I'll Be Alright (boyxboy)

Chapter 5

Picture of Jamie 

Chapter 5

I didn't go to school for a couple days. A palm shaped bruise had surfaced across my cheek overnight, a harsh, bright red against my pale skin that I had no doubt everyone would notice. There were plenty others that I couldn't look at for longer than a few seconds before I felt the urge to shatter the mirror. It wouldn't matter anyway. Even if I couldn't see the bruises, they'd still be there, both the faded and new. Numbness had replaced the pulsing pain in some places, until I touch it that is, but the larger bruises across my stomach and back ached as I reminder.

The home phone rang from downstairs, which I knew was probably Tobias, but I could never really tell whether my dad was home or not, so I didn't leave my room to answer. My dad doesn't ever pick up the phone unless he's dialing a friend or looking for me, so I wasn't worried about that. If he ever got tired of hearing it, he'd usually disconnect the phone. I was getting a little antsy though. The last time I was gone like this, Tobias tried to come to my house and check on me. Thank God that when he did I was mostly healed and my dad wasn't home, but I knew that this time I wouldn't be so lucky. 

I laid in bed, weighing the pros and cons of going to answer the phone, when my door swung open, my dad standing in the doorway. I curled in on myself, afraid of what would come, but he just puffed out smoke from his cigarette and glared,

"Get up and answer the damn phone, boy." He disappeared down the hallway. I didn't move until I heard him thumping down the steps. Carefully, I climbed out of bed and went downstairs, favoring my left side, which had the most bruises. When I got to the living room, my dad was sitting in front of the tv, eating chips and watching Family Feud. The phone trilled again and he looked up with a dirty look.

"Do I have to tell you again?" He snapped and I shook my head frantically and ducked into the kitchen. It only rang once more before I picked it up, glancing into the living room.

"Hello?" I whispered, using my voice for the first time in days.

"Oliver!" Tobias sighed in relief. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm okay." I lied. "I've just been feeling sick."

"Why didn't you answer the phone? I called like twelve times." I smiled. It almost sounded like he was pouting. "I'm coming over after school to-

"No!" I nearly hissed, scaring even myself. There was a pregnant silence over the line before Tobias' voice returned.

"Why?" Tobias asked suspiciously. I pulled away from the phone and pressed my forehead against the pantry, praying that the wood and I would become one. Great. Just great. Now he's going to ask a million and one more questions than he already asks on a daily basis, because Tobias never lets things like this go. I tried to think of a fast excuse.

"We just had the carpet cleaned and the floor is still very damp." I patted myself on the back for coming up with a pretty solid excuse. 

"Oliver...you don't have carpet." Tobias said slowly, sounding both amused and exasperated. "All your floor is hardwood."

I glanced down beneath my feet. Frowning, I peeked into the living room. Huh. That is something I'd honestly never noticed. Even my room is void of any carpet. I think the only room with carpet is my dad's, but I haven't been in his room for years. I'm not entirely sure what it looks like.

"You do know I've been to your house before, right?" Tobias laughed. "Is that what this is about, because I don't care what your house looks like. You don't even have to clean your room."