by Raathi Chota
“Thanks.” I awkwardly chuckled as we walked back to the living room.
“I’ll finish it,” she offered. I gave her an unsure look, and she playfully rolled her eyes. Since I wasn’t going to get out of it, I grabbed us two sodas.
“I’ll order pizza,” I exclaimed over the loud music. She gave a short nod as I tossed the can. Since Lana was here, I didn’t want to go to Kelly West’s party anymore.
***
“Your fault!”
“It’s me!”
“Shut up!”
I blinked rapidly and groaned. I got up from the sofa, only to be met by darkness. Lana and I talked for hours, then decided on a movie. I must’ve fallen asleep. I squinted my eyes as I heard movements on the other side of the house. I glanced at the clock on the wall, and my brows rose since it was 11 p.m.
“No, please!” A familiar voice snapped me out of my thoughts as I frantically searched for Lana.
“Lana?” I called out as I got up.
“Blake!” she screamed as I picked up my pace. I went down the hall, and something told me to go to the second door. I followed my instincts and went to the bathroom. Axel swayed on one side of the bathroom as he held a beer bottle in his hand. His shirt was unbuttoned as he dropped a cigarette to the floor.
“It’s your fault, you whore!” he yelled. I followed his gaze to see Lana in the bathtub, a frightened look on her face as she looked at him. It was dark in the bathroom; the only light available was from the moon that glistened through the window.
“Axel, what the fuck?” I yelled.
“It’s her fucking fault, Blake!” Axel shouted, then stepped closer. Lana backed away in fear as her back hit the wall.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!” she belted out.
“Shut up!” he demanded as he threw the beer bottle in her direction. Everything happened so fast. She let out a scream; I raised my fist and punched Axel. I heard the glass hit the wall in one ear and my brother growl in the other. He collapsed to the floor, clearly unconscious. My breaths quickened as I stared at him. He came home drunk and shouted at Lana. He barely knew her. I clenched my fist as I stared at him in the dim light. I saw something move. Lana was trying to get out of the bathtub. I scurried to her side as I held a hand out. She hesitated first as she looked at Axel, but accepted my hand. As I watched her every move, I noticed something red drip.
“You’re hurt.” My voice was hoarse as I looked at Lana’s thigh. She shrugged her shoulders, but I grumbled. I wrapped my arms under her legs then picked her up. I slowly walked out of the bathroom and into the living room. I placed her on the sofa as I examined her cut. One of the pieces of broken glass must’ve cut her. Blood oozed out of her jeans as I walked to get the first aid kit.
“Take off your jeans,” I said and returned with the bag, only to see her blank expression. “You have to,” I stated as I placed the bag on the coffee table and took out stuff. I watched as she stepped out of her jeans. Once she was done, I looked at her bare legs, her flannel extending below her waist. She stared at the cut as I crouched down on my knees. She was only in her underwear as I stared at it. Lana’s eyes widened as she got up. She raised her brow at me and motioned for me to sit on the sofa. I gave her a confused look as I sat on the couch. She sat on the armrest and placed her legs over mine so that the cut was right on my lap. Thankfully the cut wasn’t too deep, so it didn’t need stitches. If it did, her dad would’ve killed me. I glanced at the stuff beside me and grabbed the cotton swab along with the hydrogen peroxide bottle.
“I’m just going to clean it,” I murmured as I looked up. Her eyes were bloodshot, which made them bluer. She had an unsettled look on her face as she stared at the injury. Her arm wrapped around my shoulder for support as she gave me a nod. I gently poured the liquid onto the cotton swab, then dabbed it onto the wound. Lana winced from the coldness as her hand gripped my shoulder. I applied the ointment onto the gauze then covered the gash. While I worked, she’d pull down her flannel. I stared at the bandage on the coffee table, then down to the injury.
“Oh,” she mumbled, then slowly got up. Once she was on her feet, she staggered forward, and my arm wrapped around her waist as the other held her injured thigh. “I’m all right,” she whispered as our eyes met. She looked to the side as I followed her gaze and saw the bandage. I gently placed her leg on the ground, and my hand grazed up her back as she stabilized. I grabbed the bandage and crouched down to my knees. She pulled down her flannel again as she looked at me.
“Err…you need to spread your legs so I can wrap the bandage around your thigh,” I mumbled up at her. A blank look appeared on her face as she gave a nod. I sucked in a breath as she shifted her legs so that they were broad. Shit. I swiftly wrapped the bandage around her thigh and brought my face closer to tie it.
Once I finished, I stood and cleaned up. Lana sat on the sofa as I strolled down the hall. I grabbed a pair of sweatpants from my drawer and walked back. I saw a figure on the ground. I rolled my eyes as I dropped the sweatpants and walked into the bathroom. I grabbed Axel by the ankles and pulled him out of the bathroom. As I dragged him through the hall, I wondered why he yelled at Lana. Then again, he always said absolute shit when he was drunk. This time, though, he went too far—he injured someone. I pulled him into his bedroom and debated on whether to leave him on the ground or put him in bed. I shrugged as I left him on the ground and shut the door. He wouldn’t even remember any of it by morning. I picked up the sweatpants and walked into the living room. Lana was in the same position as when I left, which made me suspicious.
“I’m sorry for what my brother did. He gets really violent when he’s drunk,” I lied as I helped her into the sweatpants. She gave a minor smile as she stood up. The bags under her eyes became worse by the second as I observed her. Her face drained of color as I put a lock of hair behind her ear.
“Lana, are you oka—” She cut me off when she grabbed my hand and removed it from her face.
“Blake, just take me home, please.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Lana
Today I gave everyone a lift. Since Carter lived five minutes away from me, I got him first, then Aidan, Liam, and Benny.
“How was your weekend?” Benny asked as he leaned forward. I bit my lip as I placed my hand on my thigh. When Blake dropped me off Saturday night, I expected Mom and Dad to question me. However, as soon as they heard Axel’s name, they were utterly okay with it. It confused me that Dad was protective when the guys were around, but when Axel came into my house, he was suddenly treated like a long-lost son.
“Lana!” I blinked quickly as Liam yelled out my name. The car swerved as I dodged a guy offloading things from his truck. I kept in a laugh as everyone took sharp breaths and glared at me in the rearview mirror.
“Note to self—never catch a ride with Lana ever again,” Aidan sighed.
“Sorry, I was just distracted.”
“You never answer my question,” Benny piped up. Everyone was silent as they waited for a reply.
“Dull, like any other weekend. How was the party?”
“It was sick! You should’ve been there, Lana,” Liam said as I rolled my eyes.
“Yeah, where were you? We came to get you, but your parents said you were out,” Carter inquired as he turned to me. Flashbacks of when Axel threw the bottle against the wall and one of the pieces slashed into my thigh entered my mind. It happened so fast that I didn’t even feel the glass open my skin. Then when Blake wrapped the bandage around me, that was awkward. I put on a fake smile then glanced back at the road and spoke.
“I just had a few errands.”
“The party was huge! It was killing two birds with one stone. Kelly’s birthday party and celebration of another win for Jefferson High’s football team.” Liam smiled.
“Glad that you enjoyed it.” I glanced down at my thigh again and sighed. I wore sweatpants today because the jeans would be too tight and a skirt was too cold. Bla
ke’s sweatpants were still at my house. I haven’t heard from him at all since he dropped me at home. I wondered if he went to the party? Axel, on the other hand, called me. He said he was terribly sorry and he’d take me out to dinner to make up for acting recklessly. He also said we’d catch up, whatever that meant. I didn’t want to go to dinner with Blake’s brother. “Was Blake there?”
“Err…yeah, he was,” Aidan mumbled. The car fell into an uncomfortable silence after that. We arrived at school five minutes later and decided to hang around the front since the bell hadn’t rung yet. Miranda, Melissa, Nick, and Ethan joined us as we talked.
“Remember when you rolled down the stairs and pulled the dude’s pants down?” Miranda chuckled as she looked at Liam.
“Not my fault that he was in the way,” Liam said.
“Where’s Marcus?” Melissa asked as she leaned her head onto Nick’s shoulder.
“He left the party early, saying he felt sick. I wanted to give him a ride, but he said someone was already taking him,” Aidan explained.
“Is he sick?”
“Uh huh! Yesterday he sounded so weird on the phone, and I wanted to take him some soup, but he said everyone in his house is sick,” Miranda responded with a frown. Liam swung his arm around her shoulder, and she immediately looked up at him.
“Don’t worry, he’ll get better soon,” Liam assured her.
“I hope so. I miss my baby.”
“But I can keep you company,” Liam added, wiggling his brows.
“Ready for Physics tomorrow?” Benny asked as he placed one hand on the wall, then leaned. Our faces were inches apart as he eyed me up and down. Every second I took to answer, Benny leaned in as he licked his lips.
“I just need to rev—”
“Come on, we can work this out!” a familiar voice cut me off. Everyone who stood outside seemed engrossed by the voice. I looked and saw Blake heading toward the school doors. Kelly trailed behind him with makeup smeared on her face. “Blakey, plea—”
“No, fuck you! You self-centered bitch!” Blake yelled. Everyone’s eyes widened as they looked at the couple.
“I thought it was you.” Her voice trembled as she tried to catch up to Blake. He was a few feet away from the doors as he spun around. There was a troubled look on his face as he fixed his leather jacket. Kelly sniffed as a smile broke onto her face.
“That asshole had no tattoos, no piercings, weird curly hair, and he was fucking shorter,” Blake hissed. “Don’t talk to me ever again; I don’t waste my time on stuck-up bitches like you.” He spun around and ripped the doors open. They banged against the walls as he walked in. Everyone was quiet for a minute as they tried to absorb what they’d witnessed. I was confused by it all and wondered who he was.
“What happened?” I asked. Benny’s jaw tightened as he looked away. I looked at Melissa and noticed the smirk plastered on her face.
“Kelly cheated on Blake.”
The rest of the day was spent in silence as we studied. I hadn’t seen Blake anywhere, yet Aidan told me he ditched. I was in a cubicle when I heard girls gossip outside.
“Blake’s hot, but he scares the shit out of people.”
“It was obvious they wouldn’t last. But Kelly sleeping with someone else?”
“What I’ve heard is Blake showed up at the party late, and she was already drunk. When he finally showed up, he looked for her, only to find her upstairs with someone.”
“Well, I heard she only dated him to get closer to one of his friends.”
***
“Arabella” by Arctic Monkeys echoed through the store as I bobbed my head to the beat. With my books spread out on the table, I reviewed the work in preparation for tomorrow’s test. Rodney didn’t care if I smoked in his store; he said people did it all the time. He even gave me a new pack. People around my age and older lurked the store, but most of them were on the second floor for the merchandise. I was at the store for almost two hours when Rodney approached me with a warm smile. I glanced around and noticed that most of the people were gone and the music was off.
“Store is going to close soon.”
“Wow, time flew. Thanks,” I said as I gathered my things. Once I had everything, I lit a cigarette then turned to Rodney. “Thanks, have a good night.”
The clouds looked faded as I strolled to my mother’s car. I watched as the ash hit the ground when I hit the cigarette. I dropped it to the ground and crushed it with my shoe.
“Becoming my bad girl again?” I whipped around to see Blake, his motorcycle behind him as he approached me. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I backed away; my legs hit the edge of the car as he reached me.
“N-no.” My voice came out as a whisper as I leaned back. He trapped me, resting each arm on either side as he placed it on the hood. Our faces were inches apart as he smirked. I bit the inside of my cheek as he neared me. I felt his mouth on my skin as his lips soared up my jawline until he stopped by my ear. I heard his slow breaths that sent shivers up my spine. Again, he leaned closer, which resulted in me almost falling onto the hood, but I placed my hands behind me for support.
“Who am I kidding? You’ve always been my bad girl.” Blake’s husky voice sent chills through my entire body as I pushed myself up, so I sat on the hood. A playful smirk appeared on his lips as he backed away and leaned on the hood beside me.
“Are you high?” I blurted out as he sat next to me. Blake ignored the question as he looked at me with a grave expression. He lowered his gaze to my thigh and gently rested his hand on it.
“How’s your thigh?”
“It’s okay,” I mumbled as he rubbed it. “How are you?” His hand moved from my thigh to his neck as he awkwardly scratched it.
“I’m good,” he replied with a dry laugh. “I think this is the time where you tell me ‘I told you so’ and laugh?”
I badly wanted to say that, but something told me not to. Instead, I asked something I wanted to express to him from the day I saw him with Kelly.
“Just…why?” I asked. Blake let out a sigh as he glanced around before he spoke.
“Do you remember when we got arrested and your dad interrogated us?” he began, and I nodded. “Your dad told us to leave you alone, to not get too attached to you otherwise you’ll just end up being unhappy. That James guy is a huge criminal and is known for getting what he wants. The less that you were involved, the better. So we did what we could, and what better way to start than to go to Homecoming with Kelly West?” Blake sighed.
“So you guys went through all that to protect me?”
“Yeah, I didn’t mean for things to go this far,” he replied, then let out an awkward laugh. “But every time something happened, Kelly would be there. It was hard to, believe me. I wanted to break up with her before winter break, but she beat me to it.”
“By cheating on you.”
“Yep, and I’m kinda glad that I forgot her gift,” he added with a smirk. My jaw dropped as we laughed.
“Do you know who she slept with?” I asked after we composed ourselves. Blake’s delighted expression blanked, which meant he wasn’t going to answer. His lips were sealed as he glanced down at my sweatpants. I followed his gaze to my cigarettes. I quickly slipped my hand into my pocket and took them out.
“Want one?” I asked as I opened the pack. “Looks like you need it.”
He held a blank expression as he looked at the box, then me. I watched as he squinted his eyes and got off the car.
“How many do you have?” he asked as he stared at the pack. I let out an awkward chuckle as I looked at the box in my hands.
“Well, Axel bought me one on Saturday, then Rodney gave me a pack today, so I guess,” I hummed as I took out a cigarette and lit it, “two packs left.”
I left out the part where I had his one pack at home; I kept that for emergencies. He observed me as I inhaled the tobacco smoke and blew out rings. I watched as his jaw clenched, then looked down.
“So, what, is this yo
ur new addiction? We get rid of the pills then you’re smoking like there’s no tomorrow?” Blake yelled as he raised his arms in frustration.
“Yet who’s the one who can smoke a pack in a day?” I tilted my head. That seemed to hit a nerve as he banged his fists against the car. We were in the same position as earlier, but his smirk was gone as it filled with anger.
“The bad girl with glasses thing is kinda hot, but smoking isn’t for you, Willson,” Blake grunted. He pulled the cigarette out of my mouth, threw it to the ground, and crushed it. I gaped at him as I pushed myself off the car and shoved him.
“Who the hell are you to tell me what I can and cannot do?” I yelled in his face. His features hardened as he stepped closer and pressed me against the car. A smirk tugged at his lips as he stared at me.
“Your little sheriff daddy told me to protect you, and you’re not doing a good job of cooperating here,” Blake hissed at me. I used all my energy to push him off me as I sighed in relief.
“Bullshit! You owe me a fucking cigarette!” I yelled. He stared at me, then laughed. Yet it wasn’t a funny laugh; it was filled with irony and strain. He reached into his leather jacket and pulled out his pack. He did the same with his back pocket and pulled out another.
“Since our lives are already so fucked up,” he shoved the packs in my chest, “what difference will this make?”
***
“We are test-free, people!” Liam cheered as we plopped down at our regular lunch table. Physics was a challenge, but with all those nights I pulled, I ought to pass. When we came out of the classroom, everyone seemed relieved, but Benny was nervous. Every time I glanced up at the clock, Benny would run his hand through his hair.
“How was Biology?” Ethan asked Miranda, who sat down next to me.
“Ugh, I swear I failed,” she mumbled.
“You say that every time, yet you get a good grade.” Carter laughed.
