Can You Keep A Secret?

Chapter Ninety-Three

-Brooklyn's POV-

"Uhm, I fell?" I offered, unsure of how to cover this up.

I hadn't even known that he was there until he was pinning me against the wall, his breath hot and rancid in my face. It'd taken a moment for my eyes to focus – He had a snakebite and tattoos running up and down his arms, the most threatening one of all a detailed skull and crossbones inked over his collarbone. He looked so much like a classic movie villain that I'd looked around for cameras, nearly certain that I'd somehow stumbled onto a movie set, but I soon learned that that wasn't the case. My feet were dangling off of the ground, and the collar of my shirt was tight against my neck, choking me.

"Listen up, you little punk," he'd hissed, as if I'd had any choice in the matter. "You stay away from Stacey, you hear me?"

"She broke up with me," I'd spluttered, unsure if it was wise for me to even admit to having known her at all, but unable to take the words back.

"Yeah, sure," he'd said, and then dropped me, but not until he'd kicked me in the shin. I'd collapsed into a heap, gulping in air and trying to ignore the pain spreading throughout my entire ankle.

"It's true," I'd gasped upon him rearing his foot back for another kick. "I haven't spoken to her since." And it was true – I hadn't even called her again since that night. Cried over her, for sure, but I'd given her distance. I had the feeling that sobbing over the phone would only hurt my case. I'd been hoping that she'd reach the realization that she'd made a dire mistake and come back to me on her own – Now I wasn't so sure.

"I better not find out that you're lying," he threatened,

"Who even are you?" I asked, more than a little confused as to how I ended up in a situation like this in the first place. He clearly had quite a bit of a temper, because instead of answering, he gave me a swift blow to my ribs instead.

When I managed to regain my breath again, I spit out a bitter "What the fuck?" Deciding that he wasn't quite through with me yet, he grabbed ahold of the sleeve of my shirt and slammed me back against the wall of the bathroom. The shock of the initial pain started in my back, but then quickly spread throughout the rest of my body. I was ready to put the skills that I'd learned in karate all of those years ago into good use when he spoke again.

"I'm here to give you a lesson on cheating that you won't soon forget," he growled, but his first and only explanation left me even more confused than before.

"I didn't cheat-" I was cut off by a sharp slap across the face. Unlike with Mikey, he didn't draw back in horror with what he had done – No, he had meant to hurt me. In fact, I was sure that I saw a small, sick smile stretched across his lips.

"How dare you lie about it," he menaced, and I grimaced, struggling to pull away from him and afraid of what he might do next.

"I didn't," I whimpered. Still managing to keep me firmly pinned down, he twisted to retrieve his phone out of his pocket. After scrolling for a second, he found what he was looking for – A picture of me and Amelia.

"Hanging out with her all day whist waiting for yet another girl? I'd like to see you try and explain that away." I gaped in shock, unable to speak and unsure of what came as more of a surprise – His accusations, or the fact that he, or at least somebody, had been stalking me.

"I didn't think so." He hit me again before I even had time to react, sending my head spinning. I spit out a mouthful of blood before speaking again.