The Quiet

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

*Nathan's Point of View*

Today I wasn't able to go to the library with Athena, I had too much homework. When I'm with her, I can never get any work done since my eyes are mostly on her. I went home right after school while my brother, Grayson went to Athena's house like always. I heard the doorbell ring which pulled me away from my thoughts. I groaned, losing more time to work on my project. I hopped off my bed and rushed down the stairs to answer the door. I was expecting a door to door sales clerk, but it was Dean.

The smile he gave me made shivers go down my spine. "Hello, Nathan. It's nice to see you again." Dean allowed himself into my house, making my nerves worse. I gave him a stern look as I closed the door.

"What do I owe for this pleasant surprise?" I said sarcastically. I crossed my arms while I waited for his response. He walked around the house, looking around my living room. He stopped a photo that I had on the table, the one Athena gave me for Valentine's Day. Dean picked up the frame, examining it.

"What a happy couple," he announced. I could hear the anger in his voice, that he no longer had her. "Nathan, I told you not to cross me. Look what you did, the opposite of what I warned you of." Dean placed the photo back down on the table where he found it. "You took her away from me, the one person who understood me and accepted me." He turned around slowly, making his way toward me. "It's time for you to earn what I warned you about." I was about to say something, but I was interrupted when Dean's fist smashed into my face. I didn't see it coming, therefore, I lost my balance and fell to the floor. Dean jumped on me, continuously punching my face.

"I-told-you-to-stay-away," he yelled, punching me in the face between his words. I felt the blood already running down my face. I felt the anger rise in my veins, I pushed him off me with all the force I had. He stumbled back, falling onto his spine where I then pounded on him with my hands. I saw his blood flying all over the place, the red substance was dripping off my knuckle. I heard the front door open and felt a pair of arms drag me off, Dean. Soon, the person began pounding on me as well as Dean. After a few minutes of the constant blows to the face, I felt myself knock out.

*Next Day*

*Athena's Point of View*

Throughout the whole day, I didn't see Nathan, no one has seen him. I asked his brother and apparently, he is sick. He said that he couldn't go into Nathan's room because he locked it, he was assuming nothing was wrong since Nathan usually does that quite often. I decided to go visit him after school to make sure he is okay. I texted him about me coming over, but I never received a text message back. I went to his house, knocked on the door and waited for him to open it. It took him the longest time to come down the stairs. He opened it a crack, I wasn't able to see his face. "Are you okay?" I asked, trying to look through the crack. "Nathan, come on let me in."

"You need to promise me you won't ask any questions or jump to conclusions," I heard him say. I watched at the door confused about what he was talking about.

"I'm not promising," I replied. I heard him sigh, slowly opening the door. He looked up from the ground, his face was a disaster. There were cuts all over his face as well as bruises. Some areas of his face were bloody and puffed up from irritation. One of his eyes was swollen with a dark ring of purple around it. I gasped at his face, "what happened?!" I entered the house, grabbing his face gently with my hands. "Who did this?" I examined the rest of his body to see if there were more injuries. Nathan stayed quiet, not telling me what I wanted to know. "Nathan," I said sternly. There were bruises and cuts on his right knuckle like he hit the person back who attacked him.