Exposed (#wattys2016)

chapter seven

Just as Liv ordered, I showed up at her door the day after the grocery store scene. I knocked a few times and waited on their small porch. Liv answered the door with a phone in her other hand. She smiled widely when she realized it was me, motioning me to come inside.

The house was a mess, old food sitting on the stove. Caspian was sitting on the couch smoking a cigarette and drinking beer. I looked over at him and he ignored my existence, again.

Liv finally hung up the telephone, looking at me with tired eyes.
"Dad's getting out of jail in a month," She said.
Casp still didn't look our way. Liv took a deep breath and dropped the phone onto an end table. I watched Casp smoke and drink, oblivious to his surroundings.
"Let's go up to my room," Liv spoke quietly.

"No sex," Caspian finally spoke.

"Wow, he can talk!" I exclaimed, laughing quietly afterwards.
Caspian turned his head towards me, and looked my body up and down. He tilted his head back to pour more alcohol down his throat, glaring at me.

"Why do you think I'd -" Liv began speaking, but Caspian interrupted her.
"No fucking sex," He spoke bluntly this time, throwing the bottle on the floor and grabbing another which appeared to be spiked lemonade.

I shrugged and Liv continued to venture upstairs, leading me to her room.

"He doesn't know you're gay."
Liv stuck her tongue out, flashing it down the stairs to where Casp was sitting.

"Hey, quiet about it!"
I covered Liv's mouth, which immediately made her put her tongue back where it belongs.

"He isn't paying attention."
Liv walked into her room, which was cluttered and dirty with old food and clothing. I carefully stepped over objects on the floor to avoid tripping, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"How are things going romantically, Hale?"
Liv raised her eyebrows, nudging my shoulder with hers as she sat down next to me.

"Well, I haven't really sucked any dick for a few weeks...so not too good." I laughed and tried not to remember it was a creepy old man's dick I sucked for no bills.

"I'm not doing too well either, I gave up on trying to sleep with someone."
Liv played with the fabric on her bed.

"You're only 17, don't be a whore until you're able to buy cigarettes."

Liv laughed, rolling her eyes.
"Okay, so another eight months and I can be a whore. Great!"

I laughed with her, suddenly realizing something I never though my brain would do to me.

"Hey, when you're asking all these guys to sleep with you, how do you know the difference between those who are doing it for fun and those who are actually into you and like you?"
I peered over at Liv next to me, curious to hear her answer.

"Usually those guys will buy me things, and they never really want me to leave. You can just tell sometimes, too. Like a sixth sense"

I grinned and thought about Caspian buying me groceries, and bribing me to stay with him afterwards with a cigarette.

"Interesting. Must be nice getting tons of shit from random guys."

Liv sighed heavily, her tone quieter.
"Not nice being a whore."

A knock made the door shake slightly before it was forced open by Caspian. His eyes darted towards me, then over to Liv.

"No sex," He said, appearing more intoxicated than what I originally thought.

"Casp, we are just sitting here."
Liv looked up at him, slightly annoyed about his interruption.

Caspian came into his sister's room, walking over to sit next to me. He flung an arm around my shoulders, staring off into the opened door.
"You're a good kid, Hale."
His eyes lowered to the ground, keeping his arm around me. He swayed slightly to the right.

"Okay, Casp, time to go lay down."
Liv frantically stood up and grabbed Caspian before he fell over onto his side.

"Uno momento," she whispered to me as she guided Caspian out of her room.

"Hey, I should really get going."
I stood up and followed Liv out her bedroom door, standing in the hallway with them.

"Hale," Caspian whispered and tried to turn around towards me.
I walked to stand in front of him. He looked angry, and I could smell the alcohol now.
"Why would you do that to me?"
His face was getting red.

"Do what?"
Before I could even comprehend what happened next, Caspian's knee rammed into my stomach. I gripped my sides, slouching over in front of him.

"What the hell?" Liv pushed Caspian against the wall, rushing over to help me stand up straight again. She glared at Casp, who looked infuriated.

"Why did you do that?"
I looked up at Casp, wincing slightly from the pain in my ribs.
Upon hearing my voice, Caspian's expression became sad. He shook his head.

"Casp will be fine, I'll walk you home."

I straightened my back, fidging around to try and help relieve the dulling pain.

"No, I'm okay. Trust me."
I headed down the stairs, watching Liv and Caspian stand together with the same upset expression tugging at their eyes and lips.

Out of the two of them, Caspian looked like his best friend just got shot.

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thx for reading!! sorry this is pretty short, but college has started again and i'm struggling a little bit for time. if you're reading pls vote and/or comment because i love the feedback! have a great day :-)