Pain resonates in my side as I bring my hands to the source. Red coats my hands like paint as I try to keep more of it from leaving my punctured skin. When the sharp object twists inside of me, I can barely breath from shock.
My whole body was threatening to shut down as I felt more blood leak from my wound. Slowly I was getting weaker as I am drained of the substance that kept me alive.
The person I once called friend pulls the knife from me and lets my body fall limply to the cement on the flat roofed apartment building. I apply pressure to the area that needed attention with my palms, but they aren't enough. My blood seeps right through my fingers.
I lost a lot of blood that night. Fading in and out of consciousness, I didn't know how long I was laying there, or who found me. All I know was that I was in the hospital, and person who did this to me was gone.
Waking up in the hospital this time wasn't so different, except for the fact I wasn't in critical condition.
Hushed voices come from the other side of the room, both I know very well.
"I think you've done enough already," Sabrina hisses, clearly upset with whomever she is conversating.
"I would be careful of the things you say aloud, Miss Williams," a deeper voice warns. Andrew.
"You did this," she says in a harsh whisper. "I know you did."
Father doesn't raise his voice, or lose his calm demeanor as he says, "Your boyfriend took a tumble down some stairs." What he says jogs my memory a little bit. I did fall down the stairs, but he doesn't mention that he is the one that pushed me down them. "Now why don't you be a good girl and keep your theories to yourself."
I clear my throat, making it clear that I am awake. They both look my way. Sabrina's eyes are wide, almost like she is afraid. It's understandable if she is. Andrew Griffin is a scary man to face if you push the wrong buttons.
She rushes to my bedside, leaving my father behind her, and grabs my hand in hers. A relieved smile forms on her lips as she looks down at me. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"Of course I'm okay," I tell her, giving her hand a squeeze of reassurance.
"What happened?" she whispers in concern.
Before I can reply, Andrew clears his throat. "Sabrina, why don't you go and alert the nurse that Austin is awake?"
From the look on her face, I know she is hesitant, but lets go of my hand anyways. When she's gone Andrew closes the door behind her, clearly wanting some privacy. A cold shiver runs down my spine as he gets closer, pulling a chair with him. He sits down a foot away from the bed eyeing me tensely as he looks at me.
"Here's how it's going to go," he tells me matter-of-factly. "I already told the doctor what happened, but she said that they needed to hear it from you." I take a deep breath, readying myself for whatever story he wants me to repeat. "You were drunk. I was out on that business trip with your mother and you got into my liquor cabinet. At some point you drank too much and when you tried going down the stairs to your room, you lost your footing and fell down them."
I want to be angry with him, but I know that this is all my fault. Throwing parties had its consequences.
"Got it?" Father asks, noticing my silence.
I clear my throat and nod. "Yeah, got it."
"So you told your girlfriend." This statement got my attention. He grunts, "Anyone else I need to worry about?"
"She's the only one," I swear. "She has only known for a couple days, but she won't tell anyone. I'll make sure of it."
"You better, because otherwise I'll have to get involved, and you and I both know you won't like how I handle things."
Our father-son moment is over when the doctor came in. She asks her questions and I answer them just how Andrew instructed. "I was having a bad day, so I guess that I had a little too much to drink and I fell down the stairs. I'm just so lucky that my father found me, or else I don't know what I would have done."
The nurse doesn't catch my hidden sarcasm, but Andrew noticed it quickly. Like he always did. "When can I take my son home?" He says, getting straight to the point like always.
"We'll have to keep him here overnight for evaluation, but he can go home tomorrow morning." She smiles lightly at the both of us.
"Evaluation?" It almost sounded like concern tainted his words, but it was probably just an act. "I thought you said he was fine."
The nurse nods. "He was lucky to get away without a severe concussion, but you have nothing to worry about. It's just a precaution." After turning away from my father, she looks to me. "Before I go is there anything I can do for you?" I shake my head no. "Okay, I'll be back to check on you in the morning, but if you need anything just press the assistance button."
After the nurse leaves the room, Sabrina comes back in, but she isn't alone.
He looks at Andrew before he looks at me, then hurries over to me. "I heard you were here and came over as fast as I could. You're not hurt too badly, are you? Did the nurse say something about a concussion? Are you hurt? . . . Of course you are, that's a stupid question. Are you getting enough water? I could get you some! Just tell me and I'll-"
"Harry! Harry, calm down," I chuckle lightly. "I'm fine."
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure."
Harry grabs my hand gently, but isn't able to get another word out before Andrew says, "Visiting time is over. It's getting late, Austin needs his rest."
"Actually," I say, "could Sabrina stay for a moment?"
Father looks at me -probably deciding against my request- before nodding and leaving the room, along with Harry who sends me a little smile.
When everyone is gone except for her and me, I reach out my hand for her to take it. She steps a few feet forward to stand next to my bed and takes my hand. "What really happened?" Her grip on my hand is firm, but gentle.
She is the only one who sees through my facade.
A heavy weight sets in the back of my throat as I try to think of something other to say than the truth, out of habit. "I did fall down the stairs," I don't lie. There's no point in that now. "but I wasn't drunk. I was pushed."
The look on her face is one I can't place, but I try not to. I have enough to worry about already. Her eyes spoke louder than her expression, like she was trying to keep her feelings to herself for my benefit.
"Why?" Her voice comes out with a croak, like she is trying to keep herself from crying.
"I was upset with how we left things between us when you left after finding out about my father, so I wanted a night of fun." I don't know why I don't want to tell her about the party I threw last night, but I know better than to keep it from her. "I threw a party."
"And your dad found out," she completes the story.
'Dad' is a word that makes me cringe, because I know I'll never have one. A dad is supposed to be the person you count on to raise and defend you, not raise a hand while you defend yourself.
At first I think that Sabrina will wear a face of sympathy, but that's not what I see. The look she wears is one of disappointment. "Why do you do this, Austin?"
My face scrunches as I pucker my lips. "Do what?"
"Ag him on," she says, not lacking an ounce of conviction.
"I don't ag him on," I try to say with the same amount of confidence, but fail.
"You're constantly playing with other people's emotions, so why not his too?" I don't like her tone towards me.
"Sabrina," I say calmly. "I know you're upset, but-"
"I've thought a lot about our conversation all week." She fiddles with the hem of her shirt, something she always does when she's about to say something she knows I won't like. To my surprise though, she stays quiet.
Reaching out, I grab her hand in mine. "You're scared, I know. I am too. Do you know how important you are to me? You are so important to me that I'd rather let you in than lose you, but it seems like I'm doing that anyways."
Sabrina squeezes my hand, as if to tell me silently that I am wrong. "You aren't going to lose me."
"But you still don't agree with my decision."
"Not even remotely." She pulls her hand back and crosses her arms.
I sigh. "You don't know what it's like, Rina." Before I start, I know it's pointless to try to get her to understand, but I don't stop myself from saying it. "Being the son of Andrew Griffin is both a privilege, and a curse. He can be narcissistic, arrogant, and just downright ruthless. But he is also the key to my future, and not to mention my father."
"You really want to go into the family business, don't you?"
"It's not that simple." I close my eyes and sigh out of frustration. "Some people don't get to choose their futures.
"They have their futures chosen for them."
The doctor's orders kept me from participating in football practice all week. I've missed three practices already and I wasn't about to miss another.
Coach is going easy on me this practice, letting me take breaks every fifteen minutes. A part of me wishes he didn't do this. Every time I find myself relaxing, my mind goes back to the conversation my father and I had after Sabrina left.
"Pretty girl," he had said. "She isn't really someone I would have picked out for you, but I guess she'll do just fine."
At first I forgot why he was being so disapproving of my girlfriend, but then I remembered the conversation him and Sabrina were having when I woke up. He knew. He knew that I had told her about who he truly was -a heartless man who constantly poisoned the mind of his wife and son.
"Unless, of course," father said, clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth, "if she tries to make this information public. Then, I supposed things won't go very well for her and her family."
Apparently me saying Sabrina wasn't going to say anything the first time didn't hold too much weight with him.
"Nothing is going to happen to her family." I put my foot down at that moment, but like usual, Andrew wasn't phased.
"Because Sabrina is going to keep this newfound information to herself," he said, nothing but confidence emanated from him, "and you're going to make sure of this."
Coach's sharp whistle shakes me out of the memory, and back into the present. I glance over to Sabrina, who's cheer practice is going longer than usual. Amber is off the the side, watching. The two of them had plans together after practice, probably, or else Amber would never be here. She hates cheerleading.
One of the girls -I'm pretty sure her name is Sydney- messes up, and Courtney stops the whole practice to point out the flaw. She yells at her to shape up, and then tells everyone to start the routine all over again.
And I thought Coach was scary when the team messed up a play. If Courtney were to run up to me and start yelling at me with the same intensity, no doubt my balls would drop off then and there.
Girls are scary as Hell, just not many men find themselves admitting it.
When they look like they're finally wrapping up with practice, I see Sabrina walking over to Sydney. Probably checking to see if she was okay after what happened. That's another thing I love about her. She has the biggest heart of anyone I've ever known.
There I go again, I accuse myself. Using the 'L' word like I know what it means.
Another blow of the whistle signals the end of practice, which meant that Courtney kept the cheer team a lot later than usual. Everyone walks to the locker rooms together.
A couple girls group around Rodney, and Courtney glares at them intensely for a few moments until she makes a hmph noise and gravitates towards Cole Atless instead. This wasn't surprising. Whenever her and Rodney have a falling out, she'd always go to straight to Cole. Of course Cole didn't mind. She is one of the hottest girls in school after all.
I feel sudden pressure on my back as someone light wraps their legs around my torso and kisses my cheek. Smiling, I grip my surprise attacker by their legs, steadying them. "Do you not know how to use your legs anymore, babe?"
Sabrina's giggle fills my left ear as she says, "Apparently not." And hugs my shoulders tighter, pressing her chin into my shoulder. It hurts a little after a while, but I don't care. She's being too cute to correct.
Once we get to the locker rooms, I put her down in front of the girl door and point to my mouth for a quick kiss. She complies, and I wave her off, ignoring Amber's fake gagging noises and leave to the men's locker rooms, but I'm stopped by someone yelling my name. Whittney is walking through the entrance of the football stadium, his voice slurring as he yells multiple other things accompanying my name.
I roll my eyes. I don't need this right now.
"Whitt," I call to him. "What are you doing here?"
He walks over to me, clearly stumbling over his own feet. When he is close enough, I can smell alcohol on his breath. "Cash," he slurs, "I need some cash, man. Jay, I need to pay him back."
I grunt and run my hand through my hair. "How many times have I told you not to buy shit from your brother?"
"Just give me the damn money!" He yells and then puts his head in his hands. He probably gave himself a headache from all the yelling.
"I don't have it with me."
In an instant, Whittney is gripping me by my shoulders. Fear danced in his eyes as I looked into them. Clearly there was something more going on than just the simplicity of owing someone money. "What do you mean you don't have it?"
Grabbing his hands, I slowly peel them off of me. I point behind me and say, "My wallet is in the locker room. Just let me grab it, and I'll be right back, okay?" He nods. "I'll be right back, don't move."
I hurry to my locker and grab my wallet, pulling out everything I had in there. There wasn't much since Andrew hadn't given me any money in a while, but it should be enough. Whittney is still fidgeting in the same spot when I get back.
After I hand him the cash, I expected to hear a thank you, but instead he says, "Where's the rest of it?"
"The rest?"
"Don't play dipshit, Griffin." He looks over the money while scowling. "I know you have more than this!"
"Yeah," I scoff. "At home, maybe. I don't carry around more than two hundred dollars. That's borderline idiotic!"
Apparently our shouting got some attention, because half the football team was now out here, along with a couple cheerleaders. This is downright embarrassing. Whittney is my friend, so he's my responsibility when he starts making trouble on school grounds. Especially when he's causing it right next to the field.
The players part like the red sea to let Rodney through. "Is this guy bothering you, Griffin?" He wears the same mocking smile he always wears while thinking of causing a scene.
This was not going to be good.
"I just want my money, and I'll go."
"Oh, I think you'll be going now." Rodney crosses his arms. "Last time I checked this is Footballer turf, so I suggest you leave by yourself before we escort you out by force." His smirk grows as he adds, "And trust me, there's nothing that would give me more satisfaction."
"Austin!" Whittney yells my name again, probably looking for me to help him, but there is nothing I can do.
"Go home, Whitt." I try to say this as friendly as I can, but I am still pissed at him for getting mad at me just for helping him out, so I don't know how well that worked out.
Whittney lets out a frustrated cry and charges toward me, shoving Rodney in order to get to me. Before anyone can stop him, his fist flies at me, decking me on the nose. A sharp crackle can be heard in the back of my head before I stumble back a few steps.
A few girlish screams come from the crowd that has formed. Two gentle hands cradle my face as the black in the corners of my eyes starts to disappear. Sabrina's worried eyes are the first things I see when I regain my bearings.
"I'm okay. I'm okay," I say, pushing past her to get to the commotion only a few feet away.
Rodney, Brett, and Cole have Whittney surrounded. He's on the ground and they're kicking his back, stomach, legs, anything they can. I'm too shocked to do anything, but just stand and watch. At first, I want to do something, but then I remember him charging at me, and then hitting me so hard he almost broke my nose.
"Get this piece of shit out of here," is all I say before I storm into the locker rooms.
I need a shower.
I know it took FOREVER for me to post this chapter, and for that I apologize. I hope you liked chapter 10.
Please don't forget to comment what you think or vote if you think the chapter is deserving of it!