My Girlfriend Bites (Young Adult Paranormal Werewolf Romance)

Chapter 33

Aiden

I drift awake. The morning sun blinds me, forcing me to squint at the clock. Issy will be here soon to pick my butt up for school. I slide off my bed and stumble into the bathroom. I do a double-take in the mirror. Crap. Purple shades my right cheek that's swollen and looks like I'm holding a melon inside my mouth. I also feel a headache coming on. Standing only makes it worse. No way I can go to school looking like this. Dad will be pissed if I skip, but if I go to school like this, everyone will know and call the cops. Better go ask him what I should do.

Dad watches television in the living room. He's not dressed in his work clothes, so I guess he's not going in today because of hangover #365. I ask him about calling in sick for school. Dad doesn't even try to look at me. He only nods his answer.

I head back to my room, call Issy, and tell him I have the flu. He buys my story and tells me Pamela wants to hang with him today. I give him a congrats before I let him go. I text Bree. Her parents finally bought her a new smart phone after Bree schmoozed them for weeks. It does a crazy amount of cool stuff, much more than my phone can do.

Bree calls me. "You have the flu?"

I give her the same sad flu story.

"That sucks. Will you be all right?"

"Yeah, I only need to live in bed for a while," I say.

"I so promise to come over after school."

"No," I say with too much force. "It's contagious. Believe me, you don't want this junk."

"Really, Aiden...I can skip school and come over to take care of you."

"But you'll get sick."

"The flu can't kill me, and so what if I have to suffer a little. I don't mind."

I do. I can't let her see my face. I can't let anyone see it.

"Maybe tomorrow you can come over. Seriously, I feel out of it. If you come over, all you'll do is watch me sleep all day. I only need peace and quiet. Not that I don't love your company, but..."

"All right. I'll check on you tomorrow, then. Do you want me to bring you anything?" Bree asks.

"I'll let you know."

"Love you," Bree says softly before she lets me go. Her sweet voice makes me regret saying no.

I mess around in my room for hours, mostly watching YouTube videos. I go into the kitchen and make some macaroni and cheese out of a box for lunch. Dad makes a sandwich, then grabs a handful of barbecue chips. I don't offer him any mac and cheese. Dad doesn't ask for any. I take my pile of cheese and pasta into the bedroom and stuff my face.

Ouch. But I have to chew on the opposite side of my melon bruise. I play a few levels of Death and Valor 4 online with some adult gamer friends who have night jobs and no social lives during the day.

I finish our mission and then go take a piss. I miss the bowl and aim lower, hearing that satisfying sound of liquid hitting water. Then I realize my headache is gone. Maybe eating lunch helped. Still, my swelling cheek looks bad in the mirror. Guess I should take some Tylenol for that. I shake the plastic bottle and hear no pills inside. Issy must have taken the last one Sunday morning. I check Dad's bathroom, and he doesn't have any Tylenol. I find plain old aspirin, but I don't think that's gonna cut it with this melon I have. I tell Dad that I'm going out.

He nods again, but still doesn't want to look at my face.

The gray sky from yesterday's storm still lingers as I coast my bike downhill, thinking about what I'm going to tell Bree tomorrow. I'll have to come up with another good excuse why I won't be at school or why she can't come over. How long will my face be like this? Surely it'll look better in a week, right? I bet it will. All I have to do is keep my friends in the dark this week. Somehow. I'll find a way.