I wiped away the tears rolling down my cheeks and shook off the horrible feeling of fear and anxiety. When I got to one of the bedrooms I slammed the door closed and balled my eyes out.
The room was decorated in muted grey tones like the soft grey of a doves feather. It was a little messy, a full laundry basket and odd bits of clothing scattered around the basket on the floor.
I spotted the customised nikes tossed to a corner and my heart sank knowing I was in his room. A king sized bed dominated the area and on one of the side tables he had a small wicker basket filled with condoms.
I picked up a much loved book, the spine had crinkles, the tell-tale sign it had been read often. The title read 'Of Mice And Men.'
I used the bookcase to aid the weight of my body as I stood up. The unit rattled but didn't move and I glanced behind it to see a thick padlock holding it to the wall. I tried to move it again but the padlock gave it no leeway.
"Odd." I mumbled to myself.
I walked to his desk and glanced behind it, two padlocks on either side kept the desk secured to the wall.
Now I was invested, I moved over to his bed and tried to pull it away from the wall, his bed was on a short chain padlock secured onto one of the bed posts.
Why was all of his furniture padlocked to the wall?
I sat down on a black leather sofa and opened up the book. My hand traced over the personal inscription written on the first page.
'Happy Birthday A, I hope you know I wouldn't hesitate to shoot you just like George shot Lenny. - Dad.'
The bedroom doors flung open and I sat awkwardly as Arlo and a guy backed up towards the bed, lips locked.
They were both topless and soaking wet, clearly came here straight from the pool. I cleared my throat and they both pulled apart rapidly.
"What the fuck are you doing in here Blossom? Leave." Arlo ordered. His eyes burnt into me dangerously, waiting for an answer.
Arlo and a guy kissing, was he gay?
That made so much sense. He was gay, he fooled around with girls because he didn't want anybody to know that he really liked guys.
"You leave." I spoke before I had time to think through my words. I sounded ridiculous considering this was his room.
They both stared at me dumbfounded and I squirmed, feeling as dirty as their look. I couldn't return to the party, I was fucking terrified of the water and that boy might try and throw me in again. I was staying here.
"Get outta here, this room is off limits. Nobody is allowed to be in here without me." Arlo seemed confused and annoyed.
"I'm not leaving." I stood tall and he stepped away from the guy, coming closer to me, pushing himself up against me and hitting me with a wave of aftershave and wetness.
"You can leave or you can watch, it's up to you." He raised his eyebrows at me and smirked. I looked back at the guy for help. "Don't bother looking at him, he's fully into guys so we can't even three-way it." Arlo shrugged and I crinkled my forehead with lack of understanding but then reluctantly headed for the door.
My hand reached the handle but I just physically couldn't do it. "Please don't make me leave." I whispered.
After a moments hesitation I heard him sigh from behind me "I'll see you downstairs Seth."
"What?" Seth exclaimed in disgrace, clearly he felt disrespected because Arlo was making him leave instead of me.
"I'll see you downstairs, go." Arlo repeated again, this time with more force behind his voice. Seth scampered out of the room leaving Arlo and me alone. "This better be fucking good, did you see how hot he was?"
He grabbed a towel from his drawer and rubbed his wet hair with it, only now I noticed how weird his hair looked. I got so used to seeing Arlo with thick curls, the wetness made his hair completely straight.
"Why are you in my room?" He caught the water droplets from his skin with the towel and then launched it towards the laundry basket, missing it and ending up with a wet towel on his floor.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be here." I admitted honestly.
"Yeah you shouldn't. This room is off limits, now get the fuck out." He spoke coldly. I forgot I still had hold of his book until he grabbed it out of my hand.
I looked directly at him and frowned, his stoic features zoned in on me, behind his fluttery lashes his copper eyes softened. "Have you been crying?" He asked quietly.
How did he know?
"No." I fought the urge to wipe my face and rub my eyes. I threw all of my self control into a fake smile.
"What happened?" He asked, seemingly more concerned now than before. I shook my head, letting him know everything was fine. I tried to walk out the door but he grabbed my arm gently, sending shoots of electricity through me. That was new. "Tell me what happened."
"It's nothing." I tried to fight his interrogation, knowing how dumb I sounded. But his stare wouldn't falter until I gave him some sort of answer. "Some idiot tried to push me into the pool." I cringed hard, it was a pool party and he would never understand my epic fear of water.
Moments of silence past between us but then he took hold of my hand, interlocking our fingers.
"Come." He said softly, leading me further into his room, he let go of my hand as we reached the sofa. "Sit here, don't move, don't touch anything." He returned the book back to his bookshelf and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to dry it out faster.
"You look really weird with straight hair." I commented with a trace of humour.
"You look really weird, period." He fired back. "Don't move." He warned and took himself off into the bathroom.
He was really protective about his bedroom, it was starting to become a little strange. I stood up and moved myself over to his desk, eyeing up all of the photos he had on display.
"Fuck sake, I said don't move."
"Who is that?" I pointed to a very beautiful girl.
"My sister." I smiled at him, clearly he valued his family very much.
"Are you dating Lexi?" I pointed at another picture of them together.
"No."
"Just fucking then?"
"Jesus! Just stop." Arlo exclaimed before I could make another comment. He took hold of my hand again and moved me back to the sofa, why did he keep doing that?
"You have a tattoo." The tips of my fingers brushed up against his chest absentmindedly and his body shivered. Once I realised what I had done I pulled my hand back quickly, like his hotness had burnt me. "S-sorry." I stuttered nervously, dropping my eye contact.
"Yeah I make stupid impulse decisions" He pulled a dark grey T-shirt from his closet and slipped it on, hiding away his bare chest from my view.
"I won't tell anyone." I blurted out, his eyes widened in fear.
"About what?" The fear traveled to his voice, I could hear it even though he tried to remain calm.
"About you kissing that guy." He breathed out a sigh of relief and then rolled his eyes.
"You think I give a fuck who knows about that?"
"But your parents-"
"Honestly Blossom I'm a whole cocktail of fucked up, who I choose to date is the least of my parents concern." I chewed nervously on my lower lip, wanting to delve deeper into that but I couldn't overstep my boundaries. "My parents know I'm bisexual, everybody does."
"And they don't send you away?"
"Send me away where?"
"I don't know... to get fixed."
"I'm not broken." He smirked to himself. "Well maybe I am broken but not because I'm into guys. You can't help who you're into."
"Well my father always told me it was wrong."
"Well your father is a douchebag." My mouth fell open at the blatant disrespect for the most powerful man that I know... and I kinda loved it. "Come on, after seeing you I owe myself a shot and you gotta show me the guy who tried to push you in the pool."
I stayed close to him, feeling a whole rush of anxiety force it's way through me again. Arlo knocked back a shot or two and then headed outside.
I glanced around the garden until I found the guy dancing on a table. I pointed him out. He poured himself another shot.
"I take a shot whenever I see someone I don't like. It's all part of my drinking game." He explained.
"You've literally just said you owed yourself a shot after seeing me." That dickish smirk appeared and he raised his two eyebrows up and down at me.
"Be right back." He told me.
I watched as Arlo grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him through the garden. He protested for his freedom the whole way to the pool but Arlo wouldn't dampen his strength. He threw him into the pool and stood over the sidelines as he struggled to get back to the surface.
"What the fuck Arlo? My phone was in my pocket!"
"Jackass, there's no need to make me people feel uncomfortable. Anymore of it and I'll make sure you're sent home with more than just a broken phone."
A smile curled at my lips, Arlo sticking up for me felt weirdly good.