Chapter 76 Exposed 2
NANCY'S POV
The rest of the day passed in a blur.
I was beyond rattled by my conversation with Lily, and even though I tried to hide it, Diana still noticed.
"Nancy, seriously," She grabbed me on our way out of the faculty building, stopping the slow drag of my feet.
"What the hell is wrong with you? You have been acting bipolar for days now..." She paused, then shook her head, "No, it's been for weeks now."
"You keep acting possessed. One minute, you're lively and happy, the next, you're gloomy and disheartened."
"When I ask, you refuse to tell me what's going on and instead, you go around campus looking like a lost mummy."
"Nothing's wrong," I replied automatically, and she shot me a glare.
"See, you're doing the darn thing again."
"That's not..." I tried to argue, but she didn't let me finish.
"Tell me what the fuck is wrong with you right now, don't piss me off."
So saying, she crossed her arms, still glaring furiously at me.
"I..." I tried to, but I genuinely couldn't get my words out.
I was tongue-tied, especially when I recollected the reason Lily had approached me in the first place.
Everything stemmed from my inappropriate relationship with Mr Landon.
Could I really tell Diana that?
The more I thought, the more I realized there was no way in the world I could tell her.
More than I feared Lily telling Vanessa, I was scared Diana would find out.
I couldn't bear the thought of having her look at me with a betrayed expression. Frankly, I would much rather she kept staring at me the way she was doing now, with anger that stemmed from a place of concern, despite how guilty it made me feel.
"Fine," she snapped suddenly. "Don't say a word and keep the darn thing to yourself."
In the same instant, she whirled around and began to march away.
"Diana..." My pulse quickened, and I called out hurriedly.
"Don't you dare call me," She snapped over her shoulder. "From now on, you're not permitted to talk to me unless you intend to tell me what the fuck is going on with you that is so difficult for you to say."
True to her words, she didn't wait for me, and even when I chased after her, she didn't stop.
We went home in silence, and genuinely, that was one of the most uncomfortable silences I had ever had to deal with, and it was especially so because Diana was the most important person in my life right now.
Just like I feared losing Nathan, I feared losing her too, and it was painful that I couldn't talk to either of them about what was happening to me right now.
Speaking of Nathan, I wondered how he would react if he ever found out. Ever since the dinner, we spoke over the phone, but he had not actually shown up at school like he said he would, and I was left wondering what he was up to.
That night, just like every other night for the past couple of days, I didn't sleep well.
I did manage to fall asleep, but my body kept pulling me out of slumber, and each time, I would sit up in bed, thinking, until I managed to fall asleep again.
Every time I closed my eyes, Lily's voice reverberated in my ears.
"Don't get too comfortable."
Her words were actually manifesting because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't relax.
For the same reason, I had skipped dinner, and also because Diana was still refusing to talk to me.
The silence at the dining table would have been too awkward, so I opted to just skip dinner entirely, and now, hunger became a contributing factor to my inability to sleep.
By morning, I felt drained, and I knew Diana noticed because her gaze lifted when I walked in.
"Good morning," I greeted with a wry smile, hoping a night of sleep had ebbed her anger away.
It hadn't, and she didn't respond to my greeting, just grabbed her bag and walked out of the house.
As usual, Mr Landon was out early, and since Diana hadn't bothered to wait for me, I was the only one in the house.
I fixed breakfast for myself, hoping food would restore some of my energy, then headed to school.
At school, I kept checking my phone and looking around without knowing what I was expecting.
When I saw Vanessa, I finally figured it out.
I was waiting for the widespread news of Lily's discovery, and for Vanessa to come looking for me to threaten me with what she heard.
At some point, it seemed like I was even waiting for my classmates to begin to point fingers and look at me differently, but none of that happened.
Everything was as quiet as the four corners of a school could be.
One thing I noticed almost instantly was Lily's absence, too.
It should have eased something in me, but it only made my nerves tighten.
The silence was suffocating, and it felt like a premonition of something bad that would happen.
By the time all of my classes ended, I felt like a rat in a cage.
Just like yesterday, Diana left before me. She hadn't even sat with me all day and had opted to sit at the front of the class with Chloe.
Mason was absent, so I was all by myself.
Even if he wasn't, I didn't think I would have wanted to sit next to him, not with Vanessa watching me like a hawk.
That was one of the things that made my anxiety spike, because she kept glancing at me.
When Diana left, I grabbed my bag and was shoving my books into it when I felt someone's presence next to me.
I looked up, and my eyes widened in surprise.
"Vanessa..."
She stood before me, staring at me with a tight expression.
I had barely gotten over my surprise when she said, "I need to talk to you."