Beep. Beep. Beep.
My alarm blared from my nightstand and I reached for it blindly.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Shit. When I finally found it, I hit the off button before sitting up in bed. Sleep still laced my eyes so I stretched and yawned to get it out of my system but ended wincing in pain.
The bruise on my cheek and the one starting to form on my stomach really hurt.
I got up and went to my bathroom to get a closer look and also to get ready for the second day of school. I took a quick shower before getting dressed.
I put on a pair of black leggings, grey Adidas sneakers and finished off my look with a grey long sleeved shirt.
I wear long sleeves to cover the scars on my wrist.
After, I went over to the mirror to cover my bruise with a little magic, also know as makeup.
A little concealer there and a little highlight here and there you go.
The combination was partially good. Most of the bruise was covered and it wasn't really noticeable that I was wearing makeup unless you were really staring at me, so I decided to leave my hair down in its natural curls to take the attention away from my face.
After I did everything I was to do, I took up my bag pack and my phone before going downstairs.
When I got in the kitchen, I saw Malcolm sitting at the kitchen island reading the morning newspaper and Leo sitting around the dining table.
"Good morning sir. Good morning Leo."I had to start off the morning with courtesy, maybe he'll be in a better mood today.
"Morning Tori."Leo answered back.
"Whatever."Malcolm wasn't so polite though.
"Uhm, what car should I take today sir?"I asked Malcolm. I didn't want me or Leo to be in this house any longer than we had to so I wanted to leave as soon as possible.
"Speaking of cars, I need to discuss something with you."my heart started to race. What could he possibly want to discuss with me? There was no way in knowing so I took a seat across from him and listened attentively.
"I have a business proposal I need to oversee overseas. I'll be gone for a couple of weeks so you two will be on your own. The maids will still be here to keep an eye on things."the look that he was giving told me that he stood firm by what he said.
"Even though I'm not here, the rules will still apply, now more than ever. Do not bring your filthy little friends into my house. Do not break the curfew I set out for you, and do not sleep at anyone's house. Do I make myself clear?"he finally ended.
"Yes sir."
"Yes sir." Leo and I responded simultaneously.
"Good. Now I'm going to take the Range Rover, so you're left with full access to the SUV, so please, do not f*ck up my car. I leave at sundown."he didn't say one last word to us. Not even a goodbye. He just got up and left.
As soon as he did, Leo and I looked at each other and grinned.
"Oh my God! The spawn of Satan is leaving!"our grins reached our ears as we laughed and rejoiced.
"Come on Leo. We have to get to school."I did one last chuckle as I thought about all the things I could do while he was away, even though I would be breaking 'his' rules.
Oh well. F*ck it.
♤♤♤♤
Room 234
Woodwork
I was already late. I stood outside of the classroom door and took a deep breath.
I stood there and began to mentally prepare myself to be the centre of attention.
In 3....2....1
The door creaked open and I was instantly met with atleast 24 pairs of eyes. Three pairs looking familiar.
Elijah, Vaughan and Michael stared at me from the back of the class.
"Ms. Valentine. Nice of you to finally join us. Please to note that if you're late for another class you will be getting a detention. Kindly take a seat so I can get on with my lesson."the teacher, Mr. Taylor said.
I quickly scanned the class and realized that I was the only girl. There was an empty seat beside Elijah in the second to last row so I made my way over to him. Behind him, Vaughan and Micheal were seated soundly.
When I was close enough, and we made eye contact I smiled. He just looked at me blankly and averted his gaze.
Well okay then.
I quickly brushed it off then sat down in the extra chair beside him and started to take notes.
"Psst. Tori"I heard my name being called behind me. I turned my head to see Vaughan whisper yelling and throwing a pen at my head to catch my attention.
"What?!"I whisper yelled back.
"I'm throwing a party this Friday, do you want to come?"he asked. I don't know why, but I looked at Elijah as if asking him if I should.
He just shrugged at me. "I don't care. It's his house, not mine."
I was disappointed because I wanted to know what happened to the sweet Elijah that was worried about my well being last night.
I looked back at Vaughan and responded, "why not? I think I could party on Friday."
"Awesome. I'll text the details in the group chat."
"Okay su-"
"Today you guys have an assignment." I was interrupted by Mr. Taylor.
Groans and sighs could be heard all around the classroom.
"I know it's only the second day of school but to be honest, I don't really care. For this project you will be doing it in pairs."
More groans and sighs could be heard around the room.
"And if you already hate me, you're going to hate me even more because I will be choosing the the pairs."
The groans and sighs got even louder at that statement but that didn't phase him because he started calling the names of who would be pairs instantly. He had already paired 6 people, Vaughan and Michael being in that set.
"Elijah Wright," when he got to Elijah's name, he stopped and looked at the class.
"I know most of you in this class doesn't want to be paired with Elijah so I'll do the honours of asking for a volunteer. That is the most generous I'll be for the rest of the school year." I looked to Elijah and saw that he had a bored expression on his face.
Why would no one want to pair with him?
Should I? Or maybe there's a reason no one wanted to pair with him.
But I wanted to test the deep waters surrounding Elijah.
"I would like to volunteer." Everyone's head snapped to me, strangely at the same time.
'Is she serious?'
'That girl's brave.'
'She obviously doesn't know what she's getting herself into.'
Those were the whispers that travelled throughout the class.
"Are you sure Ms. Valentine? Elijah can be a very difficult individual."even Mr. Taylor questioned my motive.
"Everyone deserves to be understood, so yes sir. I'm sure."
"Okay. So Elijah, you will be working with Ms. Valentine."
I could feel Elijah's eyes on me. I found enough courage within myself to look back at him.
"Why would you do that? Volunteer to be my partner." he didn't need to voice the question because his facial expression said it all.
"Not every motive needs to have a reason Elijah." I said before packing up my things and leaving when the bell rang signalling the end of class.
♤♤♤♤
Lunch time came around pretty fast. We all sat at the lunch table making conversation and laughing with each other. Well all of us except Elijah. He was seated on my left and just sat there looking bored.
"What the heck. I can't open this thing. Why do they have to seal it so tight and make it impossible to open." Everyone laughed at Michael's futile attempt to open his water.
"It's because you're weak, and stupid. It has a sprout that you're to open at the top dumbass."Damian said to him from across the table. Michael's expression made us all burst out laughing.
Because he was squeezing the bottle so hard, when he pulled the sprout, all of the water squirted in my face.
"Oh My God Tori, I'm so sorry!"
"It's okay Micheal. It's just a little water. No big deal." I assured him before I brought my hand up to wipe the water away. When I looked at my hand, I saw the makeup that I put on to hide the bruise on my cheek.
"Shit." I muttered.
"Is that concealer?" Elijah asked before moving closer to examine my cheek but I quickly used my hand to cover it.
"I don't know what you're talking about."I glanced at Elijah and saw that he was glaring at my hand, as if trying to see through it.
"Excuse us."and with the statement that he directed to the table, he grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the cafeteria. I tried to loosen his grip but he just applied more pressure, not enough to hurt me, just enough that I couldn't free myself. He only let go when he pulled me into an unoccupied classroom and locked the door.
Please don't ask. Please don't ask.
"Where did you get that bruise?"
Damn it.
"I walked into a door."I lied.
"You walked into a door?" He raised his eyebrows.
"Yes. I did."
"Okay."
"Okay? So I can go now?"
"No."
"What? Why the hell not?"
"Because I'm waiting on an answer that I actually believe."there was no persuading him into believing anything else, but I was not giving up on my story.
"I told you. I walked into a door."
"That's bullshit and you know it."
He took a step forward and I took a step back. We did that until my back hit the door and I had nowhere else to go.
He came closer, a little too close for my liking. He gripped my wrist and pinned them to the wall. Hard. I winced in pain.
When he realized this, he took my wrists and rolled up my sleeves. He looked down on the scars on my wrist and then looked me dead in the eyes.
"Tori. Are you being........abused?"
"No." I answered a little too quickly.
He let go of my hands and took my face in his, careful not to apply alot of pressure to my bruised cheek. His face softened.
"Tori. Please, talk to me."He pleaded. I built up enough strength to push him away from me.
"Why are you like this?!"I screamed at him.
"What?"
"Why do you act like you care one minute and then the other minute you give me the cold shoulder!" I cried because I don't like being confused. "I don't need you prying into my private life!"I continued.
"Well I'm sorry if I'm trying to be a better person by caring about your well being!"he shouted back.
"You know what, I can't deal with this right now. Just leave me alone."
"Fine. If that's what you really want, I'll go. But I hope that whoever's doing this to you enjoys doing it." He spat then left, slamming the door behind him.
I sunk to the ground and continued to let my tears roll down my cheek.
It was true what they said. Words really do hurt.
AN: Dun. Dun. Dah!!!! There's chapter 5. Oouuu, it looks like Elijah found out. Do you think they'll ever be friends again? Or is that the end of Tori and Elijah. Continue reading to find out.
Yours truly,
Gea❤.