Chapter 9 | That Couldn't Have Gone Worse.
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"That's the stupidest oversimplification I've ever heard. She couldn't have," Noah defends his girlfriend, face scrunched up as he thinks out possible loopholes in the situation. He's loyal, I can give him that, although now isn't the best time for denying.
"She had to. Kirsten said the voice sounded familiar. How many more people could've done it?" Carolynn insists, her hands flying to her hair to nervously play with a silky strand as Noah shoots her a look that could kill. "Right Kirsten?" She squeaks.
"Yeah, the voices sound exactly the same now that I think back to it. I probably didn't notice before cause I wasn't in the right state of mind."
"Exactly, you were drugged, you don't even know what you're talking about. And even if your world of fantasy did happen, how does that explain the guy I chased off? What did he have to do with her?" persists Noah, his fists tightening into balls as he tries to stay calm.
Wait, hold up. He fought off this guy?
I hadn't noticed it before, but light bruises line his sharp jaw line, and his knuckles are caked with crimson colored dried blood, obvious signs a fight had taken place. A pang of guilt stabs my chest as I study the mediocre injuries.
Slightly worried, I reach over, grabbing his hand. His fist reluctantly relaxes in my grip, allowing me to position it into the light. Once he sees I'm trying to play doctor though, he twists his hand out of mine.
"I'm fine, he's worse off than I am," he mutters, shoving his hands into the pockets of his khakis so they're out of my line of vision.
We all drown in silence, the question of what to do next looming over our heads. It was an option to call the police, but I don't think Noah was too fond of the idea of calling them on his girlfriend.
So, what better to do than change the subject.
"How did you guys even find me?" I ask, my gaze sweeping between the trio.
"Carolynn heard a crash because she was luckily by the stairs and came to get Axel, Sam, and I," Noah responds.
It's no surprise Carolynn had gotten the three boys, from first glance she seems pretty timid, definitely not the type to investigate something alone. "We got Taylor after I chased the guy away, and then shortly after I told everyone downstairs to go home."
Without any sign as a warning, he then leans closer to me. His breathing becomes ragged as he breathes through his nose, and the veins in his neck protrude in his sudden outrage.
"If you were more careful, this wouldn't have happened. I wouldn't be in the position I'm in now. My girlfriend wouldn't do something like this anyways!" He growls, his tone getting louder as he neared the end of his second sentence.
"You think I wanted this to happen? You think it was my fault she thought it was a good idea to do this?" I retort, my breathing quickening as I stare defiantly into his troubled grey eyes. "You just can't admit the fact that your girlfriend isn't as sweet as you thought she was," I add through gritted teeth, returning the glare he sent at me his way.
"She didn't do it," he huffs with finality, slamming the door shut as he moodily stomps out of the room.
"That couldn't have gone worse," mutters Axel from my left, running a hand through his curly locks as he stares at the absued, innocent door.
"Not helping Axel, but thanks for the input," I say sarcastically, a large sigh following afterward.
I turn to my right, gazing at Carolynn questioningly. "Where did Taylor and Sam go, do you know?"
"Taylor went to go heat up the car and Sam's cleaning. We all have been taking turns cleaning up the aftermath of the party. Someone even spilt punch on the carpet, which Noah took fifteen minutes scrubbing out."
Hehe, whoopsies.
***
Around fifteen minutes later, Taylor drops me off at my apartment. She turns off the cars headlights as we pull into the parking lot so my parents wouldn't notice my arrival, although it's really for nothing. They have to know I'm still out. To top it off, it's two in the morning on a school night, and I don't have time to fix my mess of makeup on my face, so if realize I've been at a party, I'm screwed. Grounded for life.
"Thanks Taylor," I say gratefully, stepping out of the car and straightening my dress. "I'll give you the dress after I wash it."
"No biggie. See you tomorrow." She raises a hand from the steering wheel, waving me goodbye.
"See ya," I respond, gently closing the door so it clicks shut quietly. I then tiptoe to the apartments doors, passing the ivy and weeds to reach them. I stop in front of the doors, waving Taylor goodbye one last time before slowly opening the doors, closing them shut behind me. As I walk in, she finally backs out onto the street. She had probably waited for me to go in before leaving.
I not so skillfully fiddle with the apartment key, successfully pinpointing it and opening the door after a couple of trials. As soon as I open the door, I notice the lights are on. Before I have the chance to set my stuff down, or even take a step forward, my dad swivels around to face me in a leather chair. I suppress a bitter laugh, instead face palming my forehead.
"Where have you been?" He scolds, pursing his lips as he crosses his arms.
"Out with a friend from school," I lamely respond, holding his gaze as I walk around the door and push it shut, not even bothering to make sure the sound is quiet. Sultan comes rushing over to greet me as he hears the noise, and I carefully bend down onto his level to scratch behind his ears.
My dad isn't easily fooled."Dressed like that?" I swear my heart stops beating as my mind scrambles for an answer. There is absolutely no way to explain this. I obviously wouldn't go strolling around town looking like a grand zombie princess.
I really didn't want to do this, but I have no choice. I stand back up after Sultan trots away, and I use the time to prepare myself for what I was going to say next.
Cue the guilty card.
"Dad, you have no right to interrogate me. You made us move all the way across the country just for your stupid job. Did you ever take in consideration your daughter and how she felt? How it ripped her apart leaving her best friend? No? I thought not. So I'm sorry for trying to fit in."
His face was one of shock, and it was just the break I needed. I storm past him, heading to my room and press my back against it to shut it. The movement causes throbbing pain to erupt on my upper back, but I force the feeling out of my mind as I listen for my dad. He didn't make a move after me, so I figure I'm in the clear.
I take off the dress as quickly as I can, tossing it in my closest so it is out of sight. Every time I gaze at the stupid lace now, I get vivid images from a couple hours ago. I will have to give it back to Taylor eventually, but at the moment I'm too appalled to even look at it anymore.
I look down at my bare stomach, my eyes going wide as I stare at huge purple bruises still forming on each of my sides. I quickly cover up the sight, throwing on an oversized T-shirt and shorts before just heading to bed.
In the morning, I really felt the aftermath.
Bruises line my stomach, shoulders, knees, and basically wherever I had hit when I collapsed so many times due to the lack of body control. And then there's my waist, which is the worst out of everything. It's worse than yesterday, it's shade a purple two times darker than it was last night.
I decide to wear my only long sleeved blue tie dye shirt I own to cover up the bruises and marks on my arms. There's a little problem though: it's a crop top. Before you all judge me, I lived in Miami. I'm surprised I even had a long sleeved shirt. I could wear a tank top under it, but the weather is supposed to be really hot, so I'm already pushing it with the long sleeves.
I also wear light colored high waisted skinny jeans, attempting to cover up the rest of the bruises as best as I can They aren't too noticeable once I put it on, they just peek out the tiniest bit. It just looks like a shadow.
"This will have to do," I mutter to myself, brushing off invisible dust on my clothes. I turn around, grabbing my backpack without breaking a strut as I head out the door and to school, my white converse clopping with each step.
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A little short, but as always hope you enjoyed! Any criticism?
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