The Little Mistakes (boyxboy)

Chapter 29

I was actually really grateful that it was now a new quarter in school. That meant that I no longer had French with Kieran. It, unsurprisingly, took a huge weight off of my shoulders. I didn't have to sit there and see those threatening and judgmental looks or listen to his snide comments any longer. My options were limited and Kieran didn't do anything to help.

I didn't see him much during the week except for randomly in the halls, but I never spoke to him. He hardly even threw me a glance anyway. But now that the party was tonight, I had a strong feeling I would see him there. I wasn't really looking forward to that idea, though. It felt like the whole school was a buzz and at the lunch table it was all anybody was talking about for the last five days. Aria was going with some guy I hadn't even known she was dating. Jaymi and Rory were going together, naturally, and Patrick and Phoebe were both going to keep each other company since they didn't have dates.

I had to admit that I was slightly surprised that Phoebe was going. Actually, I was really surprised by the fact that Aria was letting her go. This party was supposed to be huge and crazy and she was her baby sister. I definitely would have been a little concerned if Bradley was going to something like that. Even right now when I was pissed off at him, I would still be worried about whether or not he was going to be okay. Given the fact that she was a sixteen year old girl, it made her all the more vulnerable to a house full of a hundred drunk and high teenage boys.

I stepped out of the shower and grabbed a black towel. I wiped the water away from my face and body before wrapping it around my lower half. I went over to the mirror and wiped the steam from the glass. I touched my face as I stood in the room by myself. The only noise I could hear was from the whirring of the exhaust fan.

It was practically a miracle that Rikert's blow last weekend hadn't fucked my face up. It was no longer red by the time I had woken up on Sunday and it had only left behind a small bruise on my cheekbone. It wasn't too noticeable and honestly it could have come from anything. So I never worried about it, and nobody asked. By the time I got up for school on Tuesday, my face was clear again.

I had also noticed while we were fooling around that Rikert had some dark bruises on his body. A couple larger ones on the left side of his ribs, and a few tiny ones on his arms halfway between his wrists and his elbows. I didn't dare point them out or ask about what happened. One look at them and I already knew. It was his parents, I was sure of it.

My fingers brushed along my skin where the bruise had been. I took a deep breath and stepped away. I walked back into my bedroom and went straight for my closet. I had to find something to wear that would be perfect. If I was going to be seen with Rikert, even if it was just as friends, I needed to look at least presentable.

I shuffled through my shirts, looking over each one a million times. I couldn't make up my mind for the life of me. The nerves were starting to settle back in. I'd never even been to a party, much less an American one. Honestly, I didn't really even want to go. But there was no way I would pass up hanging out with Rikert in public.

"Are you sure you want to go to this party?"

I jumped and popped my head out of the closet. Patrick was sitting on my bed, leaning back with his elbows propping him up. His eyebrows were raised in a way that matched his voice which wasn't impressed. My hand flew down to my towel to make sure it stayed firmly in place.

"What are you doing?"

Patrick rolled his brown eyes as he watched me. "Asking you a question. And expecting an answer."

"Sorry," I mumbled. To hide my embarrassment I went back into the closet and stared at my shirts.

"Stop acting like such a pussy, already," he griped. "You used to be such an asshole right back at me. Now all you do is curl into a ball like a kicked puppy. What's your deal?"