Can I Come Over?

The story got deleted so this is just the re-upload.

I stared into the dirt stained mirror that hung loosely off the wall; a single nail was holding up the cracked mirror to the discolored, off-white wall behind it. The hard rock music coming from downstairs made the walls shake as if they'd cave in any moment.

I pulled my dark-brown hair into a high ponytail. Now that my hair was out of the way I leaned over the sink to get a closer look at the purple bruise that marked my neck. The hand print was clear against my medium toned skin. I touched the mark and winced at the pinch of pain.

Tears began to sting my eyes before I blinked them away. My body felt weak and tired from my lack of sleep. Leaning against the sink was the only way I had been able to stand up straight. There was a loud boom from the door, causing my neck to snap to the right. He continued to beat the door, calling out my name.

"Lily! Lil, come on. I said I was sorry. What else do you want from me?" his voice roared through the thin, dry wall. It was as if he was standing right there in the bathroom with me. I quickly ran to the farthest corner from the door. I could feel my entire body shaking, even my teeth started to chatter.

"Please just-t leave me alone," hot tears fell down my cheeks as I cried out.

"Lily! Lily! Wake up!" I heard a distant voice call out to me.

I jumped up from the position I had slept in. Sweat cascaded down my face, my tank top was stuck to my skin. My heart was pounding so hard that the sound echoed in my ears.

"Leave me alone!" I whipped my head from left to right. On my left I saw a dark-blue painted wall and a big brown eight-drawer dresser. Posters of bands and actresses lined the walls. To my right was him. His soft caramel eyes were wide with worry, his black hair sticking up in all directions. I looked down at his bare chiseled chest which was heaving up and down just as fast as mine.

He leaned forward and grabbed me in his arms before he laid us back down. My arms wrapped around his waist and I scooted closer to his body. His woodsy scent with a hint of cologne filled my nostrils and I could feel my heart slow down.

"Which one was it this time?" his deep voice asked, making his chest rumble underneath my head. I looked up with tears in my eyes.

"It doesn't matter anymore," I answered, laying my head back down.

His large rough hand rubbed circles on my back, his way of telling me everything was okay now.

This was what I needed. He was all I needed. I could feel myself drift back into a dreamless sleep.

*

The sound of the shower running woke me from my sleep. I sat up on the full-sized bed, stretching my tired muscles. I looked around the room; my eyes were only halfway open. I looked at the mirror across the room from the bed. My hair was a tangled mess all over my head.

I shuffled from the bed and made my way from the bedroom to the bathroom across the hall. The steam from the shower filled the small room. I grabbed the pink toothbrush from the holder on the sink before spreading the mint toothpaste over the bristles. After wetting the toothbrush I started to brush my teeth until I felt like the mint had overcome my stinky morning breath.

"Hey, you okay?" I looked over to see Brandon peeking through the shower curtain. His black hair stuck to his forehead in random places.

I spit out the white foam from the toothpaste before answering, "I'm fine. You know they just come sometimes." He opened his mouth but then closed it and looked away.

"What?" I asked. He obviously wanted to say something.

"Maybe you should stay the night again," he said finally. Before he even finished the sentence my head was hastily shaking a no.

"I can't. Katie will kill me if I'm not there again."

"She'll be passed out. She won't even notice," he said, sticking his head back through curtain. I felt a pang ring through my chest, knowing it was the truth. Hearing that your mom didn't even care about you was harder to ignore when others mentioned it.

'No! Okay?" I hadn't meant for it to burst out but somehow it erupted. The water came to a sudden stop before the towel from the top of the rail was ripped down. Two seconds later Brandon stepped out of the shower and enveloped me in a hug. Although he was wet from the shower, I hugged him back.

"Fine you don't have to sleep here," he said, giving in. But his eyes were sad.

"Can you drive me home?" I asked, once I stepped back.

"Of course." he squeezed through the small space to the door. I grabbed the jeans from the stand behind me and pulled them over my small cotton shorts. I gathered my hair into bun before leaving the bathroom and walked down the stairs into the living room.

"Look babe, I think we should see other people...Of course we can still be friends...Okay, I'll see you soon." I watched as Brandon's roommate Luke sat on the counter breaking up with his latest girlfriend.

He hung up the phone with a smile on his face. "Wow. Again?" I asked. This was Luke's thing. He broke up with every girl after having sex with her a few times. He was the ultimate playboy and was proud of it.

His grin widened when he noticed me leaning against the door frame. "Oh you know me. No chick shall be left untouched when I'm done."

I pretended to gag as I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Luke's crystal-blue eyes and dark-blonde hair mixed with his sharp jawlines made him a magnet for women. Looks-wise he was gorgeous; personality-wise he was amazing, but only when it came to his guy friends and me. When it was someone he was interested in it was repulsive.

"Where's your boyfriend?" he asked. He continued to tap his phone but looked up for a second to check if I was paying attention.

"We. Are. Friends." I said hoping that this time he'd get it. He chuckled before hopping off the counter.

"Yeah, and I'm not hot." With that he walked out of the kitchen and I watched as he jogged up the stairs.

Idiot.

The ride over to my house was filled with music from the radio. Since it was a bit of a long drive he dropped me off right after he got out of the shower. I didn't feel like talking about why I was going home and was extremely grateful that I was able to get out of the car without having to talk about it. I had reached the door when I heard a car's horn being honked.

"Can I come over tonight?" he yelled.

I turned around to see him giving me his classic puppy dog face. I rolled my eyes, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Of course." I replied. With that I turned the key in the lock and walked into the life I wish I could escape.