On Thin Ice

27

TRIGGER WARNING: use of homophobic slur, brief mentions of suicide

When I woke up the next morning, it felt like I hadn't slept at all. The music from the kitchen told me breakfast was being made by Dad and Mindy.

I hoped that the messages I received the night before were just pieces of a dream, but when I saw my phone turned off facing down on my nightstand, I knew that wasn't the case.

I dragged myself out of bed, throwing the covers off of me and leaving my phone in my room as I headed to the bathroom. After using the bathroom and washing my hands, I looked at myself in the mirror and immediately let out a curse.

"Fuck..." I muttered as my eyes zeroed in on the bruises that ran from my collarbone up to the side of my neck. There was even a faint one under my jaw that no shirt would be able to cover.

I rustled through the cabinets in the bathroom, hoping to find something to cover the bruises with but coming up with nothing.

"Hurry up!" Ava yelled through the door, pounding on it with her fist.

I pulled open the door. "Do you have makeup?"

"Do I look like I have makeup?" she rudely asked, pushing past me. "Who the hell did you let attack your neck?"

"It's not important," I muttered. "Does Mindy have makeup?"

"Why don't you ask her?"

"I can't let her see me like this!" I told her.

Ava just glared at me and pushed on my shoulders lightly to guide me out of the bathroom.

"Maybe you shouldn't have let your boyfriend attack your neck," she said before slamming the door in my face.

I quickly went back to my room before anyone else in the house could see me and threw on a sweatshirt that would cover most of my bruises. Just as I finished putting it on, there was a faint knock on my door.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"Can I come in?" Josh's voice asked from the other side.

Instead of answering, I walked to the door and opened it, stepping aside so he could come in.

"What's up?"

"Wanna go out tonight?" he asked me, sitting down on my bed.

"And do what?"

I was intentionally standing far enough away from him so he hopefully wouldn't notice the blemishes on my skin.

He shrugged. "Get something to eat? I don't know. My plans got cancelled."

"Who were your plans with?"

"Emma," he said with a sigh.

I sent him a puzzled look. "I don't know who that is."

"You've never met her?" he asked and I shook my head. "She's a girl I'm kinda seeing but not really."

I wracked my brain to try to remember ever meeting this girl, but couldn't find the memory.

"Does she sit with you at lunch?" I asked him.

"Sometimes," he said with a nod.

"I don't know her."

Josh just rolled his eyes and stood up from my bed.

"Are we getting dinner tonight or not?" he asked as he walked toward my door.

I nodded. "Yeah. Is your mom home?"

"Yes?"

"Okay, you can leave now," I told him with an awkward smile.