How Not to Fall In Love

Chapter 37

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Austin took my hand and walked me over to my locker. "Rylee, I can see your dad hit you; I want to know why?" He put his hand against my locker door so I couldn't open it—his voice was demanding but not threatening. 

"Austin, please..." I said, glancing off to the side, lowering my head, and trying to keep my right eye hidden as much as possible. "I just want to go to the cafeteria and get something to eat." 

"Rylee, why won't you look at me?" I could see out of the corner of my eye he had lowered his head, trying to see into my eyes. "Do you hate me?" He raised his head. 

"No," I whispered, still keeping my head down. 

Austin let out an exasperated sigh and lowered his hand off my locker door, letting me open it. I knew the second I turned around, he'd see my eye, and his calm demeanor would change instantly. I closed my locker, and the door banging against the metal echoed throughout the empty hall. I turned in the opposite direction, away from Austin, trying to keep my right eye out of sight for the most part. Finally, I started walking, motioning Cole to follow me, who was standing off to the side, looking at his phone. Without thinking, I moved my hair away from my right eye when I turned to say something to Cole. 

"What the fuck happened to your eye?" Austin asked from behind us. 

"Nothing." I quickly moved my hair back in place and continued down the hall. I didn't want to answer any more questions or talk about what happened this morning. I just wanted to forget about it and move on. This was nothing new and probably wouldn't be the last time, either. Neither of them knew what my life had been like since Mom had died. The abuse started about a month after Mom's funeral and has worsened over the last year. By worse, I mean they'd been happening more often, then he would do something nice for me the next day, like give me money for no reason to get a new top or something, make my favorite breakfast. I knew that didn't make up for what he'd done to me, but I went along with the charade to keep the peace. Not taking the money or eating the breakfast he cooked would've just made him angry, causing him to hit me again. So, in the long run, I figured it was better to act like nothing was wrong until something set him off the next time. 

"Rylee, that's not nothing." Austin grabbed my hand right outside the cafeteria doors. He raised his hand toward my eye. Without thinking, my hand blocked him from touching my eye. "Okay...I won't bother it." He lowered his hand, tightening his grip around my hand, and led me into the cafeteria. I didn't have the strength to tell him differently, so I followed along. Austin had me sit down next to Sophie at the table, then told me he'd be back in a few minutes. Sophie wrapped her arm around my shoulders, gave me a light squeeze, and then went back to picking at her sandwich. She was the only person I'd ever seen sit there and tear their sandwich up into pieces and eat it. And she never tore it apart while she ate it. Instead, she'd tear it apart first, then eat the sandwich pieces. 

"I got you a sandwich and fries," Austin said, setting the tray in front of me. "What..." His eyes locked in on Sophie and her sandwich. 

"Don't ask," I said, laughing. "Save yourself the trouble of trying to figure it out." 

"Yeah, we've been trying to figure it out for years." Cole laughed, staring at the poor sandwich. 

"You know what..." Sophie flipped her middle finger at Cole. "Do I say anything about how you eat your food?" She tossed a piece of sandwich in her mouth, snapping it shut. Cole laughed, picked up his sandwich, and took a bite. Sophie rolled her eyes, grabbing her water bottle. 

"I'm going to go get me something to eat. Will you be okay with these two?" Austin asked with a devilish grin. He leaned down, kissed the top of my head, and then walked back to the food. I couldn't help but slightly turn my head to get a glimpse of him. If there was one thing I knew for sure, I'd never get tired of looking at Austin. The way he carried himself with such assurance and a touch of cockiness made him sexy as hell. Of course, I turned around before he could catch me drooling over him, but then again, he probably wouldn't mind it. Now, I just had to find the courage to tell him I couldn't see him anymore. 

"I got this for you." Austin handed me a bag of ice with a towel wrapped around it. "Your eye's starting to swell," He said, leaning over, trying to examine my eye. "Lean forward a little bit, and place it on your eye while you eat." Then, he motioned for me to pick up the towel. I sat there for a few seconds, staring at it as if it would fly into my hand on its own. I glanced around us, making sure no one was paying attention, then grabbed the towel and gently placed it on the corner of my eye. Austin leaned over and kissed the side of my head, then went back to eating his lunch. At that moment, I realized I couldn't let him go. No matter what I had to do, I had to keep him in my life. And to keep him in my life, I had to keep him hidden from my father. If that meant sneaking around and lying, then that was what I was prepared to do. I just prayed I would never get caught in the long run; if I did, I needed to have a plan of escape. 

After about ten minutes of sitting there with the ice on my eye, I lowered it and asked them if it looked any better, seeing none of them would be with me in Marketing. Cole leaned across the table, trying to get a better look, while Sophie and Austin had me look at them. They all agreed that it was better, but not great. I noticed kids getting up from their tables, letting me know it was time for me to get to my next class. I began to grab my tray when Austin stopped me and told me he'd take it for me so I wouldn't have to walk past the teachers. He told me to go to class and that he'd see me in Spanish class. I took a quick glance around, then leaned down and kissed him. Despite my morning, I couldn't help but feel lucky to have him in my life.