The Bad Boy Hero

Chapter 7

“Where have you been?” was the dreaded voice I heard when I walked in, trying as hard as I could to be quiet. My eyes closed tightly and I sucked in a deep breath

“J-just at Tess’,” he walked out of the living room looking almost sober, there was no excuse now. This was my dad. This is what he had become.

“You’re lying,” he stated

“No, no I’m not,” I told him quickly

“I know when you are lying to me,”

“No, I promise I was at the hotel with Tess,” I begged him to believe me, please. He advanced but stopped dead when we both distinctively heard mum’s key in the door. He gave me a look and I ran passed him an upstairs without needing to be told, but I knew that this wasn’t over. I guess that’s why he was so sober tonight.

A smile plastered on my face I heard the buzz of gossip around school that I hadn’t heard in a while; I wondered what the gossip was but didn’t care enough to actually ask anyone. Kelli and Jake had probably broken up again. It was the last day of term so I had to remind myself  to take all my folders home. I headed to my locker at the end of break to find Mattie there silently fuming to himself, had something happened at football or something? Had the cancelled the game tomorrow?

“Why didn’t you tell me you were tutoring Ryder?” he asked bluntly without a hello

I blinked in surprise “How did you find out?”

He didn’t take notice of my question as I pulled open my locker “I had to find out from the bastard that my girlfriend is tutoring him, and have been tutoring him for weeks!”

“I didn’t think it was a big deal,” I shrugged playing innocent as the corridor slowly emptied

“Please! If you didn’t think it was a big deal you would have told me,” 

I just rolled my eyes at him “You’re being over dramatic Mattie,”

“Am I?”

“Yes,” I put on my sweet voice, knowing I could win him round “I’m just tutoring him Honey, it’s not like we’re friends,”

“Wow!” I turned to see Jasper and my heart fell at the look on his face “Thanks for that one Annie,”

“Jasper I didn’t mean,” I tried to amend quickly as I felt Mattie’s arms wind around my waist protectively, and possessively.

“No, no, it’s fine, at least we have all been put in our places now,” he shook his head as he backed away from us

“Jasper,” I called after him but I couldn’t move from Mattie’s iron grip

“Don’t worry about him,” he said it like he wasn’t human, like he didn’t have emotions, like it wasn’t plainly obvious that Jasper was upset about what I had said. “At least he knows where you stand now.” He kissed my cheek and my heart continued to fall.