Scars. |✔️|

Chapter 28: Don't Care

Friday, July 26
Los Angeles, CA
7:21 AM

I wake up to the sound of thunder cracking. In the years I've been in LA I don't think I've ever seen it storm. But here I am, in the middle of a storm.

I roll over in a attempt to fall back asleep, but the movement causes my stomach to immediately rise up to my throat. I run to the bathroom and throw up in the toilet. I expect to feel James holding my hair back but the feeling never comes.

What the hell happened last night? — I think continuing throwing up.

When there is nothing left to throw up, I brush my teeth and wash my face. I grab Advil out of my cabinet and swallow the pills with absolutely no water. It's something I've basically been trained to do over my lifetime.

I gaze in the mirror and observe the train wreck presented in front of me. As I look in the mirror I see an empty bottle of vodka next to me.

"Did I drink that by myself?" I say out loud.

All the memories of last night come crashing down. I kissed Anthony, then got drunk, and I found out that the girl who stabbed me is my boyfriend's ex. Wow. What a night.

I pick up my phone and see five missed calls from James. Two texts from Kenzie. And nothing from Laura. Well damn, that stings. The fact that my "best friend" isn't even noticing me, hurts. I haven't talked to her since the day I got in the hospital and I feel like she should be the main one checking on me.

Guess I was wrong.

I open my contacts and scroll down until I find his name. I need answers. And I need them now. I hit the button and semi-regret my decision when he answers the phone.

"Hello? Aaliyah?" Anthony says groggily.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's fine. It was time for me to get up anyway. What's wrong? You sound-"

"Like I just threw up everywhere?"

"Something like that," he chuckles.

His laugh makes me feel some kind of way. Something about it just... I don't know. It's funny how a few of months ago I was completely alone, and I had no one to love. But now it's like I'm torn between two people. Not that I want to be with Anthony or anything, but I still feel stuck.

"I drank way too much last night. And I feel like death, but I'll be okay."

"Do you need anything? Where's James?"

"I don't know and I honestly don't care."

"Oh, I'm sorry," he sighs. "I didn't mean to bring any drama into your life. I was just doing my job."

"So you knew. You knew that she was James's ex?" I sigh.

"Yes, I did."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"It wasn't my place to tell you about that Aaliyah. You needed to find out from him."

"I just don't understand why he didn't tell me about her. Like what about her did he not want me to find out?"

"Aaliyah... she wasn't who he thought she was. Brittney went crazy when she found out about you and James. She has a history of violence towards her ex's girlfriends. It had nothing to do with you."

"But why wouldn't he tell me? What is it about me that made him feel like he couldn't come to me?"

The fact that James didn't tell me about Brittney crushes my heart. Like he knows everything about my past and I've done everything I can to fight for the relationship, but it seems like he already has one foot out of the door.

"There is nothing wrong with you, Aaliyah. I promise you that. You're beautiful woman, don't let anyone tell you differently. And don't let yourself believe anything different."

I blush at his words and chuckle to myself. The laugh causes me to have to throw up again. I run to the bathroom, not caring about the phone in my hand, and vomit profusely.

"Jesus take the wheel," I sigh.

"You okay over there?" I hear Anthony ask.

"Shit, I forgot you were here. My bad."

"You're fine," he laughs. "You sure you don't want me to bring anything?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I just need to go back to sleep, with a bucket next to me."

"Of course. Get some sleep princess," he says, sending chills down my spine.

"Um... yeah. Thank you," I reply.

I hang up the phone and fall on the bed. What the hell is wrong with me? My whole damn life is falling apart, and instead of trying to fix it I'm low key feeling a detective.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Great. What now? I slowly walk to the door and look through the peephole.

This bitch — I really don't feel like dealing with her right now.

I sigh and slowly open the door. I am not prepared for this.

"Hey girl! I have got to tell you something. So like I met this-"

"Um... Laura. What the hell do you want?" I say annoyed that she thinks she can come back into my life smiling and shit.

"Damn Liy, what's wrong? Wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" she laughs.

"Excuse me?! How dare you come into my house, trying to talk to me all normal and shit. You haven't talked to me since I got into the hospital. I've been trying to talk to you. But guess what, you never fucking picked up. So that's what's wrong. My own damn best friend had been nonexistent!" I scream.

"Look I'm sorry. A lot of shit has been going on. I just didn't-"

"Have the time? Yeah, I assumed. And I guess you 'not having the time' to talk to your best friend is because you were having sex with some random."

"Okay bitch. Pump your breaks, you have no right to judge me and my decisions. Because that's what they are. Mine! And be careful with that little tongue of yours. It might get your ass in some trouble," she smirks.

"You know what Laura, get the fuck out. I don't need you. You've always been a horrible friend. You never even cared about me. You just wanted someone to rant to and someone to be up your ass. Well guess what I'm done kissing your butt. I'm done Laura," I sigh, not feeling like screaming anymore.

A defeated look comes across her face and she sighs. As she walks out of the door, she doesn't say a word. All I hear is her sniffling.

I honestly don't have time to deal with her fake ass. Like if you don't think you can talk to me then don't fucking be around me. Point. Blank. Period.

I dial Anthony's number on my phone and listen to it dial. At this point I don't care about the way he makes me feel. I need someone to talk to, and right now he's the only one that I can go to. He eventually picks up and I can't tell he fell back to sleep.

"Hey, actually I do need something."

"And what's that?"

"You."
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How y'all feeling? I wrote this chapter in an airport so if it seems rushed, it's because it was. So right now I have about 1.7K reads and I'm literally so happy. I never thought this book would get this far, but here we are! I love you all!

Hope you all enjoyed chapter 28! Make sure to vote, comment, share, and follow me for more!

Stay tuned for Chapter 29... coming soon!

-Nadia ❤️