𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔

Chapter |20| Bare Ass

"Shut up Kai, and let me shower then." I chuckled, grabbing a towel from my closet.

"Uh Kiwi, by the way, Tristan will be waiting for you outside by the car." I froze at his name, forgetting that my brother was waiting for a reply.

"Okay, that's fine. Tell him I'll be twenty minutes." I had my shower, quickly running my razor over my prickly stubble, and then threw on my uniform. I slipped on some shoes, and ditched make up for today, knowing my headache would prevent me from applying mascara correctly.

Tristan was waiting as instructed. Black glasses covering his emeralds eyes, immediately making me wish I brought my own, to shield away the harsh sunlight.

Like a gentleman, he opened the door for me, waiting until I was seated to shut it. After setting off, I changed the radio station from punk rock to classical, letting the soothing melody from Mozart calm into a state of relaxation.

"What is this shit?" Tristan chuckled, causing the corners of my lips to curl up. My eyes were shut but I continued to trace the soft notes on my thigh, recalling my music lessons as child.

"It's Mozart, The Magic Flute, to be more precise."

"The magic what?" He blurted out, as I giggled. I thought this was going to be weird and awkward for definite, but Tristan surprised me. Instead of being silent, he laughed with me and joked and smiled.

When we finally parked the car, he turned towards me and ripped off his glasses. I gasped on sight, reaching out to gently touch the purple bruises forming on his left eye.

"What the..."

"I was angry last night. After our talk, I mean. I got drunk at this bar and well a guy wanted to switch the football game over to some raunchy show where everyone's naked."

"I'm guessing you didn't like that." I whispered, a soft laugh leaving my throat, despite wanting to burst into tears.

"No, I didn't. In fact, I hated it. My team was winning too." He chuckled, staring at me for a moment as I looked away to focus on his bruise.

"I'm sorry." He winced slightly as my finger brushed a sore part.

"You should see the other guy."

"No, I mean I'm sorry for everything. For seeing Aaron for not thinking about how it would hurt you." Cupping my face, a small gasp left my mouth as he pulled me in closer, our noses practically brushing against each other's.

"You shouldn't be sorry, I should. I'm the one who drove you to Aaron, I'm the one who hurt you first. I deserve this pain, and don't for a moment think I blame you. I admit that yesterday I was kinda drunk. I spent all night trying to find you, my mind racing with every bad thing that could happen to you. I took some pills to calm me down, anxiety pills, but I washed them down with scotch. Then, when I realised you were with Aaron I just...lost it. Don't blame yourself, I was the idiot. I always am baby-girl."

"I've missed you calling me that." I smiled, leaning into his touch. "Me and Aaron are friends Tristan. He makes me happy, I like spending time with him."

"What did you do last night?" I laughed, remembering how me and Caitlin got into a food fight with malteasers.

"Had a movie night with his little sister." He pulled back slightly in awe.

"He let you meet Caitlin?" I nodded. "He's never introduced Caitlin to anyone but me really."

"Well, it was an accident so.."

"Still...he must trust you." Tristan was acting strange, as if the cogs in his head were slowly turning.

"He promised not to threaten you anymore. I told him I couldn't be friends with him if he did."