PEACH :: ETHAN DOLAN

TREIZE

Pulling the car to a stop, he reaches for his phone. It was so early, Ethan was exhausted. Therefore, not paying close enough attention.

Ethan: im outside hurry up
Alondra: ??????
Alondra: why are you outside my house
Alondra: also it's early as hell why would you be picking anyone up? for school?
Ethan: shit that wasn't for you
Ethan: im SO sorry im tired and wasn't paying attention

He facepalmed and bit his thumb, hoping Alondra wouldn't ask anymore questions or be upset. It was a genuine accident.

Phoenix stepped out of her house, so he didn't bother texting her. She opened his car door with a yawn and he tossed her a fresh peach as she sat down.

"Can I skip the peach this morning?" She sighs, rubbing its soft skin with her thumb.

"What? No, Nix, you gotta have something for breakfast," he frowns. "Why skip the peach?"

"Well I... had a bad day yesterday. I binged and I feel really shit about it because I ate way too much and I knew if I purged you'd be mad at me, but now I feel disgusting--"

Ethan grabbed her hand to stop her rambling. "Phoenix, hey, you're allowed to eat," he whispers. "Your body needs it. I'm proud that you didn't throw up, but I'd never be mad at you for something like that. I know how hard this is for you."

She hands him her unlocked phone with her diet app, opened to yesterday. He really didn't think it was that bad anyhow when he looked at it.

Every morning since he found out, he had been picking her up at her house for school. He'd managed to convince Grayson to figure something else out for the time being. They weren't really friends. They didn't talk about their days, or text each other, or joke around. He just checked in on her.

Phoenix was very much annoyed, but also a little endeared he bothered this much with checking on her. Instead of fighting him now, she just dealt with it, because he wasn't going away. Plus, if she pushed him too much, she worried he might tell someone.

It was... hard, for Ethan, actually. Seeing Phoenix again led to thinking about her more, and it brought up so much pain he thought he'd sorted through.

He fucking couldn't stop thinking about her and Alondra. It was all he thought about now.

The two girls bounced around in his head constantly, fighting for who was going to take up the most space. Ethan was lost on how he felt about anything now.

"You have more energy lately?" He hums, pulling away.

"Yeah, a little, I guess. Less headaches," Phoenix crosses her arms. "Ethan, why the hell do you care so much?"

He glances at her in the mirror, unsure how to answer. "I'm not just going to let you struggle with this alone. What kind of person would I be if I let you do that when this could kill you?"

"A smart one," she snaps. "You should hate me for cheating on you. I know for a fact you were heartbroken, and yet, you came back." And he felt like a fool for doing it. But they weren't getting close again, he was just helping her. "You're supposed to hate me."

He furrows his brows as she whispers the last part. Supposed to?

"You want me to hate you?"

"What? No, I--I just mean anyone in your shoes would hate me and want me to rot," she rolls her eyes as they pull into the school parking lot.

Ethan was the one who felt like he was rotting. These girls were ruining him.

The peach inside his chest was oozing juice, leaking into his bloodstream from where they smashed it without a care.