Find You in the Dark

look again and told me to stop acting like I was his mother. His words were like a knife to my gut. I had been unable to stop the tears from forming in my eyes. He was so short and terse with me all the time lately. I felt us drifting further and further apart.
    I hated crying and that's all I did anymore. I was one big pile of misery. And that misery had the name, Clayton Reed.
    I seriously considered going to Ruby and Lisa. I wanted to tell them what was going on with Clay. I needed someone's help desperately. But what would they really be able to do? Lisa had made it clear that his parents held all of the cards. So I watched as he moved further away from me and I was powerless to stop it. My words meant nothing to him anymore. The fact that he hurt me every single day didn't matter.
    I was losing him. And it terrified me.
    After being completely ignored for several days, I finally lost it during lunch. I had yelled at Clay and then to my utter humiliation, I began to sob. Rachel and Daniel were frozen, completely paralyzed by my sudden crazy emotions. This was not the Maggie May Young they were accustomed to seeing.
    Clay had started off angry but when I had begun to cry it was like the flick of a light switch. Clay had softened, seeing how badly he had hurt me. He had hugged me and told me he loved me, apologizing for his attitude. I melted into his arms like I always did, desperate for things to be as they were.
    But they weren't. Not by a long shot. Clay was mad all the time and I had no idea how to help him. Eventually Clay stopped coming to lunch, leaving school around mid day. I didn't know where he went. He would never say. He would only tell me not to worry so much. But of course I worried. That's all I did anymore, was worry. And cry. Then worry some more.
    I had defied my parents' grounding after a few more days of this miserable existence. I decided to head to Clay's house after school. My heart sank when I saw his parents' car in the driveway. My palms started to sweat as I made my way to the front door.
    I knocked and waited. No one came to the door. I had knocked again. Finally Clay had answered. He looked like hell. There were dark circles under his eyes, his skin was pasty and his clothes were rumpled as though he had slept in them.
    What was worse, was he looked less than thrilled to see me. “What are you doing here?” He bit out, looking over his shoulder. I tried to peer behind him to see what had had him so skittish, but he blocked my path. “I was worried about you. I wanted to make sure you were alright.” I said softly. I tried to reach out and touch him but he moved away from me.
    “Well, I'm just fucking dandy. You can leave now.” He tried to close the door in my face but I stuck my foot out to stop it from shutting. “Clay. Stop shoving me away! How can you treat me like this after everything we've been through?” I pleaded, feeling those annoying tears slide down my face yet again.
    I saw a momentary crack in his cold facade. His eyes softened and I thought, just maybe, I had reached him. But he slammed the wall back down and his face hardened. “I'm tired of everyone's support .” He spat out, looking at me with disdain. “Stop worrying about me. I don't need your pity or your concern.”
    I opened my mouth to argue with him some more. I couldn't let him push me away like that. But then I saw Mrs. Reed come down the hallway. She came up behind Clay and put her hand on his shoulder. He tensed, as though waiting for a blow. “Aren't you going to ask your friend inside, Clayton? It's Marcia, isn't it?” She said condescendingly. She knew my name, she was just being a bitch.
    I didn't have a chance to correct her before Clay nudged my foot out of the door jam. “No, she's just leaving. In fact, I think we're done here.” He looked at me then and I couldn't swallow around the lump in my throat.
    He was done? Did that mean what I thought it meant? “Clay. What are you saying?” My voice had left me, all I could do was whisper as the pain lanced through my body. I hated that we were having this discussion with his evil, harpy of a mother two feet away. She watched us the whole time and I couldn't miss the malicious triumph on her face.
    “Just what I said, Maggie. I'm done. So don't come around here again!” He told me forcefully. Had he really just broken up with me? In front of his fucking mother? I got angry then. “You asshole!” I breathed, clenching my fists at my