A heart of Gold// Ethan Dolan

Chapter 9

The night started off alright. The usual bickering coming from Layla, but nothing to cause a petty fight. Now and then I would catch Theo staring at me smirking but I ignored it. People always ask me why I would break up with such a hot guy. If only they knew. But we were two different people. I thought he was my best friend but he wasn't. He wanted more, I didn't. I just wasn't ready. Before he 'changed' into this bad boy, Theo was a genuine guy. He was nice, caring and loyal. 

The whole night I watched as Layla continuously flirted with the twins not caring what we all thought. "So Layla...hows the unemployment career thing working for you," I ask a bit smug. She stops feeling Ethan and stares at me. She laughs nervously and flashes a fake smile. "Wait how old are you?" Ethan asks. "Like 17". She then looks back at me. I could see the frustration growing on her and I was planning on breaking it. "She's a high school dropout. Anyways I heard you shagged a 30-year old...is that even legal?" I ask as I raise an eyebrow. "Daya!" My mum yells shooting me a glare. "Geeze just wanted to know" I rashly say. The rest of the night was peaceful and I guess Layla was too embarrassed to speak. "We should probably leave now" Layla kindly tells my Mum after 10 minutes of awkwardness. The two of them then say their goodbyes and sorrows and leave.

After dinner, Lucy and I helped mum clear the table then we went to my room. "What do you think of Layla?" I ask. "Hate her," Lucy says making me laugh. "Hey, I'll be right back," I say to Lucy before leaving the room. I walk down the hallway to my parents I mean mums room. I knocked on the door a couple of times until she answered. She opened the doors and I could see in her eyes she had been crying. I gave her a big hug. "I miss him," my mum says in between sobs. "I do too," I say as rub her back. I unravel from the hug and clear my throat. "I'm sorry for before," I say looking down at the ground. "It's alright baby," she says grabbing my hand tightly. "I better go to bed we have a lot to do tomorrow," I say giving my mum one last hug before leaving her room. 

Jed's room was next to mums so I could hear the faint noises of his video games. I knock on his door for a while until Grayson opens it. "Oh hey". "Hey," Grayson says smiling and leaning to the side to let me in. I walk in and see a topless Ethan. "Why is he topless?" I whisper to Grayson. "He likes sleeping topless" Grayson replies chuckling. As I was staring he suddenly jerked his head to move his hair. "Hey Grays-" Ethan begins as he turns around. Wow, he must really go to the gym a lot because his physique was chiseled. "Oh hey, Daya!" Ethan says waving at me. I wave back at him while smiling. I walk over to Jed and plant a small kiss on his forehead. He pauses his game and gives me a hug. "Goodnight loser," I say again giving him a noogie. "Bye," I say to the twins walking out the room. 

Next to my room was Maxine's. She was hardly home because she was attending college in Pennsylvania. I knock on her door. No reply. I again knocked on her down but again no reply. I open her door and she laid on her bed her back facing me. "Maxine?" I mutter to myself. I slowly walk up to her and place my hand on her hip. She flinches and quickly turns around. She had her earphones in and had bloodshot eyes. She takes out her earphones and manages to give me a crooked smile. The tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down my face. I feel the muscles of my chin tremble like a small child. I lay on the bed and cuddle next to her. She turns around to face me so we were both eye to eye. My eyes drip with tears. My walls, the walls that hold me up, make me strong just... collapse. I get up from the laying position and she places her head on my lap. I brushed my fingers through her short curly hair. She sobbed into my lap increasingly as I could feel her hands shaking. She lays back up now facing me. Her eyes shifted to the side again and became glazed with a layer of tears. As she blinked, they dripped from her eyelids and slid down her cheeks. This was the worst I've ever seen my sister. She had always been one to put walls up and never show weakness to people. So it hurts to see her like this. Her lower lip quivered as words slowly made their way out of her mouth. "I'm sorry," she says now wiping away all the tears. "It's alright. Just get some sleep" I reassure her giving her another hug. 

When I walked back into my room Lucy was fast asleep. I sigh and hop into my bed.

Monday 25th of September;

I woke up to the sound of a mower. "Ugh.Mr. Ruthley" I mumble to myself. I get up from the warm bed and go to the bathroom. When I got into the bathroom I did my business and some light makeup and also brushing my teeth...duh! 

As I was walking downstairs I could hear a familiar voice. "Theo, what are you doing here this early?" I ask him when I get to the bottom. "Came to check up on you," he says walking towards me. "Oh, thanks," I say a bit too happy. "Wanna go the park?" Theo asks me making his way to the door. "Sure!" I say following him.

When we got to the park there was literally no one there. Just the two of us. I sat on the swing as he pushed me. It was quiet for a minute or two before Theo spoke up. "Are you and Ethan dating?" Theo asks now not pushing me. Once the swing was steady I turn around to face him but I was still on the swing. "Nah we aren't". I look into his deep green eyes as he just stared back at me. I stood up to now face him. He began to walk closer to me so now we were inches apart. He leans in, so our foreheads were against each other. I stood frozen though not knowing what to do. He then crashes his lips onto mine surprising me. I pull away from the kiss. "What the heck Theo!" I yell rubbing my lips with my sleeves. He just smirks and again kisses me. This time rougher. His hand then begins to make its way up my chest but I stopped it. "STOP!" I screamed pushing him with all my might. I then ran home not looking back.

By the time I got home I was puffed out.When I walked in Ethan was just coming down the stairs. "Why are you so tired?" Ethan asks me. "Geez, can't you ever just shut up!" I yell before running upstairs. I don't know why I was releasing my anger on Ethan because I know damn well he doesn't deserve it.