Battle Scars

twenty two

I gaze up into his grassy green eyes as we wait for the crowd to vanish.

I think back to what happened last night. The excitement and suspense that filled my heart as Ethan Quinn's soft lips collided with mine.

I freeze and widen my eyes as I suddenly realize.

Holy shit.

My first kiss was with the boy everyone thinks is dead.

"Ethan!" I excitedly whisper.

He raises an eyebrow in my direction.

"You are my first kiss!"

"Is there any reason why you two should be back here at this time?" Justin inturrupts. We both jolt our heads in the direction of the security guard.

"No, sir. Sorry." Ethan mutters. "We'll get back to our rooms."

Ethan motions for me to follow him.

"I might be getting discharged soon." He whispers to me. "That's all I wanted to tell you."

I give him a surprised look and smile.

"Holy shit, Ethan. That's great!" I whisper.

Ethan chuckles and pretends to walk in his room. He turns around and faces me as we become out of Justin's view.

"That meeting I had the other day with Mrs Johnston?" He says.

I nod.

"She said there's a 50/50 chance of discharge in the next week or so."

"Collins! Quinn!" Justin's deep voice causes Ethan and I to both jump back.

"See you later!" Ethan whispers.

I smile and turn around to head towards my room.

"Oh, and by the way.."

I look back in Ethan's direction.

"You're weren't at all bad for your first time." He winks.

My face turns bright red as I softly chuckle. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

. . .

I enter my room and grin widely to myself in the bathroom mirror.

"My first kiss was Ethan Quinn."

I suddenly hear mumbling from outside the bathroom, causing me to frown and spin around.

The sound is coming from near my bed. Is there a ghost in here?

"Hello?" I say.

I hear a croak from the other side of my bed. Creeping towards it, I raise a fist in case of emergency and keep my feet a good distance apart from each other.

As I peek around the corner of the bed, my eyes narrow, then suddenly widen as I recognize the figure. My fists weaken and I drop my arms.

"Robin?" I say in a sympathetic voice.

"Go away!" She shouts, not bothering to look at who I am.

"Get the fuck out of here! Don't ever come back!"

"Hey, Robin, it's Amber. Collins."

I feel relief as a crooked eyeball peeks through Robin's crouched body.

"Amber.." She starts.

"Robin, what the hell happened to y-"

She inturrupts me with a long, tight hug.

"Don't ever.." She starts crying, failing to speak the rest of her words.

"Don't what, Robin? What shouldn't I do?"

"Don't ever let them take you to solitary." She sobs into my shirt.

I look down at her short body and tightly hug her back. Tears start to fill my eyes as I continue to hear her sobs.

"Robin." I say to get her attention.

She looks up with a drained face and bloodshot eyes.

"You're gonna be okay." I decide to say.

"Shut up, Collins." She shakes her head and crashes her head back in my shirt. "It's never okay. Never. And it only gets way worse from here."

"You're wrong. It only gets better." I say, my grip on the hug tightening.

"You'll be okay."