"Are you really still bringing up what happened in the past just because of that girl? I had nothing to do with what happened back then, but it's as if you want to curse me for it. And about Deanna, I only told the truth while it was still early, because the truth would come out eventually. When that day comes, she’ll be hurt even more, and the people around her will be even angrier at her for lying and pretending," Amaury explained.
Claude smirked. "You always say you’re not at fault, but you're the reason they died. Even if you kneel before me, it won't change anything—I will still despise you. And don’t you dare meddle with Deanna anymore."
Claude turned around and walked away to look for Deanna. Meanwhile, Amaury made his way to the rooftop of the music room. Whenever he was feeling down, he always went there to get some air. When he arrived, he was surprised to see Deanna sitting in a corner, crying. He knew she would be hurt, but he believed it would be worse if the truth was kept from her any longer.
He sat beside her. "I did it because if you keep hiding the truth, people will be even angrier at you."
"Stay away from me. You should've just left me alone, Amaury. I don't need you. You always get mad at me for meddling, but what you did was the same thing! Are you always like this? Not only do you say hurtful things, but you also don’t care about how others feel. Please, stop interfering in my life because I swear, from now on, I won’t interfere in yours either," she said, tears still streaming down her face.
Amaury took a deep breath, stood up, and put some distance between them. Deanna felt like she had no face left to show her classmates, let alone her friends.
What am I supposed to do now?
Slowly, she stood up and headed to their classroom. Amaury was still there, but they didn’t speak to each other. She walked sluggishly, and when she reached the door, she couldn't open it.
Is this locked? Ugh, just my luck!
"Hey, Amaury! Did you lock this on purpose?"
He turned to look at her and walked over.
"I didn’t lock it. And why would I do that?"
"How should I know? You were the last one in here! What are we supposed to do now? Ugh, this is so annoying!"
She rolled her eyes at him.
"You know, can you just shut up? You're too loud," he shot back.
This jerk! Who wouldn't be loud when they’re locked in a rooftop? And of all people to be stuck with, it had to be him.
"Do you have Claude’s number? I’ll just call him," she asked.
"No. And my phone’s battery is dead," he replied.
"Unbelievable!"
"Give me your phone," he said.
She reached into her bag to get it, but it wasn’t there.
"Oh no, I think I left it in my room. It’s not here."
"Then just jump down if you really want to leave that badly," he joked.
"And you still have time to joke around! Even after humiliating me earlier, I still don’t want to die—I still have things I want to accomplish, even if I no longer have a family," she said sadly.
"I didn’t ask."
"You are the worst person to talk to. You always think I’m joking! Just find a way to fix this already—this is your fault, after all," she snapped.
"You always blame other people. Just because I was the last one in doesn't mean this is my fault. You're just like everyone else," he said.
"Wow, so dramatic. Who else am I supposed to blame, your shadow?"
"See? Now you even want to blame my shadow. Just shout for help when someone passes by," he suggested.
"And you think they'll listen to me after what you did? They probably wouldn’t mind if I stayed locked up here forever so they wouldn't have to see a liar and a fraud like me. You shout instead—it was your idea."
She sat back down and took a deep breath. Amaury didn’t say anything, and the silence became deafening.
He really won’t shout for help. Ugh, he's so useless! What a waste of space.
Why is the sky getting dark? Ugh, it looks like it’s going to rain! What do I do now? If it rains, he’s definitely going to get sick.
"Hey, aren’t you really going to do something? It looks like it’s going to rain, Amaury. I don’t want to get sick," she said.
"And what exactly do you want me to do? You’re not the only one who's going to get sick. There are two of us here," he replied.
"Why don’t you just shout so someone will come up here?"
"There’s no one outside; they're all in their classrooms. If you’re desperate, just take off your—"
"You pervert! Just because we’re alone here, you want me to strip?!"
"Don’t be so full of yourself! I meant you could take off your—"
"You're disgusting! Stop talking!"
"I'm just trying to explain, but you have such a dirty mind."
"Oh, so now I’m the one with the dirty mind? You’re the one who—"
"Will you stop talking? Your voice is hurting my ears!"
Because of what he said, she fell silent.
I swear, I want to push him off this rooftop!
Moments later, it started drizzling, then turned into a heavy downpour. She tilted her head up and closed her eyes.
She remembered when she was a child, playing in the rain with her grandparents. She loved getting soaked, but she always ended up catching a cold. She had always been weak and sickly, which was why her grandparents were overprotective of her.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Amaury shivering in a corner. She hadn’t planned on going near him, but she started to worry that something bad might happen to him.
If he dies and I do nothing, I’ll feel guilty. What’s wrong with him? Is he afraid of the rain? Wow, what a coward.
She approached him. "Hey, what’s wrong with you? Are you scared of the rain? Are you cold?"
His body continued to tremble.
What should I do? God, I know he’s awful, but don’t let him die.
Ah! I know!
I mean, I’m not taking advantage of him or anything, and I’m definitely not interested in him. But I really can’t think of any other way.
Without another thought, she tightly hugged Amaury.
"Sorry, Amaury. This is the only thing I could think of," she said.
