XVI.
OVER THE LAST FEW DAYS that I spent at Ryan's, the free time I could grab in between work shifts and school I spent hanging with Leah, becoming my gay agony aunt, because god knows I need one. And with Ryan wanting me to dig down deep and give him the details, Leah became my saviour and took me far away from him and his dirty mind.
When it came to school morning I had to drag my carcass from the bed, Ryan checking in on me every five minutes to make sure I've made some sort of progress. At least this time when he checked in on me I was halfway through pulling my jeans up when he came bearing gifts, a coffee in hand. Such a good host, wonder if I could get breakfast squeezed out of him.
When I was dressed I decided to leave my hair down for once since, I only have a few hours at school before work. Just wishing I could have my car back, have my freedom back. With a small sigh, I shook my head over how ridiculous this whole situation is as I sipped on the coffee, trying to gather my emotions and the will power to finish today. All I want to know is, how much longer is she going to drag this out. I already know her thoughts and her opinions.
I took a glance at my watch for the time wishing I had a phone to text Amanda to ask if we could skip the day as a joke, well half a joke. I pulled on a jacket, drinking the rest of my coffee as I walked down the stairs to be greeted by Ryan when he grabbed his car keys. I quickly dropped my mug into the sink and followed after him towards his car with my rucksack slung over my shoulder.
Let's get today over and done with.
The journey to the school was quicker than I would have liked it to be but it was nice enough of him to give me a lift on his day off, I couldn't ask for anything more since I didn't have to walk in the icy cold weather. When he pulled up I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and threw out a quick goodbye before shutting the car door behind me. The icy chill of the wind licked over any skin that was exposed making me shrug up my shoulders to keep it from my neck, hurrying up my pace to get inside the warmth.
I pushed through the heavy metal doors, the temperature change instantly hitting me to which I welcomed it like a warm embrace. I made my way towards the lockers when I spotted Amanda sat at one of the tables doing her homework, she would always arrive early to finish any work she hadn't managed to do while she looked like she was in a world of her own with her earphones in. I straddled over the bench to sit next to her, my lips pressing against her temple when she pulled the music from her ears to look at me.
"Hey," she smiled before kissing me on the lips, her hand resting on my chest.
When she pulled away she took in my hair, her fingers playing with it as she wrapped it around her fingers and gave out a contented hum, while my eyes looked at her tired eyes, looking like she hasn't had a decent sleep in days. I looked down at the paper she was filling in to see it was homework that was issued out last week.
"Is everything okay at home?" my voice filled with concern when she stopped playing with my hair and looked at me.
"Same as always," her smile not reaching her eyes, knowing that something was going on.
Something kept catching her gaze when I looked over my shoulder to see Chrissy and her posse glaring our way, rolling my eyes when I looked back at Amanda, my lips pressing to her lips one last time, her hand grabbed hold of my shirt when I pulled away to pull me back for one more kiss before carrying on with the work.
"You look exhausted," I whispered, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear that didn't stay when she pulled it to the side.
"I've been putting in a lot of overtime, it's okay though, nothing I'm not used to." A small smile on her lips when I got the hint that by overtime she was taking all available shifts.
"Any way I can help?" the question earnest when she looked over at me, her left hand resting on my cheek.
"You already do enough," holding her pride above her head when I let out a small sigh, pressing her lips against mine once more when the bell rang to commence attending your tutor room for registration.
Begrudgingly we both stood up to walk towards the lockers to grab the books we needed for the first two lessons, hoping that they would be quick. Amanda kissed me on the cheek when she walked towards her homeroom when we parted ways. I knew that something was going on with her but I knew she didn't want to speak about it, her lips sealed shut while she would continuously shrug it off and change topics.
When I told her that she looked exhausted, I wasn't saying it lightly. Sure she does overtime now and then but nothing to this extent, she was running herself into the ground until she does pass out from exhaustion.
I tried to push the worry to the back of my head when I saw Chrissy and her lapdogs glaring at me once again while they walked down the corridor, something nagging in the pit of my stomach but I couldn't put my finger on it as I tried to shrug the feeling away, leaving behind an unsettled feeling that I couldn't seem to shake.
As the first two lessons came along, they did not go by quickly, finding myself clock watching, a single minute feeling like ten. Maths has always been my worst subject, not understanding how or why I was in a high set. Maybe I was a little annoyed that it was mandatory and you had to learn it regardless.
When the bell rang, I couldn't escape quicker than I tried without bulldozing people over to get through the door. I just wanted to see how DeCeno was getting on and if she was okay and staying awake, I could become her prodder to keep her awake, or I could try to talk her into leaving early to go get some sleep.
I walked back down the same corridor I just walked up and down a hundred times a week to put my maths textbook away, that book must seriously weigh the same as a small child, an added weight that I didn't need.
That is when I saw her. Chrissy. She was slumped up against my locked while I stood frozen in my tracks like a deer caught in headlights. My eyes darted around the corridor for the other two but she was alone. Finally understanding why my stomach was in knots and feeling uneasy. I knew this time was bound to come where she finally gets her payback, having managed to avoid it this long was still shocking.
Other than a couple of students walking in drips and drabs I couldn't help but feel like it was me and Chrissy. We just looked at one another like we were about to have a showdown as she took a few paces to stand in the middle of the hallway so she was directly in front of me several feet away. There was no way I would be able to walk away from this, it's been held off long enough, This is going to be the cherry on top of my shit cake.
I mumbled okay then as I threw the books in my hand across the floor towards the wall, somehow trying to mentally prepare myself for this. I was wishing, wanting and waiting for my adrenaline to kick in but I felt the same. No burst of energy, no instincts, no fight or flight.
Nothing.
All I could do was brace for the impact when she charged my way and lunged herself at me, the force of her body weight taking the both of us to the floor when her shoulder landed in my diaphragm knocking the air from my lungs, my head bouncing off the floor.
A groan fell from my mouth while Chrissy positioned herself on top of me with one of her hands against my throat underneath my jaw, the other trying to restrain my arm when I couldn't help the laugh that broke free, always finding the worse possible situations to find amusing.
"What's so funny," she growled, her face a few centimetres from mine when I felt her nails digging into my jaw.
"Just ironic, first you kiss me and now this," arching an eyebrow up towards her, her nails digging deeper when I took a sharp breath in through my teeth.
Unexpectedly, Chrissy's forehead made contact with my face, the pain was searing through the bridge of my nose, the taste of something metallic on my teeth that weren't my braces, a sensation of something warm and wet on my face when I fought her off me. The both of us struggled on the floor with her trying to grab my face when she slipped, one of my feet on her hip when I used whatever strength I had to kick her off me, the push only making her lose her balance once again, her chin connecting to my kneecap when her teeth clamped shut on the impact, the noise alone is enough to make your skin crawl. Her hand instinctively went to her jaw, giving me a short second to use both feet to kick her from off me to put some distance in between.
Clumsily I picked myself up from the floor, the back of my hand wiping over the wet I could feel under my nose taking a look to see the red of blood, not sure where it's coming from. I barely stabled myself when she came at me once again, taking the opportunity to either brace myself for her weight or to be the first to tackle, I took a calculated step back so if she jumped first I'd hit the locker. With a deep breath and with as much force I could put behind it, I threw a punch before she threw herself at me again, her body dropping to the floor effortlessly, her hands shooting up to her face taking this as my chance to climb on her.
As I climbed on top of her, one of her hands reached up to my face, dragging her nails down over my jaw and side of my neck as she left a burning trail left behind. I quickly grabbed her wrist when she grabbed onto my clothes, I felt her legs lift when she kept trying to hit me with a knee into my back, not quite reaching.
I lifted my fist to hit her when I felt a pair of arms hook undermine and drag me from off of her, her foot kicking out when we parted, catching me in the mouth and chin, a bust of adrenaline flowing through me when I went to lunge at her only to be slammed into the floor.
With my face pressed against the cold vinyl floor, I could hear the teachers shouting for people to get to class, I could feel the vibration of feet scurrying away against my cheek. I tried to lift my head when I felt sharp pain somewhere inside of my skull, my cheek sticking to the floor from the blood that had pooled from my mouth. I tried to move my body but I felt like I was pinned to the floor, feeling something heavy in the base of my back.
One of the teachers stood near me, not moving, not speaking, not doing anything, while up ahead I could see a small crowd of bodies surrounding her. She barely copped anything other than a split lip and yet I'm the one being pinned down like an animal and the longer I was being held down the harder it was getting to breathe. I had an overwhelming taste and smell of blood, that horrible metallic taste coming out my mouth as well as down my throat. I tried to spit it out but it ended up coming out as spray with some dribble, not having the energy to do anything.
"Get off me," I murmured in a slur, my mouth hurting and cheek, my tongue running over the sore areas.
"Not yet, Wilson. I heard DeCeno whisper from behind me, a hand gently running over the top of my back.
I felt confused, this morning she barely had the energy to get through first class and now she had me pinned to the floor. I know it wasn't her who dragged from off Chrissy but either way, she had me pinned down to the floor like a dog.
"Let me sit up," I groaned when I started to feel woozy. Not wanting anyone to be touching me when I started to become agitated. "Get the fuck off me!" I snapped, not feeling any relief knowing she was ignoring me. It wasn't until I watched Chrissy get escorted away when I saw people walking towards me from the bottom of the long corridor that I felt the knee in my back lift.
I tried to push myself up from the floor, feeling my arms shake when I felt Amanda's wrapping around me as she sat me up as I leaned against her, her arms wrapped loosely around me as she propped me up against the lockers. I could see the look on her face as she looked at mine, one mimicking horror and shock, glad I couldn't see myself but the amount of blood on the floor and down me proved it must be pretty bad.
Amanda kept her hand on my shoulder to keep me upright when I started to slouch, her phone to her ear when her voice started to sound frantic, staying put when the school nurse got on her knees to take a look at me, only catching the word hospital the rest becoming a blur.
From the fight, school and hospital somewhere in between were lost, a black spot in my memory. Every time I looked over at Amanda she had that worried sick expression while all I wanted was to be discharged. Before I could open my mouth to ask, Ryan appeared around the corner, the look of pure horror on his face. I agree I wasn't in a great state but it isn't that bad.
"Oh, Becca." He barely breathed when he walked to the bedside, feeling his eyes examine the cuts and bruising.
"You'll dig the scars," I tried to joke only to grimace at the pain in my mouth when I spoke.
"When can I take you home?" pointing the question more towards Amanda than myself, knowing she probably knows the finer details.
"They are just writing up the discharge notes," a weak smile on her face as her fingertips stroked the back of my hand.
It was somewhere within the twenty minutes of Ryan arriving that the nurse who tended to me came in with my discharge notes, listing out the many things to watch out for and if they so happen to happen then bring me straight back. I didn't listen to him rabble on when all I wanted was to go home and forget today ever happened... but if I forget I'll have to come back.
Not sure what I want now.
Once they had been handed instructions, Ryan helped me off the hospital bed, keeping an arm securely around my shoulders as we walked down the many different hallways until we got to the exit. Once outside I felt him scoop me up into his arms, guessing I was walking too slow or he was trying to impress DeCeno with his manly strength. It wasn't long until we were at the car as he settled me back onto my feet.
"I don't want to go back to yours, just take me home." Wanting to be left alone.
He was about to refuse but ended up sighing in defeat as he helped me into the car carefully, Amanda sliding on in next to me. Every time she would look at me it would be followed by a grimace and a short sigh. I know the nurses tried their best to clean up the blood but I could still smell it and taste it and I knew it was still on my skin.
"The one time I don't wear glasses, I bet if I had worn them she wouldn't have punched me." I joked, both their eyes looking at me, obviously not liking my distasteful joke. "Tough crowd."
I could hear Amanda chuckle, "maybe if you didn't look like you lost a fight with a bear, then people will laugh at your jokes." Smiling half-heartedly, kissing the top of my hand.
It wasn't long until we got to mine, finally setting foot inside my house for the first time in almost a week, being greeted by the familiar silence that I had become accustomed to since I was a child. My head started to feel dizzy again when I asked Amanda to get me something for the pain as I climbed up the stairs on all fours, Ryan walking close behind me with his hands on my hips to keep me steady.
Before I got to sit down on my bed I had Amanda telling me not to lie down, a damp cloth in her hand so she could clean up my face, grabbing a clean shirt from my wardrobe when she came and sat next to me. I felt her left-hand rest on the side of my face gently, wincing when she started to wipe away the dried blood that didn't get clean, my face feeling tender when she tried to be as careful as she could. When it came to cleaning around the sutures on my upper lip she decided to leave it alone along with the steri-strips on my chin and the bridge of my nose. I'm just glad she didn't break my nose, not caring about my teeth since I already had a brace in place, but I am glad she didn't fuck them up again, already having them for two years is long enough.
"When we go back to mine, I'll get my mum to clean the wound areas, I don't want to mess with them." She murmured when she was finishing off, taking my right hand into hers when she started to clean away the blood where Chrissy's tooth bit into my knuckle when I punched her.
She gave me a quick but soft kiss on the lips when she was done, standing back up when she helped me remove my jacket, telling me to lift my arms to help remove my shirt, Ryan looking our way with a raised eyebrow and a smirk when I gave him the middle finger. Where the blood had soaked into my shirt she cleaned my skin before I pulled on clean clothes. I waited to hear an inappropriate comment from Ryan but nothing followed.
Without saying a word I stood up from my bed wanting to find the phone I ordered to replace my old one, my feet taking me into my mum's room while I tried to think like her, thinking of where she would think is a good place to hide my phone. I went over to her dresser and started pulling the drawers out, my hands rummaging through them all one by one only to come up empty. I headed for her wardrobe and rifled through her clothes when I felt the box, my hand grabbing onto it quickly when I sat down, the box already opened.
I felt a quick surge of panic that she had been through my phone, wondering if she had gone through all my messages between Amanda and me, hoping the conversations didn't transfer over. I turned the phone on and went straight to the messages, dread running through my body when I see the names pop up on who I had been texting, Amanda right at the top with our last conversation before I got home that evening, along with every other message before that.
She went through my phone. She had read the conversations between DeCeno and me. She read through private messages, probably even seeing every private photo that had been shared. If I could show any more anger than I have felt today, now would be an extension to that, but I was exhausted. Mentally. Physically. Exhausted in every way possible.
With a heavy long sigh, I got up from the floor and put the phone in my pocket when I went back to her dresser, looking for the key to the cabin. If I can't stay in this house then fuck it, I'll go to the lake house, have a short vacation while I'm at it since I have been suspended from school after having that fight. It only took a few seconds to find the set 0f keys, sliding them into my back pocket when I carried on to my bedroom, throwing clothes out of my drawers until I can upon my spare set of car keys.
"Can we get out of here?" I spoke quietly when she nodded her head.
"I don't think you should drive though." Pointing out the obvious when she put her hand in the middle of my chest to stop me dead in my tracks.
"I'll be fine," not sure who I was trying to convince, her or me.
She shot me a look before taking my hand to leave the house, my hand holding onto the bannister as we walked down the stairs and out the front door, slamming the door a little harder than necessary going straight to my car.
The drive to her house was silent, feeling her eyes looking at me most of the ride, either concerned about me or concerned about her life with me driving. I could feel her relax when I pulled up outside of her house and the car engine was turned off. When we climbed on out, Amanda was at my side, my head feeling woozy again when I used her for support.
Once in through the front door, Amanda called out for her mum, a response coming from somewhere at the back. Not stopping to see her mum I carried on upstairs to her bedroom before collapsing onto her bed.
My head took a strange turn like my mind was hazed with fog, thinking was starting to become difficult when I shut my eyes, trying to keep my head from spinning. I could hear voices coming closer to the room, just feeling like I needed a quick sleep, just wanting to rest my head for an hour or two.
When I felt like I was dozing off I felt an impression in the bed when a hand rubbed my lower back, "Hey," she spoke softly when I lifted my head to look at Amanda. "I've asked my mum to give you another once over."
"That's handy having a personal nurse," I tried to joke but grimaced from the pain inside my mouth, the pain relief starting to wear off.
I sat up on her bed with a groan, feeling a woozy rush hit me like a freight train, the nausea setting in the bottom of my stomach.
With my eyes closed to keep the room from spinning, I heard her mum come into the room, her footsteps stopping when she mumbled something under her breath. My eyes opening when she started moving again, dragging the night table over so she could sit on it, I concentrated on her putting medical gloves on, placing everything she needed next to me on the bed, hoping she wouldn't need to poke and prod me.
"Unfortunately, this is going to be uncomfortable and might hurt. I will try my hardest not to cause you any pain but if it gets too much please let me know." The nurse in her taking over while I became her patient.
She started off touching the bridge of my nose, telling me what she was looking and checking for, distracting me from the pain while I listened to her every word. She applied a small amount of presser over the bridge of my nose, checking the butterfly stitch that was holding the wound closed. She gently felt under my eyes while Amanda was telling her what happened at school between Chrissy and me. I watched her wet some gauze when she gently started to clean the blood away from where the sutures in my upper lip are, asking me to look up to see the inside area of the lip, not every day you have your girlfriend's mother's finger in your mouth.
"Do you mind if I feel the wounds inside your mouth? Only because you have braces, I want to check if they missed any wounds," I nodded my reply when she told me to open my mouth, a dry gauze in her fingers.
I groaned in pain when she started to dab the inside of my cheek dry before doing the same to the other side and checking the inside of my bottom lip, guessing everything was fine when she moved onto my chin, cleaning the wound to check it was closed up properly when I heard her sigh. She quickly told me she was going to replace the steri-strips and clean the wound up a bit better, telling me whoever closed the wound didn't close it at all.
I felt the medical strip pull open the wound when she removed them, a warm tickle dripping down my chin when she swore under her breath, holding something to the wound, her other hand getting the strips ready when she stuck one end of the strips to the back of her glove. I felt her apply pressure to the wound a sharp intake from the pain when she muttered her sorries, closing the wound back up quicker than when she removed them, still dabbing away any blood that came through.
Her eyes dropped down to the gash on my knuckle, taking a clean gauze and wetting it in saline solution before cleaning it properly, asking if the doctor at the hospital noticed the cut. After she cleaned the area she took a steri-strip, cutting it into thirds, closing up the final wound and telling me that she was finished.
"I'll go get you something for the pain, but come tomorrow, the bruising will come out making it look worse than it already is and the pain will increase. All I can do is keep you on a steady dose of pain relief." She told me as she took off her glove, picking up the used materials before taking off the other glove.
I don't know when but I fell asleep at some point after being examined by her mum, my eyes fluttering open to see Amanda reading a book. I couldn't help the groan when I moved, her head turning to look at me when I rolled over and tried to sit up, Amanda already handing me over a bottle of water with some pain relief which I gladly took. The pain already slowly getting worse, if the pain gets any worse I'd rather either be high as hell on pain meds or knocked out asleep, not sure which is the better option.
I slowly got off her bed, wanting to finally look at myself in her bedroom mirror, avoiding how I looked until now, knowing I was going to have to face my reflection sooner or later. I wasn't sure what I had been expecting but my breath got caught in my throat either way. My fingertips gently touched the bruising that rimmed beneath my eyes, checking over the wounds, knowing they would scar. Guess I could say they are battle wounds.
I did start to wonder how Chrissy is looking, knowing she wouldn't be looking as bad as me, if she didn't get that parting shot in the last second I wouldn't be looking this bad.
A long sigh came from me when Amanda came up behind me, her arms wrapping around my waist when she kissed in between my shoulder blades, I tilted my head back so I could feel hers behind me.
Maybe getting away for a few days wouldn't be such a bad idea, I've been suspended until next week at some point.
"How are you feeling?" she whispered, her chin resting on my shoulder as we both looked into the mirror, her face looking flawless while I looked like I lost a fight with a bear.
"Like shit, if I'm being honest," a small chuckle coming from me.
"What are you going to do with all your free time," speaking like it was a luxury, reminding me I was going to have to ring in sick for work. At least until the bruising starts to fade.
"I was going to ask if you wanted to escape this town, go up to a lake house for a few days," a frown furrowing her eyebrows at what I said.
"I can't afford to go somewhere," she started out saying when I turned around to face her, my hands cupping her face to make her look at me.
"I own the lake house, well, my dad does but that's not the point. My mother is going to be coming home at some point this week and I don't want to be there to hear it. I just want to run and not exist for a few days." I shrugged when I felt her cheeks puff up as she considered it.
"Let me go talk to my mum first." Knowing I had already won her over when she kissed me gently on the lips before she left her room, calling for her mum like there was an emergency.