My stomach sank as two of the boys from the other week stepped directly into my path.Fuck.Apparently the universe was going to make me suffer as much as possible before I got to escape this hellhole.
They looked like they’d been in a few more fights since they’d attacked me. From the bruises around their eyes and their split lips, I was guessing one of their victims had fought back.
Bitterness bubbled in my throat. Not everyone was too chickenshit to stand up for themselves. Not like me.Fucking spineless, that’s what you are.
I wished I could say that this time would be different. That maybe I’d find some of the courage I had when it came to Dominic and tell these fuckers where to go.
But I had none. Instead, I braced myself for them to grab me.
That wasn’t what happened.
No, the one on the left went pale as he spotted me, grabbing the other’s arm. The second one’s eyes widened as he took a step back.
Without a word, they turned tail and ran away.
I’m not talking about a little jog either. They full-on sprinted in the other direction.
I gaped after them. What the fuck?
I was still wondering about it later when I got home from art class. It made no sense. Why would they run from me, ofall people? It wasn’t like I’d dobbed them in to anyone. No one knew they’d beaten seven bells out of me.
It made no sense.
The house was blissfully quiet as I toed off my shoes and hung up my bag. Mum was in bed, Dad down in his shed again.
As for the troublesome twosome? They were nowhere to be seen. Thank fuck. I was too tired and confused to deal with their bullshit tonight.
Exhausted as I was, I couldn’t go straight to bed. My conscience wouldn’t let me. I trudged into the kitchen to unload the dishwasher. Mum had filled it and put it on earlier, but if I emptied it now, she wouldn’t have to do it in the morning.
After that was done, a quick check of the tumble dryer showed me that there was a load to be folded. My shoulders protested but I pushed through. It’d only take five minutes, then I could shower and pass out.
It was actually a full hour before I finally hit the stairs. I’d just stacked the folded washing on the table when I noticed something leaking from the fridge. I opened it up to discover a carton of apple juice on its side, the lid not fully screwed on.
I’d give you three guesses who was to blame, but you’d only need two.
Fatigue weighed on my shoulders as I stepped into my bedroom. It fled immediately at the sight that greeted me. “What the fuck are you doing in here?”
Dominic didn’t turn around from where he was sat in the window. He just took another drag of his cigarette before blowing the smoke into the night sky. “Technically I’m not in your room.”
I shut the door behind me quietly before glaring at him. “Last I checked, the windowsill was part of my room.”
Dominic shrugged. “Over half my body is out of the room, so it doesn’t count.”
My nostrils flared. A distant part of me questioned why I was bothering to argue with him. I couldn’t help it though. This…warped confidence I had around him, it wasn’t healthy.
That didn’t stop it being fucking addictive.
“You must’ve crossed my room to get there.”
He took a final drag of his cigarette before flicking it out into the night. “Nope. Climbed up the porch.”
My ire faltered at his stupidity. “You didn’t.”
The porch wasn’t a ‘porch’ in the traditional sense. It was a flat roof held up by two wooden ladders that had been painted white. Years ago, before Mum had been worn down by work, she’d sit under it with the neighbours and drink tea. The ladders were ornamental only.
Well, that wasn’t strictly true. Max and I had both climbed up there a time or two, back before Dominic was in our lives. Being right outside my bedroom window, they’d played a big part in games where we pretended to be soldiers or explorers.
That was until Mum caught us and we got the bollocking of a lifetime. Seriously, I couldn’t remember another time she’d been so angry. She’d yelled at both of us for being reckless.
