PICTURE OF REESE ABOVE!!!

The next morning, I feel no better about the whole Tristan ordeal. To avoid cutting, I change into jeans, my converse, and a hoodie and walk to the park. I love the park. It's where I go whenever I'm confused, angry, sad, anxious or whenever I just need a calming place where I can sort my shit out.

When I arrive, I inhale the comforting scent of flowers, trees, and freshly-mowed grass. After wandering the park for a couple of hours, admiring the beautiful scenery, I make my way to a bench situated underneath a small tree. The beautiful roses that are stationed beside the tree are comforting. I look to my left and notice that I'm not the only one here.

There's a small, adorable little girl sitting on the other end of the bench, reading a simple book. She has curly brown shoulder-length hair hanging limp. She has large, luminous greenish-blue eyes framed by thick lashes. She's wearing a band T-shirt, ripped skinny jeans, and mini converse. She looks to be 7 or 8 years old. She's so cute!

I slide over next to her and say, "Hi. My name's Alex. What's yours?" She looks up from her book and smiles an adorable smile. "Hi, Alex. My name's Reese." Her voice is so sweet and innocent, I have to resist the urge to pinch her cheeks. I smile at her and ask, "How old are you, Reese?" "I'm 7," she replies. "Wanna go play on the playground?" I ask her, pointing to the nearby playground. Instead of being excited like I expected, her smile falls and her mouth shapes into a frown. "What is it?" I ask, alarmed. "Don't you want to go play?"

She shakes her head. "Why not?" I ask, astonished. She stays quiet for a few minutes, then hurriedly whispers, "The other kids don't like me." I'm so surprised I can hardly keep from gasping. How can anyone not like this bundle of cheerfulness and cuteness? "Why not?" I ask again. She sighs and pulls her jean leg up to show me that it's not actually a leg at all. It's a prosthetic.

"I had bone cancer once," Reese explains. "The other kids don't like me because I'm so different. They don't like my leg, and they're afraid they'll "catch" the cancer from me." My heart immediately melts, that poor girl! "Well, I'll be your friend," I tell her, taking her tiny hand in my own. She breaks into a smile and crys, "Really? You will?" "Of course," I reply. She grins and stands up beside me.

"Where's your mom, Reese?" She points to a bench, where her mother is sitting, typing on a portable laptop. I walk over and ask permission to take Reese to the playground. She grants it quickly, and we walk to the playground. Reese runs over to the swings first. "Push me!" she demands. Obediently I get behind her swing and shove her hard. Soon she's flying sky-high and giggling in happiness.

When she's finished swinging, she drags me to the teeter-totter and orders me to play with her. We go up and down a few times, before she wants to go on the slides. Let's just say I had a very hectic, but fun afternoon.

When Brittany (Reese's mother) takes them home later on, she invites me to her house tomorrow. So I'm heading to their house tomorrow afternoon, after school.

***

I wake up early that morning, so I spend extra time with my appearance. I choose some ripped skinny jeans that cling to what little curves I have, my converse, a band T-shirt, and my new hoodie.

Maybe if I dress really nice, it will give me the confidence I'll need to face Tristan and whatever girl he's cornered.

At school, Tristan pretty much ignores me. It stabs at my heart, but what really hurts is that he has a new girlfriend. Her name's Amanda and she just moved here from Princeton. I'm surprised they hit it off so quickly, but now they're the happy couple and I'm the one left behind, as usual. For a bit, I thought Tristan might like me back, but I guess that was just wishful thinking. But, I don't blame him for liking Amanda over me. I mean, she's pretty much the dictionary definition of gorgeous. She has a bob of deep black hair, her face is flawless, and she has that beautiful skin tone that compliments both her hair and her eyes. Her clothes are chic and cool. Seeing Tristan walking around with lipstick marks on his cheeks and swollen lips doesn't help my jealousy. Still, I'm going to have to learn to live with it. Life is full of disappointments. I will put Tristan Daniels behind me. But, needless to say, I'm pretty sure that won't happen anytime soon.

AN: How do you like Reese? I based her off of my little cousin. Reese will be very important later on, though. So, just an update on the story: I changed Tristan's last name to Daniels! And also, I made a short cast. Let me know if you have tips/suggestions/comments/complaints on my cast. Any suggestions are welcome! Anyways, comment below how you liked this chapter and don't forget to VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!!!

All my love,

Em