Behind Our Scars

IX

LONDYN

Elijah sits on the nurse's bed and the tall, slim lady shines a small light up his nose. I stand slightly uncomfortably against the wall.

I mean, why am I here anyway? To get back at Andrés. No. I hate seeing people fight. I hate seeing people hurt.

No, be honest, you're here because you're mad at Andrés. Not that he cares anyway.

"It's not broken." She says, placing the flashlight on the desk beside her. "Just ice it, and your cheek." Elijah nods, taking another instant ice pack and we exit the office that sits on the top floor of the building.

"You didn't have to help me." Elijah follows me to the staircase. "I know." We walk in silence back to the Media room to grab our things. The classroom is empty when we arrive, making it easier to maneuver through the desks and chairs. "What's going on between you two?"

Elijah twists his head to the side, a want to genuinely understand passes through his voice. "Who?" Elijah smiles in response, flipping his backpack onto his back. I slide my tote onto my shoulder and I search the area for the paper with the rough draft. It's gone. The meeting with Doctor James didn't take too long after Andrés' but I doubt he would've come back here to take it.

"Andrés." I turn around, a sarcastic laugh erupting from my lungs. "Oh god, nothing!" I exclaim. It was a one time thing. There's nothing happening between us now and there was never anything before. "Come on Londyn, you can't be that blind."

I roll my eyes. "I'm not, I see clearly." Elijah shrugs. "Yeah okay."

Elijah keeps that smug smile on his face, even as we exit the media room. "If I knew any better," The boy adjusts his bag onto his shoulder. "He likes being around you." I roll my eyes in response. "We're talking about a guy who calls me his stalker." I smile. "I don't think we're talking about the same man, Eli." The nickname flies out of my mouth before I can think about it.

"Sorry." I respond, and in response the blonde boy simply laughs. "It's okay, Lon."

✥✥✥

I rearrange the vinyls that line up on the shelf beside the cash register. Being back at the store gives me an overwhelming feeling of peace. I was only gone for the week of finals, but my boss gave me a couple more days off.

People sit at the tables in the cafe area and others browse books on the other side of the store. I remember when this shop first opened, at the time I was thirteen, desperately looking for a place to get away from my life and it seemed like this little gem was just the right spot. And here I am, five whole years later working here. At the time, I wanted to have my own bookstore, with the same cafe, the same vinyl section and the same cozy decoration to it.

Of course, since I was Beth's first customer I was able to add my own twists to the place hence why there's so many plants surrounding the store. Vines hang from the windows and pots with large succulents, leafy plants and flowers hang from the ceiling.

"Excuse me, do you work here?" I frown at the voice. It's oddly familiar. I whirl around, finding the man's familiar eyes. They widen a little before relaxing back to their normal dull stare. "Oh it's you." He sounds disappointed, but his eyes claim something different. I squint,

I sigh. "What do you need, Andrés?" I feel like I've seen him more than usual this week. In the halls, at lunch, the park and even sometimes after class. Look who's the stalker now, jackass.

"I'm looking for..." He scans the shelf behind me, doing this oddly cute thing with his eyebrows. They pinch together at the middle, but the ends are still up. I resist my smile.

"Do you have any Deftones vinyls?" My weight shifts to my left foot from my right, and without a word I walk to the other side of the store with the brunette boy following close behind. We don't have any in the front. Deftones isn't really popular around here, so we keep them in the back. Normally, I shouldn't go out of my way, but I'm feeling generous today.

Or maybe what Elijah said stuck with you.

"I didn't know you worked here." He observes the store, following me through the bookshelves. "Why would you?" I ask, not bothering to look at the boy. "I should've guessed, you're practically a book nerd." I turn around quickly, narrowing my brows.

"Let's not forget that I'm the one doing something for you." Andrés looks slightly stunned by my tone and he inches closer to my face but my body doesn't allow me to step back. "Someone's a little sensitive, aren't they?" He smirks a little, letting reality sink back in. I take a step back.

"Yeah, it's not like you'd know anything about that." Andrés rears back, his mouth turning into a thin line, a faint tense silence filling the gap in between us. And it feels as though we aren't so far apart as it looks.. Confusion enters my body, but before the thought can surface I turn around, walking towards the back of the store.

"What album are you looking for?" I ask once we get to the back of the store. He thinks for a moment before responding. "Around the fur." I didn't think he was the kind of guy to buy vinyls which slightly picks at my interest for him.

I pull my keys out of my pocket, unlocking the door to the storage closet. Before Andrés can follow me I stop him, flashbacks to the party, last time we were in a closet together filling my mind. "You can't be back here, employees only." I say sharply. He takes a step back, not bothering to respond.

I shut the door behind me, taking a deep breath before searching the section of albums that sit in the corner of the closet. I spot a section with songs from bands so I grab the ladder that sits closest to the door, dragging it over.

When I'm leveled with the shelf, I search the spine of the Vinyls searching for the band Andrés is looking for. My brows raise once I spot it. "There you are."

I reach towards the back, pulling the vinyl forward, but when my arm retracts to my side, the ladder beneath me shifts and next thing I know my feet aren't firmly on anything and my back is against the floor, my head on something hard and wood behind me.

I frown in confusion. My body doesn't move, it won't allow me to. "Londyn?" Someone calls out. "Londyn are you okay?" Yes. I am. But the words never leave my mouth, leaving me helpless on the floor of the closet.

A male figure looms over me, but my vision is too blurry to make out his features. "Someone call 911!" I shut my eyes, trying to move my arm to prop myself up. "Don't move, you'll be okay." I know that.

A hand slides under my head, lifting me up slightly when my vision clears up. Andrés kneeled in front of me, an expression I've never seen before planted on his face.

That's the last thing I see before my vision goes black.