The Bad Boy's Addiction

Chapter 6 - Conflict

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Allira

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“Ma-” I desperately try to speak gulping down the soapy water as I start to drown. My hold on her gets weak before my hands completely let go as my throat starts to burn, my chest feeling like it’s going to burst. My mother's face flashes in front of my eyes and I know that's it, I’m dying. My body falls limp and just then I’m pulled out of the water and pulled out of the tub. I gasp for air, throwing up the water as I try to fill my lungs with oxygen before sliding away on my stomach, terrified. Just then someone turns me over and my eyes lock with Mati's angry ones.

“I’m sorry-” I try to say, still coughing as I bury myself against the wall, scared shitless.

“Shut up! Shut the f**k up!” she screams, grabbing me by the throat again and slamming my back against the wall while I tremble with trauma. “You better listen to me and listen good. If you ever cross paths with Cameron again, you will steer clear of him. If you ever speak or even look at him again. I will kill you. Do you understand me?!” she growls, and I frantically nod, my voice stuck in my throat.

“Good, now get up and clean this f*****g mess before your mother returns if you know what’s good for the both of you,” she seethes the last part in my face before getting up but I scream clutching my head as she yanks a chunk of hair with her. After that, she walks out and I break down and cry the moment she slams the door shut, my body still trembling badly.

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After I don’t know how long, I manage to gather myself, and I get up and decide to clean the mess before my mother comes back and sees it. I don’t want her to know about this. I was wrong for sleeping with Cameron and I don’t want to cause problems between my mother and the Gibsons. I head to the mirror first and my tears flow again looking at my red face and the mark that has started to turn blue on the side of my head where Mati hit my head against the tub. I have a headache too, so I grab some painkillers while at it. I check my hair, looking at the spot where she removed the chunk. But it doesn’t really show unless you know what happened and are paying attention. Thanks to my full head.

Today is Sunday and tomorrow is varsity. Mati and I will have to ride together, and it’s also my first day. Mrs. Gibsons helped me get into the same university that Mati goes to and the Gibsons are paying for my studies. They are good to me and my mother, which is why I can’t let this mess I made ruin things.

I put on my robe before drying the floor and after I’m done, I let out the water in the tub and head out of the bathroom. I head straight for my phone and turn it on, and my heart can’t help but accelerate as I do. But it quickly sinks very low when I go through my messages, and realize they are all from my mother.

I place it down and sit on the bed, suddenly feeling drained all over again, drained by disappointment even though I shouldn’t. I should be happy that there’s nothing from Cameron. At least then, if he stays away, I won’t have to push him away myself. If I had any idea what the day had in store for me when I woke up yesterday, I would have stayed in bed. I hope Mati and I can get through this. I hate conflict.

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Cameron

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I open my eyes and rub my hands over my face, frustration washing over me as I realize the feeling hasn’t gone away. The moment I got in the car and left Levi’s place, I started feeling like crap for what I was doing. I felt guilty for leaving her like that, but I couldn’t stay. I don’t do relationships and that’s exactly what she was going to expect from me if she woke up to me. She was gonna be confused. I did her a favor by walking away. At least this way she will get it. But why the hell am I feeling bad? Why can’t I shake the f*****g feeling off?

When I got here this morning, everyone was still asleep. Sundays are lazy here in our house, so I decided to sleep too, thinking things would be different when I woke up, that I was going to feel different, but I don’t. I grab my phone and the first thing I see as I turn it on is a text from Levi.

Fuck!

I start debating if I should open it or not, but f**k it! I can’t avoid him forever. I open it and I’m met with 'she’s gone in case you were wondering.' I don’t reply and place the phone face down on the bed. I need to think about something else. But first thing is first. I have to shower and have breakfast or brunch, whatever it’s called this time of day. I’m starving.

I quickly take off my jeans because I didn’t have a shirt on and head to the shower. I make the shower quick and head downstairs, and it looks like I’m not the only one who's hungry. I walk inside the kitchen to find Kia having a pizza, and I immediately scrunch my nose at the smell of anchovies. I have no idea how anyone stands this smell, let alone ingest it.

She doesn’t turn as I enter, and I can just tell by her stiff back that something is up. So I walk up to her and wrap my arms around her shoulders from behind before pecking her on the cheek.

“Hey,” I say before letting her go and heading to the fridge to look for something I can eat, but I stop noticing she didn’t respond. “You are not angry at me by any chance, are you?” I ask, walking back to her and my eyes widen at the look in hers that screams, hell yes.

“Kia, he was taking advantage of you.”

“How the hell do you know that? You weren’t there. You don't know what happened before you came and ripped me away.”

“Kia-”

“-I don’t appreciate how you treated me in the club, Cameron. I’m not your child. You have no right to just come and manhandle me like that in front of people!”

“I was looking out for you-”

“-I don’t need you to look out for me like that! I’m your older sister! I’m not stupid. I know when I’m being taken advantage of. Who tries to stop you when you do the things you do?”

“Why are you mad at me? You were drunk. I was just trying to make sure you didn't get hurt.”

“He wasn't hurting me! You know what… I’m not doing this with you right now,” she says, getting to her feet before grabbing the pizza and throwing it in the bin. “You've ruined yet another happy moment. I hope you are happy,” she adds before walking out of the kitchen.

“Kia!” I call out to her, but she ignores me and storms up the staircase.

“s**t!”

I place my phone down and proceed to the fridge, and I grab the first thing I see. I take out the casserole and put some in a bowl for me and warm it up. Just then Merlot enters with a big grin on her face, looking at her phone.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” she greets, heading to the fridge too and takes out some juice.

“Want some?” she asks now looking over at me.

“Thanks,” she takes out a glass for me and pours some. “So you are not mad at me… for not taking you to the club with me?”

“It wasn’t the first time you didn’t want to take me, Cam,” she replies grabbing her juice and heading out. I take my bowl too and head to the living area and I find her sitting there. She turns on the TV and puts it on some dating show and seeing the guy carrying a rose gives me an idea. I grab my phone and order some flowers and a large anchovy pizza. Just then, Asa enters the living room and tells Merlot dad needs her help with something, saying she must hurry. Merlot gets up and follows him out. I sigh, placing the bowl next to me before loading my feet onto the sofa and lying back. I start recalling Lira’s face and I run my fingers through my hair, frustrated. I grab my phone and type her name, but just as something comes up, Merlot’s phone rings, snapping me back to my senses. What the f**k am I doing? I cancel, not even looking at it, and I grab her phone to mute it, but my brows furrow in question seeing the caller ID. Why is he calling on her phone for?

“Bro, why are you calling on Merlot’s phone?” I ask Levi but there’s silence on the other side, causing me to speak again and he clears his throat saying he didn’t hear me. “Are you still drunk?” I ask him and he says no. He tells me he tried calling my phone but wasn’t getting through. I ask him what's up and he tells me Lira was crying this morning, but I cut him off and tell him to stop right there. I don’t want to know. I don’t want another piece of information that's going to cling to my already burdened conscience right now. I didn’t rape her. She gave consent; she wanted me to f**k her. I never said I loved her or that I wanted to date her. It’s not my fault if she deluded herself.

Just then Merlot enters and her eyes widen, finding me speaking on her phone, so I tell Levi I’m going to call him back and end the call.

“That was Levi,” I start to say but stop mid-sentence, seeing the pale look on her face. “What?” I ask her and she says nothing and proceeds to the sofa, so I get back to what I was saying. “That was Levi, and he was looking for me,” I tell her handing over her phone to her and she takes it and sits down before sucking the hell out of her juice. “What?” I ask her again since she’s behaving strangely. “What did dad want?” I add before she can answer, trying to make sense of her behavior and she opens her mouth to tell me, but just then the doorbell rings and I know it has to be my delivery, so I head to it. I take the pizza and flowers and head upstairs to my sister’s room to try and make up with her. I don’t like it when Kia’s upset.

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Alaric

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“What are you doing?” I ask, snatching Landon’s phone. And he tries to get it back from me, but I keep him away. “Who’s this?” I ask, looking at the hot chick in swimwear.

“It’s his crush,” Logan snickers, causing Landon to tell him off before looking back at me.

“That’s Cam’s sister,” he replies, and I ask who's Cam since he’s speaking like I should know this Cam and he explains that it’s Cameron, his friend. I know him. His dad and mine are acquaintances and I’ve met the family a few times, but I don’t think I’ve met her.

“I don’t remember her,” I say, handing the phone over to him and he tells me it’s Cam’s older sister.

“He’s obsessed with her,” Logan says, settling on the sofa across from us and Landon throws his sock that was lying on my table for some reason at him and he dodges it, laughing.

“f**k you! You know I was looking at her because I was forwarding her things to Marcel again,” he says, and I ask him why, suddenly interested, and he tells me she’s one of the models arriving next week for the shoot.

“Mm,” I nod before asking what her name is, and he says it’s Kiara.

“Why are you so interested, brother?” Logan asks, raising his brow, deciding to troll me now in my own place. But the door opens just as I open my mouth to speak, and I hear my parents’ voices. They were over at uncle Zach’s and are going back home today and taking these two morons with them. They are loud again now that their punishment is over and they think we forgot.

“Pack your s**t so you can get out of my place and take your f*****g feet off my table. I eat here,” I say shoving Landon's feet off of the table just as mom and dad enter the living area. I ask them how's uncle Zach and my dad starts to tell me but my phone rings. I ask him to hold on a sec and grab it so I can mute it but I decide against it after seeing the caller ID.

It's Kayden.

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Allira

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“Hi, is anybody sitting here?” I hear someone speak on my left causing me to take my eyes away from Mati and her friends and look in the voice's direction to find a girl standing next to me. But a burst of laughter causes me to tear my gaze away from her before I can reply and look back in the laughter's direction to find Mati and her girls looking at me before they look away again as they continue laughing, heading out of the door and I let out an exasperated sigh.

It's my first day at varsity and Mati and her groupies have been giving me hell all day. Mati and I are not in the same class, but Noelle and one of the girls we were with on Saturday are, and they made my first two classes hell. Noelle and that girl kept looking at me before I noticed notes being passed around and after that everyone kept snickering and I could just tell whatever it is that was amusing them had to do with me.

I sent Mati a text last night and apologized again for what happened, but she did not respond. Her mom brought us this morning because she still had something of mine to sort out. When Mati came to the car, I was already inside, and she didn’t greet me. I greeted her, and she didn’t respond. When we got here she said she had an early class and left me with her mom, and I didn’t see her during first break. I set here alone and all I could think about was how I miss home. How I miss my grandmother, my real home.

I haven’t heard a word from Cameron and even though it shouldn’t hurt because I can’t talk to him, anyway, it does. It makes me wonder if he really had to go yesterday or if Levi was lying, if he was covering for him because he could see I was upset.

I had to wear my hair down today to hide the bruise on the side of my head. My mother saw it and I lied and said I slipped in the bathroom and hit my head against the tub when she asked. I have never regretted anything as much as I regret going to that club.

“Damn this air-con,” the girl speaks again, reminding me that I haven't replied to her and I look back at her to find her rubbing her nose. “Sinuses,” she adds, and I notice her eyes are tearing up.

“I’m sorry,” I mutter and she says it’s okay.

“I will live,” she adds, bringing her other leg over the chair so she can sit straight and places her backpack on the table.

“Demi,” she adds, extending her hand.

“Allira, but everyone calls me Lira,” I shake her hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Lira. Don’t worry about them. No one likes them, and they’ll go away eventually. Soon they’ll find some other poor soul to torment. Although I must ask, aren’t you sisters… you and Mati?” she says, causing me to let out a humorless chuckle. I could never have a sister that mean.

“No, I-I… we just live together.”

“Oh, like cousins.”

“Yeah,” I lie not in the mood to explain things.

“Oh, at least I was not far off. I saw you arrive this morning and I could tell you were related,” she says, causing an instant frown on my face. How on earth could she tell that?

“You have the same eyes, but yours are kinder.”