Menace | Jason McCann

C. 07

"So, are you prepared for exam week?" My mom interrupted the silence filled with the clinking of our forks hitting against the glass plates.

"Well, yeah. I guess. Just nervous, like always." I shrugged briefly as I stared down at my food, pushing a piece of beef along the rice with my fork.

"There's nothing to be nervous about, honey. You know, your mom was the-"

"Smartest girl with the highest GPA." I finished along with her.

"Not only that but I was also-"

"The valedictorian." I finished for her again with an emotionless voice.

I literally have lost count of how many times my mom has told me this. She swears that knowledge runs in our blood but no, I'm pretty sure that's not how it works.

"Mom, I know, okay. But just because you're really smart, doesn't mean I am."

"Well, of course it does. Why else would you be an honor roll student?" She smiled as I shook my head.

God, she really doesn't understand. Just because you're an honor roll student, doesn't mean your smart. Hell, even principals honor roll doesn't mean your smart. It all depends on the studying and how good you pay attention and the work you turn in.

"I'm done eating," I stood up from my chair, "Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Jayden." I looked over at Jayden and watched as he devoured his fried rice. I chuckled quietly before walking out of the dining room and to the kitchen. I starting to throw away the remainder of my food until I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"I'll take care of that, honey. You go get some rest, alright?" My mom smiled at me, causing me to smile back. I gave her a nod then pressed a kiss to her forehead. I made my way up the stairs and to my room, sighing in the process. Man, am I tired.

As I made my way into the room, I noticed my light was turned off.

Jason must've left.

I looked over at my closed window that allowed the moonlight to shine in my room. I wonder when he'll be back.

I ran my fingers through my hair as I walked over to my closet and picked out my pajamas. I quickly changed in my closet then walked over to my bed.

The papers were gone and so were my textbooks. I looked around for a moment before spotting my book bag and textbooks sitting on my desk. Jason must've done that. Wow, that was really nice of him.

Once I finished pulling my hair up into a messy bun, I climbed into bed and under the sheets. Damn, my bed is so comfy. I breathed out deeply as I shut my eyes closed.

"Goodnight." A voice spoke quietly, make my heart go flying out of my chest. I quickly sat up and searched the room until I spotted him. Good God, not again.

"Please just leave. I don't even wanna deal with you right now, okay? Why haven't you left? You need to go home. I have school tomorrow."

"I just wanted to say goodnight to you." He took a step closer, the moonlight now shining on his face. I squinted my eyes as I studied it. What the- is that blood on his face? On the top of his left eyebrow, there was blood. And his face seemed dirty.

"Oh my God," I started to climb out of bed, "What happened to you?" I spoke quietly, taking a step towards him. He watched me intently and took a step back.

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me." My voice was more stern as I came closer to him. He watched me as I approached him and stared at his face. I was right. It was blood. There was also dots of it along his cheek.

"You're hurt," I grabbed onto his hand and started to pull him towards my bathroom, "I have to clean it before it gets worse."

"No, stop, Ariella. I'll be fine." He tried to refuse but I shook my head. I tugged him into the bathroom and turned the light switch on. I quickly grabbed the mini first aid kit from under my sink and sat him down on the toilet.

"Really, I'll be fine. I swear-"

"Shh," I stopped him, "This needs to be cleaned before it gets infected."

I grabbed a gauze pad and put some peroxide on it. I moved closer to him and placed my hand under his chin to tilt his head up. He was biting down on his lip and i could tell he was nervous. I'm sure it won't hurt that bad.

I carefully wiped around the main spot above his eyebrow and started to clean it up. I focused more on it, my eyes forming slits. I continued to clean up the dry blood and then cleaned up the whole spot.

"Hm," I spoke to myself, "That's weird, I don't see a cut." I pulled away from him, my eyes switching to his.

"Why don't I see a cut, Jason." I furrowed my eyebrows at him as he let out a small sigh.

"You have to stay calm."

"Stay calm?"

He grabbed onto my wrist gently and lowered my hand from him face.

"It's not my blood." He mumbled.

"What?!" I yelled before immediately silencing myself so I don't draw attention to my mom, "What do you mean it's not your blood?!" I now whisper yelled.

"It's nothing serious, okay. You just have to listen."

I looked down at his hand on my wrist before snatching it away from his grip. I took a step back, away from him, and tossed the gauze pad into the trash. "I'm listening."