“Not by choice.” She walks away.
I was surprised to see Art’s motorcycle parked outside when I got home. I thought in his anger, he would spend a few hours riding to calm down. I stayed in the car for a good twenty minutes before I worked up the nerve to go inside.
“Art,” I call through his door.
“If you know what’s good for you, you would get the hell away from my door and stay away from me. If you don’t, I swear to God, I’ll hurt you.”
“I just want to explain.”
A loud bang sounds at the door. “Leave!”
“I’m not leaving until you talk to me.”
A furious Art swings the door open. His heaving chest is covered in blood from new cuts.
“What did you do to yourself?”
I scream when he throws me into the wall and grasp my jaw in a painful hold. His nails pierce my skin. His eyes are wild and foam drips from his mouth. For the first time, I’m actually afraid of him. I should’ve left well enough alone, given him a few days to get his temper under control.
“You just don’t know when to fucking quit.”
“Listen—”
“I’m not interested in anything you have to say!”
I whimper when his hold gets tighter.
“From now on, you’re going to stay the fuck away from me. When you see me coming, turn the other way. This is the only warning I’m going to give you.”
He releases me then goes back into his bedroom, slamming the door shut. I run my fingers along the torn flesh of my jaw, smearing blood on them. The truth isn’t as bad as it seems, but he won’t listen. I lock myself in my bedroom for the remainder of the night. This is probably for the best. I knew it would come to an end eventually.
The last week and a half has been a nightmare. The tension at home and school is making me a nervous wreck. I’ve been staying in my bedroom for the most part, and if I happen upon Art alone, I quickly turn the other way. Art stays in his bedroom too, even refusing to come out to dinner, but it’s impossible to completely avoid the people you live with. Ricky had to intervene on several occasions to prevent Art and Josh from fighting. Everyone is curious about what caused the rift between Lilah and me, but I’ve kept my mouth shut. Lilah and Art have done the same. I can understand her reasoning, but I can’t fathom why he hasn’t let the cat out of the bag. Maybe, like Lilah, he’s waiting for me to fall flat on my face.
It’s hard to concentrate in first period. I’m afraid Art will suddenly change his mind about not talking, but he sits at his desk, not sparing Trevor or me a glance. He ignores me in trigonometry too. I wish he would let me explain, but I haven’t tried to talk to him since that night, because frankly, he scared the shit out of me. Even Bri gave up on him after he told her to fuck off in the hall last week for all present to hear. The severe hit to her ego won’t allow her to seek him again. My eyes steadily roam towards the classroom door, but Art never comes to first period. I don’t know whether to be happy or concerned. Later, I spot him talking to Bane while walking to the cafeteria with Anneli. Why is he talking to him?
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
“I already told you, nothing.”
“And the sky is green,” Anneli says.
“Really? I thought it was yellow.”
“Don’t lie to me, Cin. It must be pretty bad since Lilah stopped coming to sit with us at lunch.”
“I’m not in the mood to talk about this.”
“We’re best friends. I thought you trusted me.”
“I do.”
“Does it have anything to do with Art?”
“You mean a lot to me. I couldn’t ask for a better person in my corner, but I’m not ready to tell you about everything I’ve done.”
“Okay. No pressure—whenever you’re ready to talk, I’ll be here.”
She’ll help me pick up the pieces when I find the courage to tell her everything. Anneli and I grab two slices of cheese pizza each before heading to the table. I glance around the large space, looking for Art.
