Amore Mio

XVI. Liar Liar

Alice’s POV:

I skipped school for the week.

I hear another ding on my phone, knowing it’s another message asking me if I’m okay. Everyone thinks I’m crying in despair inside my bedroom because of my break up and I intended to keep them thinking that way.

I grab my jacket to cover up the faint bruises. Holding the powder, I put on the last bit of makeup and looked at the mirror to practice my smile.

“I’m fine. Thank you for asking.”

I pause, inhaling another breath.

“Yes, the breakup was hard, so I needed some time alone.”

I nod to myself. “Good enough,” I mumbled, standing up to go to the grocery store. When I walked downstairs, there was some money in the usual spot. I grab the shoes and head outside. The sun hit my eyes, and I slipped on my sunglasses.

When I hear a car honking, I turn around to see Neilson and Marvin. My heart froze when Neilson gave Marvin a quick word then jogged over to me.

I played with my long sleeves, “H-Hi.”

He bent his legs, concerned eyes staring at me. “What happened?”

“What do you mean?”

He placed a hand on my arm, and I flinched. “Last week, I thought we were going to bake together, and I haven’t seen you this past week.”

“My dad asked me to do something, so I must have forgotten. Sorry, Muffin.”

He glances down at my bag. “Going shopping?” He asks, and I nod. “Need a ride?”

I smile, “Please.”

I sat in the car, looking at Neilson and Marvin talking about something. Neilson would turn towards me, waving his hand, which I return. Soon, he slips into the car, and we wave Marvin goodbye.

Arriving at the market, Neilson helped me pick out the food. I push the cart around, wondering what I should cook this week. My feet stopped moving when two hands grabbed the bar from behind me. He held my hands, pushing the cart forward, placing his chin on top of my head.

“I think you need spinach,” he hums, grabbing a bag, throwing it inside the cart.

“If you want to push the cart, you can say so,” I mumble.

He shook his head, “No, I like this position.”

My eyes widened when I saw a few students from the school, and I turned around.

“What’s wrong?” Neilson asked.

“Th-They are from my school,” I mumble into his chest, feeling his arms wrap around my shoulder, pulling me in.

I can see their shoes passing us, and I held onto him tighter. “Are they gone?” I whisper.

“No.”

We continue standing there, his chest-beating inconsiderably loud. My head lifts, meeting his browns, staring at me, so seductively. “They’re gone, aren’t they?” I ask.

A foolish smile appears on his face. “Maybe.”

I punch his arm.

Soon, we finish, and Neilson helps me with the groceries. I pack the stuff inside the bags, seeing him taking out his card. Instantly, I drop the milk, rushing towards him. “What are you doing?”

“Paying?” he snorts, turning towards the cashier. “Card,” he said.

I shake my head towards the cashier. “No, cash.”

Neilson rolls his eyes. “Card.”

I opened my mouth, but Neilson held a hand over my mouth. “Card,” he told the cashier, who eyes us curiously and nods.

We walk out of the store, and I glare at him. “What?” he asks innocently.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” I hiss, not liking that he paid.

He licked his lips. “Then, I guess you owe me one,” he smiles.

My brows furrow together. “Huh?” I didn’t ask him to pay for the grocery, but he forcefully did, and now I owe him one?

Neilson glances at me and continues smiling like a creep.

A cute creep.

He threw his arm over my shoulder, pulling me closer, and I can hear the beating of his chest. “What a cute couple you two make,” an old lady said.

My mouth opened but Neilson cut me off. “Thank you.”

My cheeks were burning. I want to yell at him, but I didn’t get a chance to do it.

“Alice,” Ian said.

“What do you want?” Neilson said in a tone I’ve never heard before, and it was a slight turn on.

Imagine if we were in bed, and he- stop it!

Ian takes a step back, placing two hands in the air. “I just want to talk to her, that’s all.” He looks at me with pleading eyes.

“Neilson, I’ll be right back,” I whisper, handing him the bag.

Ian and I walk towards the other side of the parking lot, and I can feel Neilson’s burning gaze. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“For what?”

“For what Kayla said last week. I-I was going to apologize earlier, but you weren’t at school, and you wouldn’t pick up your phone. Alice, that wasn’t Kayla. She would never act that way,” he defends her.

“That’s okay,” I pause. “Everything she said was true.”

Ian shakes his head. “You and I both know that isn’t true. Alice, I know you aren’t that type of girl,” he places a hand on my cheek. “You’re a nice girl and-”

“Let’s go.”

I turn to see Neilson standing beside us. He moves all the bags to one hand, grabs my wrist, forcibly pulling me towards his side. “Are you done talking?”

Ian places his hands on his side and nods. Quickly, Neilson drags me back to his car, and I turn to see Ian standing there, staring at us. Neilson dumped the food into the trunk and unlocked the door. With one last glance, I hop inside.

The music was on low, my eyes scanning the streets we passed by every day. “What did you guys talk about?” Neilson asked, gripping tightly into the wheel.

I merely shrug, sinking into the leather seat. “He just wanted to apologize about what his friend said to me when we broke up.”

His brows pinch together in a disorderly manner as he turns towards me at a red light. “What did his friend say to you?” he questions, tapping a single finger on the wheel.

“She called me some names, but nothing I can’t handle,” I grumble, lying my elbow on the armrest.

When I feel a hand tangling with mine, I turn over to see Neilson, who starts driving at the green light. “Is that why you didn’t go to school for the whole week?” he questions, and I knew he would know if I lied.

I nod my head. “She doesn’t even know me,” I mumble, feeling a kiss on my hand.

“Don’t let her words get to you. You’re better than that, Angel,” he said slowly, and I scoot over, unbuckling my seatbelt, leaning my head on his shoulder as he pats my hair.

“You should wear your seatbelt. You never know what may happen,” he said, as I wrap my arms around his.

When we got back, Neilson helped me carry in the grocery inside the house. We put away all the ingredients, and I wonder what I should cook for dinner tonight, or if I should even cook. It’s not like dad will be home.

My heart leaps out of my chest, feeling two arms around my waist. “W-What is it N-Neilson?” I ask as he places his chin on my shoulder.

“You owe me,” he mumbles.

“For what?”

“For ditching me last week. I waited and waited, but you didn’t even send a single message,” he dug his face into my neck. “So, you have to make it up. “How are you going to make it up to me, amore mio?” I can feel his lips tracing my ear, waist press against my back.

“I-I d-don’t know,” I stutter, feeling his hot breath.

“I have an idea.”

“W-What?”

“This whole week, you belong to me, as a makeup for not contacting me,” he offers, and I swallow intently. “Okay, amore mio?”

Hesitantly, I nod my head as he continues standing there, pressing me against the counter. “You smell good,” he inhales my scent.

It’s definitely getting weird.

There’s a long silence as the clock continues ticking along with the beating of my heart. “I got to go, but I’ll pick you up for school tomorrow?”

Yes, leave me here, all hot and bothered.

I nod, and he kisses my cheek before leaving. I stand there while he walks back towards the front door, a cheeky smile on his lips.

Laying down on my bed, a smile breaks out, and I roll around my blanket squealing. Placing a hand on my cheek, I can still feel his warm lips, and I start giggling, rolling into the ground. It hurts when my face smacks the ground, but my heart was too happy to care.

Morning arrives, and I gracefully get out of bed, wiping the drool off the side of my lips. I skip towards the closet and pick out a cute outfit. I braid my hair up into a high bun, grateful that the bruises were fading, so I don’t have to wear much makeup.

I hop downstairs, grabbing a piece of bread, hearing my phone ding.

Muffin: I’m out front.

I twirl towards the front door and slip on my shoes. I stand there, placing a hand on my chest, patting it a few times. “Be cool, Alice, don’t be too excited,” I mumble to myself before opening the door, seeing Neilson standing on the street leaning against his car.

Don’t you dare smile!

I bit my lips and locked the front door, calmly walking towards him. He glanced upward, a smile on his lips. “You look cute today,” he pinches my cheek, walking towards the driver seat.

Once the door slam, I grab the hand. “And you look handsome as always,” I mumble to myself before opening the door.

I hop inside, and we start talking about everyone. I was happy there wasn’t any awkward silence between us anymore, mainly since Neilson was more talkative than usual.

Before I knew it, we reached school. “I guess this is my stop.”

He bites his lower lips in a very sexy way. “I’ll pick you up after school?”

I couldn’t help but giggle like a stupid high schooler and nod. I stand there, a dumb smile on my face as I wave him goodbye.

Feeling a smack on my head, I whip around to meet with a pair of disapproving eyes. “Hi, Alice,” Kevin, Nina’s boyfriend, wave at me.

“Babe, mind giving Alice and I some time alone?” Nina asks.

Kevin places a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll meet you in class,” he said, and she nods. Nina grabs my wrist, pulling me towards a corner with fewer people. “What was that?” she whispers.

I shrug, “What was what?”

“Don’t you play stupid! I know that was Neilson’s car! Why are you in Neilson’s car?” She threw her arms up in the air like a crazy lady.

“He offered me a ride to school?”

She smacks a hand on her forehead. “Alice, what’s going on? I didn’t hear from you for one week. Then you come to school in Neilson’s car. The guy who legitimately broke your heart before summer.”

I start playing with my fingers. “I thought we could be friends or something. You know I knew Neilson since I was eight. I can’t just cut him out of my life,” I mumble.

She released a deep breath, then pulled me into a hug. “Don’t you dare pull the missing person s**t on me again. I miss you.”

Throughout the day, everyone kept asking me if I’m okay since they thought I was heartbroken because of Ian. Soon, it got irritated. I wanted to punch everyone in the face, really badly.

Thank goodness I had a heart of gold and held back.

During class, I had to pee badly, so I asked the teacher to be excused. I zig-zag towards the bathroom, praying I will make it. When I open the bathroom door, my eyes widen seeing Kayla surrounded by Carla and many other cheerleaders.

“What are you guys doing?” I ask.

Carla flips her hair back. “Don’t worry about it, Alice. We are just teaching her a lesson.”

Kayla was sitting on the ground, bruises running across her face as her hair was layered everywhere. Quickly, I rush towards her. “Are you okay?”

She smacks my hands away. “Don’t act like the f*****g hero. You think doing this will make Ian take you back?” she pushed me.

Hold it in, Alice, hold it in.

I offer her a smile. “I’m not-”

“That’s the fakest smile I’ve ever seen,” she spat out, then smirk, eyes scanning at the people behind me. “Then again, makes sense since you hang out with the fakest people I’ve ever met.”

“Oh f**k no b***h, someone holds my damn earring,” a girl shouts.

Kayla stands up. “Bring it! I’ll blow up those balloons you call boobs.”

The girl gasps, covering her ridiculously large chest. I inhaled a deep breath and bit my lips. “Can we not do this?”

The door bursts open, and Pamala jumps in. Before I can say another word, she punches me in the face, causing my head to hit the ground. Slowly, I got up, feeling the blood dripping down my cheeks. “Alice!” Carla shouted.

“I’m fine,” I croaked out.

I want to throw up.

“What’s going on here?!”

“Mr.Franklin! Pamala punched Alice! She’s hurt!” Carla screams, and the girls around her nod in agreement.

“What?! You’re the one who’s been hurting Kayla for the past week!” Pamala shriek.

They argue with one another.

My vision got blurrier, and soon their voices merged.

“That’s enough! Everyone! Principal office now!” Mr. Franklin shouted.

With trembling legs, I stand up, only to make contact with the hard surface.

I feel something warm touching my hand. A finger tucks my hair behind my ear. Steadily, my lids lift, seeing a guy sitting there. He had my hand on his forehead, eyes closed. “Neilson?” My voice cracks.

He opens his eyes, placing his hand on my cheeks. “Are you okay, Alice?”

“Am I dead? Am I in Heaven?” I ask.

His brows furrowed together, and he shakes his head. “No, you’re at the hospital.”

“That explains the pain and wires attach to me,” I grunt, attempting to sit up.

“No, you lay there,” he said in a voice, not allowing any argument. “I’m going to go get the doctor.”

I nod as he rushes out. My eyes lurk over to the button. The damn button he could’ve pressed to get someone in here, but he didn’t.

Idiot.

He must have really cared to forget about it.

“Alice!” Nina shouted, rushing towards my side. “Thank God you woke up,” she releases a deep breath holding my hand.

“What happened?” I ask.

“You don’t remember?”

I shake my head.

Nina explained how Kayla, with her friend and Carla and the cheerleaders, were fighting in the bathroom. I got pushed in the ground and hit my head pretty badly, which explains the bandage. They tried to call my dad, but he didn’t pick up. Neilson’s parents were second in the emergency list. Since Neilson’s parents weren’t home, they told him to pick me up. I was lying in the nurse’s office, but he was afraid I might go into a coma and took me to the hospital.

The doctor came in and told me how it was a minor head injury, and a few medications will ease the pain in the next few days.

“Mind if I speak with Miss Alice alone?” He asks Neilson and Nina to leave.

When they did, the doctor pulled up a chair to me, releasing a hazy breath. “Miss Alice, I’m not going to beat around the bush. Are you currently being physically abused?”

My heart halts as I swallow intently, feeling my palms getting stickier. “No.”

The doctor raises a brow, and I can tell he doubts my answer. He nods his head, no longer questioning me.

Neilson sat with me, feeding me fruits. “How does it taste, Angel?”

“Good,” I whisper.

The door creaks open, and my smile drops, eyes gazing at the blanket, as my hands sneak under the blanket. “Hi, dad.”

He releases a deep cough, planting a fake smile on his lips. “Hello there, Neilson,” he held out his hand, and Neilson shook it.

“Hello, Mr.Lee.”

“I hope my little girl hasn’t been in any trouble. I was going to come by earlier to get her, but I left my cell phone in my locker.”

Liar.

“It’s not a problem,” Neilson replied.

Dad turns towards me. “Ready to go, Princess?” He chirps, causing chills to travel throughout my body as I nod.

Soon, we left the hospital with Neilson. Reaching dad’s car, Neilson pats my head. “You okay?” He whispers, and I merely nod, smiling at him.

“Come on, princess, let’s go,” dad said, slipping into the car.

“Bye, Neilson,” I whisper, getting into the passenger side.

Dad drove us away, as Neilson stood there waving at us until I could no longer see him. Dad rolls down the window, clearing his throat. “I heard you got into a fight with a few girls at school.”

I twiddle with my thumb. “No, dad, I was trying to stop them from fighting, but one of them pushed me,” I barely said in an audible tone.

He nods. “Did the doctor say anything?”

I knew exactly what he meant; he wanted to know if the doctor saw my bruises.

“No, dad.”

He pats my head, causing me to flinch. “That’s my princess.”

The whole drive was quiet, deadly. When we reach back to the house, I open the door and step out. “I won’t be back tonight or tomorrow. Money is on the table,” he said.

“Yes, dad,” I replied, closing the door.

Standing there, I watched as he drove away, towards another drunken night.

Slowly, I drag my legs towards the door. Shuffling through my backpack, I reach for my keys. I can feel my fingers trembling as I attempt to put the key inside. The keys drop from my hand, and I bend my legs, grabbing the key.

I held it close to my chest.

And cry.

“Alice in wonderland?” A voice whispered.

Slowly, I turned around, seeing Randy walking towards me as he opened his arms. Randy’s eyes bruised, a deep shade of red and purple. There’s a cut on his lower lip; light blood stained his white shirt. I clutched tightly onto his shirt as he unlocks the door into my house.

Randy shut the door, carrying me towards the couch, rocking me back and forth. “Your dad again?”

I nod, “W-Why, are you here?”

“I heard you got hurt, and I wanted to make sure you’re fine,” he whispers gently, removing the wet strand of hair on my face.

“Thank you, Randy,” I mumble, touching his bruises. “Your dad?”

He nods, “Came home, started hitting mum.” He shrugs. “Couldn’t sit there and did nothing. Stupid woman refusing to leave.”