The Whale - 23. Part III, chapter 7

- VII -

It was Thursday night, almost ten in the evening, and I was lying on the couch, my head in Faith's lap. I was almost dozing off, thinking that we had three more days of bliss, when my cell phone started to ring. I pulled it out of my pocket and flipped it open without even looking at the screen.

"Hey," I muttered, thinking that whoever the hell this was, they should spill whatever they needed to spill and leave me alone.

"Luke? Luke, is that you?"

"Uh huh," I opened one eye. I had no idea who it was. Some girl.

"Luke, it's Roxy. Roxy Weiss...? From your class...?"

I opened my second eye just so I could roll both of them.

"Yes, Weiss," I said. "It's hard to believe, but I actually know who you are... What do you want?"

She sounded really weird and I sat up. Faith gave me a puzzled look and I shrugged. Oh Jesus, I thought. Roxy is friends with the whale... She is going to tell me that the whale hung herself... I closed my eyes and opened them immediately when she asked:

"Have you checked your school e-mail yet?"

That's why she is calling me at ten in the evening? What is wrong with you, people!

"No," I said with annoyance. "I only check it in school... Why?" I demanded.

I swear to God, if she'll say the words 'chain letter,' I will kill her...

"Ummm," she said very uncomfortably. "You might wanna take a look at your e-mail, Luke..."

I rolled my eyes again and got up.

"Weiss," I grumbled while turning on my laptop. "It better be worth it... If this is some stupid joke..." I shoved the phone between my shoulder and my chin, and quickly typed in my e-mail address and a password.

"Luke," Roxy muttered. "You see it yet?"

"No," I said with annoyance. "It's loading... By the way, what the hell am I looking for?"

She sighed.

"You'll see it," she said quietly.

Finally, the damn window popped to life, and I clicked on the inbox.

"Hold on," I muttered. "I have tons of crap in here..."

"The newest one," Roxy said in a colorless voice.

I frowned. The newest one said, "ATTENTION, EDUCATORS!!!" What the hell... I clicked on it and read the first two lines. Then I think I either fell very gracefully or I just sat really slowly on the chair.

"Son of a bitch..." I muttered. "Weiss, I'll call you back..."

I shut the phone and stared into the screen of my computer. No freaking way...

"What is it?" Faith asked with a frown. "Luke, you look extremely weird right now..."

She got up and walked to me. She looked into the screen from behind my shoulder and became so silent that for a second, I was afraid that she was going to pass out or something. She didn't. She just stared at the computer like I did a couple of minutes ago. I was about to say something, when suddenly, another sickening thought hit me.

"Hold it..." I muttered feverishly. "Hold it..."

I clicked on the link that said Show Details that was right underneath my e-mail address, and when I saw the damn details, I couldn't breathe. She sent it to every single person in the goddamn school, including the janitor.

"Oh my God..." I muttered weakly, and Faith slowly sat on the floor.

I flipped open my phone and found Roxy's phone number. Thank God for caller I.D. huh?

"Hello," she answered almost immediately.

"Weiss..." I croaked. "Roxy, it's Luke."

"Yeah..." she muttered. "I would've called you sooner, but I just decided to check my e-mail, like, fifteen minutes ago... Luke, I couldn't believe she would actually... Oh, God..."

"What..." I cleared my throat. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Luke, she suspected since, like, November... Maybe even before that, I don't know."

I couldn't say a single word. I just listened.

"She told me about it in the middle of November..." Roxy kept saying quietly. "I told her to just drop the whole thing; I told her that even if it's true, it's none of her business... Jesus, Luke... I should've told you... I am sorry."

"Where does she live?" I finally asked, and Faith just looked at me.

"Why?" Roxy sounded scared. "Luke, what are you going..."

"Where... Does... She... Live?" I repeated very evenly.

"Luke..."

"I am not going to hurt her," I said quietly. "Where the hell does she live, Roxy?"

She sniffled and told me.

"Thanks," I said numbly and shut my phone.

I stared at the wall for several minutes. Neither Faith nor me said a single word. I was still trying to grasp the fact that it wasn't a joke of some sort. I couldn't believe it. Why the hell would she do it? Because I told her that I didn't care about her? Or because I called her a different name? Or both? Jesus, did she even realize what she was doing to Faith?! I dropped my phone and slid off the chair, next to Faith.

"Look," I pulled her close to myself. "There is a chance that I can fix it, okay? First of all, I am sure that nobody read it yet... If I get the whale to send another e-mail that says it was a joke, then..."

"No," she said calmly and I blinked. "The cat is out of the bag, Luke. And frankly, I feel somewhat relieved... I am scared as hell, but also relieved..."

I knew exactly what she was talking about. I was scared too. Not for myself. Like, really, what are they going to do to me? Please...! No, I was scared for Faith, because if this thing blows up -- which it will, goddammit! -- then Faith is finished as a teacher. But at the same time, I felt like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I didn't have to hide my feelings for Faith anymore.

I sighed and carefully kissed her mouth. She immediately kissed me back and I felt better. I held her for almost an hour, and then realized that I needed to go and talk to the whale. The very thought of her made my blood boil.

"I have to go to the whale's," I muttered and Faith nodded.

She didn't say stuff like, "Don't hurt her" or, "I'll go with you" or, "Luke, don't go there, it'll make everything worse." She just nodded. I loved her even more right now if that was possible.