stuck with me ; e.d

five | 05

all wrong

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[ brielle hayes ]

his venomous words struck me.

he didn't even have to shove past me because i stepped out of his way.

anger boiled under my skin and my body felt like it was on fire. on the usual occasion i would have just soaked up the words and let them eat me alive, but something about the way he jabbed his finger at me and spoke with so much hatred, it was like his own anger fueled mine.

i heard grayson trying to say something to me, but it sounded muffled because at that point i was already halfway down the hall.

i was quick enough to see ethan slam the front door behind him, sending a loud bang reverberating through the walls of the house.

i yanked the door back open and strode with heavy steps to where he was now standing in the middle of the paved driveway. he had both of his hands in his hair now, rocking back and forth on his heels and jamming the toe of his shoe into the pavement as anger simmered within him as well.

it would have been so much easier to have just given him his space; let him blame whatever he was so furious about on me, and then he could keep going on with his life like i wasn't even there. he had been doing that anyways....until now.

of course i had to make things complicated.

"what the fuck is your problem with me, ethan?" the words flew out of my mouth so fast i didn't have time to think about them.

his head whipped around, clearly taken aback that i had followed him outside. he gave me a look full of daggers, but something in his eyes wasn't quite as sharp as it would have been. they were bloodshot?

"you're following me now?"

completely ignoring my question, he grabbed hold of a car door handle that he was standing beside and clicked it open. he clearly was not in the mood to talk. i darted forward when he ducked inside and slammed the door shut.

i tapped my knuckle on the window rapidly, and made sure to clutch the handle. he wasn't going to pull away if i was holding on to his car. he was going to talk about this whether he liked it or not.

he rolled the window down, "are you crazy? let go!"

i stood my ground, giving him a hard stare. his nose flared when he puffed out an irritated breath, "the problem," he started, leaning his head out of the window a bit, "is you."

again he shot blame at me, and it hurt my feelings in a way it shouldn't have. it hurt because he hated me and he hadn't even given me a chance.

"but why?" my voice dropped barely above a whisper, all of the confidence in my tone completely gone.

"because your fucking family left mine broken."

his voice had lowered also, and when i looked at him his head was tilted down, hiding his eyes from mine, "everything was fine until your dad came into the picture and stole my mom away."

he chuckled dryly, shaking his head, "and the worst part is when they got married, she insisted i moved here with her. now my dad is all alone, on the borderline of being homeless, and i can't even see him."

his words broke at the end and i could almost see the sorrow washing over his body.

"ethan—" i began, wanting so badly just to spill everything about what i've been through and that maybe we weren't so different. if only he knew.

"no," he stopped my sentence sharply and his head snapped up again. his eyes were blazing; if they were bloodshot before, they definitely weren't now.

his hands gripped the top of the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white, "and then you think you can just waltz up in here and take grayson away from me to."

i sighed, and released my grip on the handle and took a step back. i wasn't even going to bother saying anything at this point. he already had it set in his mind that i was the bad guy, so why not just leave it be? this entire thing was a complete misunderstanding, but how could i expect him to know.

i partly expected him to pull out of the driveway instantly, seeing that i wasn't holding him back anymore, but he didn't.

"i just see the way he acts around you," ethan spoke again, his quiet words sounding defeated. he couldn't help the pang of guilt he felt at seeing my expression drop when yelled at me.

"ethan," i tried again, pausing in case he was going to speak again, but he just stared at me, "i think we're on the same page here."

he tilted his head to the side a bit, "what?"

i shrugged my shoulders, "we're a lot more similar than you think, you know. trust me, i wouldn't be here if i didn't have to be."

something in his mind clicked at my statement but he remained silent, only searching my eyes for more answers.

my body shuddered even thinking about my life back home.

inhaling a deep breath i lifted my sleeve. even though the bruises had faded, there were still faint traces of purple speckled along my forearm.

ethan took notice to it right away and his heart plummeted. he had it all wrong. the simple image of my wrist spoke for itself and he swallowed the lump that had risen in his throat.

i pushed my sleeve back down and hugged my arms at my sides, chewing the inside of my cheek and dropping my gaze to the pavement.

"get in."

my eyes shot upwards. did i hear him right?
"huh?"

he tossed his head to the side, motioning at the empty passengers seat, "i said get in."

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