SKINTIGHT (Watty Awards 2024)

Chapter 13

Violet

"You showed up," Rio stands by the reception desk, his arms crossed over his chest. He's in his usual black basketball shorts and grey tee, the Westbury Wolves logo printed on it. The black ringlets on his head are messier than usual. It's clear he's been working out himself, too.

"Yep," I stroll past him. "I have to, don't I?"

"You don't have to, but it's definitely better if you do."

"Well, here I am," I dump my bag on the floor. I don't have to get changed this time. I came prepared. "I'm ready whenever you are."

"Already?" he raises his brows in surprise. "This is a change from yesterday."

"I told you — I was in a bad mood," I say.

"And today?"

"I feel fine."

"Fine?"

"Yep."

"Alright," he purses his lips, clearly still hesitant. I don't blame him. I don't want a repeat of yesterday, either. "Shall we get started then?"

"Sounds good." I want to get this over and done with ASAP. I don't want to talk about yesterday or anything else. I just want to get this done so I can go back home.

"Perfect," Rio leads us over to the mat and gets us started on our stretches. I still have no idea what I'm doing, so I just copy whatever he does. I do feel different today — better than yesterday. I have more energy, but not the good kind. It's nervous energy, and I want to get it out. Some exercise might just be perfect for that.

"What happened to your face?" I ask Rio. There's a red and blue mark beneath his eye, right above his cheekbone. There's one on his jaw, too. His lip is split and there's a graze on his forehead. He's clearly been in a fight — again. That truly gives me so much hope for the effectiveness of this therapy. Note the sarcasm.

A sudden feeling of panic washes over me. For a moment, I think Jack's approached him — confronted him for spending time with me, and accused us of cheating. I wouldn't put it past him. He's done it before. I know better this time, though. Jack doesn't know I've been coming here. He can't know. He'd be furious. He's already insecure enough about our relationship. I can't tell him anything without him twisting my words. I deliberately didn't tell him about Rio today. We spent all day together, mostly in his dorm. We got high and snorted some coke he got from his brother. 

It didn't last long. Coming down would've been easy if I didn't have Jack's grubby hands all over me. It just pissed me off. Jack doesn't care what mood I'm in, though. Fighting back just turns him on more. Trust me, I tried. 

I got out of there a couple hours ago and went home to clean myself up before coming here. The house was deserted. I hate being there alone. I hate being anywhere alone. I can't stand a second with my own thoughts. I need constant distraction, and Jack's already used that to his advantage. 

"Oh, that's just my brother," Rio says. He lifts his knee up to his chest to stretch out his hamstring.

"What happened?" I follow suit.

"I pissed him off."

"So, what — he punched you?"

"Yeah, he can be aggressive sometimes," he shrugs.

"He hasn't done anger management yet?" I joke.

"He would never," he snickers. "He could use it, though."