City Lights

Chapter 22

(Adam's POV)

My body felt like it had been hit by fifty trucks all at once. Not even hit, more like run over again and again. I sat up which was a bad idea because my head started pounding. I groaned in pain "dude I think it's better if you stay down" I looked around and saw video games on the floor and a pile of clothes in a corner, there were anime drawings all over the walls and a familiar surfboard propped up against the wall nearest to the blue and green colored bed I was on which smelt like salt water and cologne. It was Asher's room. "What happened?" I asked while holding my head. Asher was sitting on a beanbag chair and watching the small flat screen T.V on his wall. "Michael beat your ass up last night pretty bad, you were passed out on my lawn so Kevin and I brought you up here" he said without looking back at me. I felt my back pocket and pulled out my phone, it was 3:12 'mom is gonna kill me' I thought. Just then I remembered Alexis, I scrolled down my contacts until her name came up and I started to call her but I realized there was something in my other back pocket vibrating. I hung up and pulled the device out from my pocket. It was Alexis' phone...she had left it, or more like I forgot to give it back when I took it from her after I saw all of the horrible things Cat was texting her...Cat...ugh I hated her so much. 'Why would she do this?' I thought to myself.

"Oh yea your mom called...bruh you're so dead. Like in your grave dead. Like I'm already at your funeral dead. She was losing her shit on the phone last night at like midnight. Then I told her you were staying the night cause you fell asleep and she said as soon as you wake up to tell you to go home...so...go home" Asher said while pausing his game and turning to face me. I laughed a little but that made the throbbing in my head worse. "Thanks man" I said "no problem" he smiled as I stood up and steadied myself against the wall. "You sure you can drive like that?" Asher asked. "Like what?" I asked. Asher pointed to the mirror on his closet. I walked over to it and my eyes widened, or at least one did.
I almost didn't recognize myself. One of my eyes were bruised shut or swollen more like it. My lip was bruised in the corner and I had dry blood on my lip and nose. Michael really did kick my ass. "I could give you a ride" Asher suggested. I nodded and looked at myself in the mirror for another minute or so as Asher got ready. I lifted my shirt and saw a big bruise just below my ribs. I touched it lightly and winced. I pulled my back down and turned around as Asher grabbed his keys off of the mahogany desktop which held his miniature collection of surfboards and snow globes, we never get snow it L.A so I guessed it was pretty normal for him to be curious about it. "Let's go" he said nodding his head towards the door.

We didn't talk much during the drive. When we for to my house I asked Asher if he wanted to come inside and he said "no thanks bruh, your mom is pretty mad and I don't wanna be in the middle of it" he was probably right. I nodded and thanked him. Asher drove off as I walked up to the front door. The last time I felt this way about walking into my own house was the first day of summer when Alexis came over. I took her home after she told me to turn the T.V off. I realized that it was because the scene probably triggered her. Then I came home and my mom was mad...but I was sure that this time she was furious.

I walked into the house and closed the door behind me. I expected to hear my mom shout at me but instead I heard silence. "Mom?" I called out, but no one replied. I checked the living room and the kitchen, even the backyard and in her bedroom. I looked through the living room window to our driveway...my moms car wasn't there. I shrugged to myself and walked upstairs to my bedroom then closed the door behind me. I took my shirt off and smelt it...it reeked and I bet I did too, so I went into my bathroom and put my phone into the speaker that stood on the cabinet. Alexis and I had matching speakers, we bought them together in eighth grade on Christmas Eve. I put a playlist called 'the quiet' on, it was a playlist full of meaningful songs to me. I then turned on the water and let the warm water soothe my sore muscles and wounds. I scrubbed dry blood off of various places and then I just stood there under the water thinking...I thought about the lyrics to the song that was playing called 'breakeven' by the script...I thought about Alexis...I thought about where I went wrong...about what I could have done...I thought about going over to her house and using her phone as an excuse to see her...I thought about her about her eyes...about her hair...about her lips..her smile, her voice, her laugh, her everything...the way she was sculpted like an angle...I thought about her...