Wishing He stayed–2
I grimace, trying to find an opening to escape them.
“Really, how easy do you have to be to let three guys take you all at once?”
My eyes burn. I clench my fists, trembling all over.
“Slut,” one of the other girl mutters.
“Pathetic little whore,” Sadie sneers. “Fucking your way into being noticed. It’s gross.”
They don’t know anything. They don’t know me. I repeat the words like a manta.
Still, the shame curls inside me like smoke. I blink rapidly, tears slipping down my cheeks.
“Seriously, do you just bounce between their beds like some pathetic little parasite?” the same girl snorts. “It’s giving desperate.”
Will, standing behind Sadie with a half eaten plate of chili cheese fries, chuckles darkly.
“Maybe she’s just hungry for something else.”
Then, before I can move, react, or even blink, Sadie grabs the plate and flings it right at
- me.
2
The fries, cheese, and sauce splatter across my chest and stomach, staining my shirt. I
look down with my mouth open in shock.
Laughter erupts from the group.
“Oh shit,” Sadie laughs, grabbing her stomach, “that color looks great on you.”
I drop to my knees on the sidewalk, grabbing the now dented ice cream with shaking fingers. My breaths come shallow, and I wipe at my face, swallowing around the lump in my throat.
By the time I walk back through the front door, I’m shaking.
The cold air hasn’t helped. Neither did the walk. The smell of my shirt makes my stomach turn. My cheeks are still wet, and even though the tears have slowed, my heart hasn’t.
1/3
Wishing He Stayed–2
I shut the door behind me quietly, but the soft clink of something from the kitchen stops
- me.
“Alina?”
I freeze. It’s Zaid. He steps into view, a sandwich in one hand, his brows furrowing the second his eyes meet mine.
“Fuck, what happened?” His voice drops, tense and urgent as he rushes to me, his sandwich forgotten on the counter.
He takes the dented ice cream from my hand and sets it down gently. “Are you okay? Who did this?”
I try to speak, but the words stick. My lips tremble, and I shake my head.
“I’m okay,” I whisper, even though I’m not. “Can you just, can you get Aiden? Please?”
His expression falters. “Aiden’s asleep, love.”
The word coming from his lips makes me nauseous.
Zaid moves closer. “I can still be here for you, Alina.”
I blink fast as more tears threaten to fall, but Zaid doesn’t press. He just starts to help
me, careful and patient. He peels off my shirt slowly, guiding my arms up, making sure
the mess doesn’t get into my hair. His touch is gentle, so gentle it almost undoes me.
“There,” he says softly, and my breath hitches at the way his eyes trace over my tear
stricken face. His jaw tightens, like it’s taking everything in him not to say what he’s thinking.
He places a hand on the small of my back and leads me upstairs. The house is quiet, the world muted, except for the pounding in my ears.
When we get to the bathroom, he turns on the shower for me, testing the water with his
hand until it’s just right.
“I’ll put your ice cream in the freezer,” he says. “So it’s waiting for you when you’re
done.”
2/3
Wishing He Stayed–2
I nod absently, even though all I want to do is ask him to stay.
I just watch him leave, the soft click of the door louder than it should be.
And I stand there in the steam, wishing his arms were still around me, wishing he would kiss me. Wishing he stayed.
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