Psycho Love

21

What the hell was that?
Where did he get that scar from?
Why have I never seen it before?
Is that why he always wears that cap?
"What is with all the yelling?" Caden appears behind me with his arms crossed over chest, stretching the shirt around his arms and exposing the black ink that covers his shoulder and chest.
Hot!
SNAP OUT OF IT! I internally slap myself for getting distracted so easily by this man.
"Nothing." Trey's voice comes from the now open door, his lakers cap secured tightly on his head. "Ember, can I speak to you for a moment?" Alone." He is eyeing Caden as he says the last part.

"I guess so." I am hesitant to be alone with him, especially after seeing his scar. How could I have lived under the same roof as him for a year and a half and not had seen it? Caden places a hand on my waist and looks at me with a questioning look in his eyes. He looks worried about me, but I give him a reassuring nod and walk towards Trey's bedroom. He takes a step aside so I can walk into the room and closes the door behind us.
"Umm, I wanted to apologise for yelling at you before. You just surprised me and-"

"How did you get that scar?" I cut him off.

"I got it a while ago. I was in a car accident; the window smashed in, and a piece of glass shot through the side of my head. I was rushed to the hospital, and they thought I was going to die but I instead I was just left with this nasty scar." Trey rushes out, gesturing to the right side of his head that is covered by the hat.

"Why did you hide it?"

"I don't know. I guess at first, I didn't want you to pity me but as time went on it just became a habit." He rubs the back of his neck, uncomfortably.

"Can I... can I see it?" I stutter out, fumbling with my pendant. The overwhelming feeling of uneasiness that I have surprises me. I never felt like this before; I guess I was always a bit standoffish, but I have very valid reasons for that. These last few days have showed me how little I actually know about him and how little I trust him.
Trey nods and slowly reaches up to his hat. His expression is unreadable as he removes his hat and places it on the bed beside him. His black hair falls partly in front of his face, I never realised how long it was before, probably because he always had the hat on. Slicking it back he turns his head to the side, showing off the jagged scar. He is right, this is definitely a nasty scar. The tissue around the scar is keloid making the scar look stretched and making it impossible for hair to grow back in that spot. It looks as though the glass has torn a chunk of flesh out of the side of his scalp. The scar is enormous, roughly 5 inches long and stretches from his temple to the back of his head.

"Em?" Trey's worried voice breaks through my daze.

"Sorry, I have just, never seen a scar like that before. I believe you survived that kind of injury." I am still marvelling at the scar. It is hard to believe that a piece of glass could leave a scar like this. It is so messy. "How long ago were you in that accident?"

"Just over 2 years ago now." He gives me a strange look, as if he is waiting to see how I react to that information.

"Wow! 2 years." I stand there awkwardly for a moment unsure of what else to say, "I wanted to apologise for barging in before; I was actually coming to check on you. So much has happened and you didn't ask to be part of any of it, but you got dragged along. On top of that I know I haven't been the nicest person to be around." I glance down at my hands which are furiously rubbing my pendant and take a slow breath. "So, yeah. I'm sorry." Trey takes a step toward me and places his hand under my chin, bringing my face up to look at his.

"You don't need to apologize for anything. I would do anything for you, you are my... friend." Trey hesitates on the last word. I give him an awkward smile and take a step back so that his hand falls from my face. An uncomfortable sensation runs down my back and I feel myself shiver slightly. For a moment Trey looks like he is amused by my reaction, but that look is quickly replaced with a smile.

"DINNER IS READY!" I faintly hear Trinity call for us.

"We should go." Quickly I turn and walk out of the room and bump straight into Caden as I hurry out the door. "Caden. Hey. We were just on our way to the kitchen." I am talking so fast that I start to fumble over my words.

Caden looks between Trey and I with an eyebrow raised. "Everything ok?" I know his question is directed at me even though he is now staring at Trey, watching him adjust the cap which is once again on his head. I don't understand why he is still wearing that cap.

"Sure, everything is fine now." I respond. "Let's go eat." I practically bolt out if there and rush into the dining room where 4 bowls of creamy pasta are sitting on the table.

"There you are," Trinity is already sitting down, fork in hand. She gestures for me to sit, and I obey, taking the seat directly across from her.

"I like you." Trinity blurts out, causing me to choke on the sip of water I just had. "Umm, thankyou...?" I reply awkwardly.

"Not just anyone can beat me in a fight, you like food and you seem to be keeping my cousin on his toes, which again not just anyone can do. I get the feeling we are going to be friends." She gives me a big grin and then continues to eat. Trinity seems so different than she did a few hours ago. She seems nice and very carefree. She is definitely and honest one and I can tell that there is no bullshitting with her, which I appreciate. I am so sick of everyone hiding shit or sugar-coating shit. I need some brutal honesty in my life, and she seems like the perfect person to get it from.

"You know what, Trinity. I like you too." I smile back before stuffing my mouth full of pasta. Fuck, this is amazing!

I look over at Trinity and realise that I haven't had a girlfriend since Chloe died. She has been my best friend since preschool and after she died, I resigned myself to the fact that anyone I care about will end up dead. That's just how my life has gone so far, but now I finally feel like things might be turning around for me.

*flashback*

"Come on Ember! I know you like him, just go and talk to him. Are you scared?" Chloe teases.
"Please!" I roll my eyes at her, "there is no way a boy could scare me. I just don't want to waste my time on him." Of course, I am lying. He is so hot and because he is new the popular girls have been circling looking for new meat. Plus, there is absolutely no way I can talk to him without bursting into a ball of flames due to embarrassment, but there is no way in hell I will ever admit it, not even to Chloe. Confidence is key, and the thing about confidence is that no one knows whether it is real of fake. Even though I know Chloe can see right through me, I still put my hands on my hips and flick my long brown hair behind me shoulder, letting it flow down between my shoulder blades. 

"Prove you aren't a scaredy cat then. Go talk to him." Chloe crosses her arms in front of her chest, baiting me. Her short auburn hair is tucked behind one ear and her emerald eyes are staring at me mockingly. 

"What do I get out of it?" 

"I'll buy your lunch for the next 2 days, and if you get him to sit with us for lunch, I'll buy your food for the rest of the week." Now she has my attention. This bitch! She knows I can't resist food. "Damn you. Fine, give me 5 minutes. You better get your wallet out because I am starving." I smirk and give her a wink before walking over to him. He is leaning against, what I assume is his locker, playing on his phone. His wavy brown hair is tousled and looks as if he just rolled out of bed, but in a hot way. The snug fitting navy shirt he is wearing shows off his lean, athletic body. 

He must sense that I am approaching, because he lifts his head up from his phone and stares at me, a small smile on his face. 

"Hey! My friend and I were just chatting about how we haven't seen you around before. Are you new?" Really! That's what you decide to come up with. You seriously couldn't think of anything less awkward.  I internally scold myself but try to ignore how awkward that comment was, so I don't start blushing like an idiot. 

Hot dude gives a quiet chuckle, "Yeah I'm new. I've only been here for about 3 weeks. I think we might be in the same math class." 

"That's right. I'm pretty sure you sit behind me. Anyway, I'm-" 

"Ember." He laughs, "Yeah, I know."

I smack my palm into my face and let out a defeated laugh. "Great, now I feel like a bitch." 

"Don't stress about it." He stretches out his hand. I take it and his enormous hand, shakes mine gently, "It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Zander."

*End flashback*