Chapter 42 CHAPTER 42

Chapter 42 CHAPTER 42
"Wow, everyone really loves her," Kelly said, awed as she watched the majority of the cheerleaders 'ooo' and 'ahhh' over everything Larissa said.

While Kelly focused on the star of the show, I was more curious of the outliers. Eliza, for example, seemed peeved she was no longer the center of attention. And Hilary, ever the gossip queen, rattled off questions like a reporter talking to a celebrity. Instead of the dumbstruck wonder held by others, she seemed driven by curiosity. Funnily enough, Larissa leaned in to her attention. She complimented Hilary on useless things and even asked for her number.

To me it made sense everyone was dazzled by Larissa. She carried an air of superiority amplified by her outrageous beauty. I had always thought Amy was beautiful, but Larissa was in a league of her own. She re-entered our school only hours ago and already the entire male population was raving about her.

Everyone except Cross, that is.

I wished I remembered her. The more I saw her, the less familiar she became. I really had stayed away from girls back then. Whatever past she had here, clearly she must've been popular. Even girls who'd never met her recognized her instantly from social media.

Apparently, she had over 600,000 followers and worked with popular brands. As the quintessential influencer, she was flown by companies on weekends to do photoshoots and create curated videos for their products.

Larissa Blair Laurent.

Even her name sounded pretty. I itched to search her again, especially because the reason I couldn't find her last night was unexpected she didn't go by her first name on social media, which explained why I couldn't find her with such a massive following.

Coach Kit accepted her into the team with open arms. Out of everyone, she was most in awe of her. (Because her name is Larissa and that's such a pretty name. Did you see her waist? Her body is just the right proportions. What a perfect addition to the team!)

I almost laughed at all the compliments, not because Coach kissing up to her was funny, but because Amy's face became progressively sour with each additional praise while Eliza appeared distraught that her captain position may be in jeopardy.

"Did you know her?" I asked Kelly.

"No, but I remember her. She went to school with us until two years ago. She had some kind of relationship with a senior, which was impressive for a freshman. And..I kind of remember her being close to Cross."

"Do you remember anything happening between them?"

Kelly's eyes fell to her shoes, pensive. "No, not really." I sighed. I guess I really had to wait until Friday.

They say the full moon brings out the madness in people. That night, the resplendent glow bathed my room in soft yellow-beautiful, mesmerizing, and tugging at something unsettling in my chest. The stars arranged in a way that communicated tonight was the calm before the storm.
Something feels of…

Maybe the madness part was a little true. And to think, I would've been done with homework if it weren't for the hour I spent doomscrolling through Larissa's social media accounts.

The girl was an internet celebrity. Blair. That's what they called her.

Rumor had it she blew up because of makeup videos. I didn't realize that was only the tip of the iceberg. She made fitness content and recipe videos that promoted healthy eating and a thin waist. Her posts were polished, crisp, and-annoyingly-entertaining to watch.

She's perfect.

Her internet personality was a girls grl: silly, self-deprecating, and naive to her effortless beauty. She promoted self-love and self-care habits that helped girls become the best version of themselves.

The comments teemed with teenage girls calling her "big sis" for her "no gatekeeping" advice. And the boys...so many boys with massive followings were constantly fishing for her attention.

Cross was handsome in his own right, but why even care to get in his good graces when she had a slew of guys clamoring for her attention? The world was her oyster, and Larissa Blair Laurent was it's shiny pearl. No one could find fault with this girl.

But at school, some did apparenty. Earlier on the ride home I tuned into Amy's rant on the phone. She wore earbuds, so I could only guess it was Eliza.

"...and she went on the page, scrolled through the photos, and had the nerve to say 'no class' when she reached mine. That bitch, if I go back far enough I remember that shoot she did with…"

Then came her dramatic gag over Coach Kit's praising.

"..you don't think she would consider her for captain, right? She just got here! That would be so unfair"

That evening, I was scribbling an answer in my notebook when my phone flashed with an incoming call. My pencil veered off line. I erased the last three words and rewrote them again, fingers twitching.

Focus.

The light faded...only to flash bright again a few seconds later. I sighed, but propped my phone and answered anyway. He was persistent, that one. And something in me hummed in happiness that he was putting this much effort.

"Hey wifey." Cross's voice reverberated through the speaker, along with the loud cries of baby Liam. "You forgot to call me. Again."

"I’m doing homework." I tipped the camera to show the assignment.

"You're not done yet? What were you doing earlier?" Looking through your childhood love's social media account.

"Um...a little distracted. But what's going on with Liam? Did you feed him yet?" I asked, redirecting the attention to our son.

"I did. And I changed his diaper. He's still crying." Cross continued to rock him, but Liam refused to be consoled. "I thought hearing his mother's voice would calm him the way it calms me."

I pursed my lips, fighting a smile. "Did you try helping him burp? Babies can trap gas. It hurts their stomach."

Cross shifted Liam over his shoulder and softly patted his back. Almost instantly, Liam burped and his cries settled.

Cross's mouth dropped. He stared at the camera, offended. "I know what you're thinking."

"I’m not thinking anything," I said, but a giggle escaped.

"You're thinking I should've done that already, but I’ll have you know, I spent ten minutes helping him burp after I fed him," he said defensively.

"I know you're doing a good job," I reassured. "Honestly, I'm impressed with you."

"Good. I want to impress you."

That night I could've stuck to my guns and faced his grumpiness from "lack of support", but instead of sleeping I chose to call him whenever Liam woke.

His smile always waited for me at the first ring, face lit up like he'd been waiting for that moment. And he always had something cute to say;

"Tell me you miss me."

"I changed your ringtone so when you call, I know it's you,"

"When can I impregnate you? For real, this time."

Despite baby Liam's chaos, our time together was sweet. We somehow slept four hours straight until morning broke. School even went as expected, until lunchtime came.

Then all hell broke loose.