. Even if that is hardly the worst thing I have ever seen, I am nonetheless astounded. Plus, he seems innocent like any other kid in his group too and that is why I did not expect such a jumbled-up memory.

The adage "do not judge a book by its cover" is especially relevant here.

Caressing my right eye as if experiencing the lingering sensation of the hit, I say, “Talk about me being creepy, huh? You should be in juvenile, Ben.”