part of me | e.d

five

ethan walks over, his fists clenched at his sides, his eyes locked intimidatingly on kyle. i look back and forth between him and kyle, placing my hand over my left forearm to suppress the pain. 

"ethan, ethan stop. it was nothing, he-"

before i could finish, ethan places a hand on kyle's shoulder and turns him around to face him.

"what the fuck do you think you're doing?" ethan grits his teeth, glaring at him. he holds kyle by the collar of his shirt, his biceps becoming more defined. i gotta admit, ethan was an attractive guy, especially now.

"none of your goddamn business, dolan" kyle spits back, shoving ethan off of him. they stand there glaring at each other until kyle looks back towards me and walks past ethan, grabbing my wrist again. "come on rylin, we need to talk."

ethan scoffs and removes his hand from my wrist. "don't you fucking touch her." he moves me behind him while he stands face to face with kyle. by now, a small crowd has formed around us, teens hungry for drama.

amy, teagan, and emma show up and walk towards the front of the crowd. amy looks at me with concern, and i nod in her direction, assuring her i was okay.

by now, ethan was furious, the vein in his neck making its presence known.

"i was just t-trying to talk to rylin alone, okay?" kyle slurs, clearly too drunk to even stand steadily.

"you're a dumbass if you think i'm going to let you talk to her alone, kyle." ethan crosses his arms over his chest, standing straighter, causing the muscles in his back to tense more.

behind ethan, i peek over his shoulder and see kyle too high to even process what's going on. his shaggy hair falls in his eyes as he mutters a "fuck you." 

kyle walks past us and mumbles a "talk to you later" near my ear for only me to distinguish as he passes. i swallow hard as ethan sighs and uncrosses his arms, turning to face me.

the crowd that had formed dispersed as just ethan and i are left standing next to the bonfire.

before he can say anything, amy rushes over to my side, looping her arm through mine. "oh gosh, rylin! i'm so sorry for leaving you alone."

"amy, it's not your fault. you don't have to babysit me."

i look up at ethan only to find he was already looking at me. i feel my pulse quicken as we just stare at each other, unsure of what to say considering how we left things a few days ago.

teagan and emma show up now, asking how i was. i tell them the same thing i told amy.

i should've never come tonight. i didn't think kyle would show up though, especially not in that condition. just like me, he's been depressed and not himself lately.

"so you're okay?" ethan's voice brings me out of my thoughts. i look into his light brown eyes, seeing the concern there. he still cares about me.

"mmhmm," i murmur. i'm not really sure what to even say to him. he nods his head and finally starts walking away towards the house. 

i exhale a long breath, turning back to the girls.

"rylin, your arm!" emma points to my forearm and i look down, realizing her point. blood was seeping through my jean jacket from my arm.

damnit. i loved this jacket.

"that guy did that to you?" teagan asks. i remove my hand from my forearm, inspecting further. 

"i guess so." i don't want to tell them about the cuts so i just agree with them. "i'm going to go to the bathroom and rinse this."

"i'll go with you," amy offers, but i shake my head and leave them as i walk into the house.

music blares from the giant living room, people dancing everywhere. i struggle through the crowd of sweaty people and finally reach a hallway that i'm hoping has the bathroom.

i knock on a door and receive no answer, so i enter and find it is a bathroom. i take off my jean jacket carefully and look at my arm. 

the skin of my arm is torn open slightly, blood seeping out. i grab some toilet paper and wad it up, soaking it with a little water before dabbing it on my forearm. 

once it's cleaned enough, i pull my jacket back on and leave the bathroom. as i walk through the crowd again, i notice ethan sitting on a couch with grayson on his right side and that girl from earlier on his left side. they're sitting side by side, her laughing at something ethan said.

i can't say i didn't feel a little jealous. why was i jealous? i had no right to be.

i look away from them and walk back outside. i find the girls in the same spot i left them, talking about some new guy at our school.

"his name is mason! he just got here this summer and he's in our class." emma had a huge grin on her face.

"someone has a crush, huh?" teagan probes. emma blushes profusely. 

"i thought you liked grayson?" amy asks. 

"no way. he's a total fuckboy. i mean, he's great to look at, but he doesn't do relationships."

"hey guys," i say as i walk towards them. they turn in my direction, smiles on her faces.

"hey rylin! is your arm okay?" amy asks.

"yeah, it's fine. don't worry about it. where are the drinks?" amy looks at me with a confused expression. 

"i thought you didn't want to drink? aren't you driving tonight?"

"well, i do and we can get someone to give us a ride home anyway. i can pick up my car tomorrow."

i couldn't get ethan out of my mind and it was driving me insane. i kept jumping to conclusions about who that girl could be. i just wanted to forget and relax after this stressful night. after this stressful past few weeks.

"well all right then! come on!" teagan leads me over to the table with all the drinks and pours me a cup. i bring the red solo cup up to my lips, smelling the alcohol immediately. i tip my head back drinking it in one gulp as teagan encourages me.

"doesn't it feel good to finally let loose?" she finishes her own drink and reaches to pour us more.

"yeah, surprisingly it does." 

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i hope you guys are liking the story, please comment and vote!! i'd appreciate it so much!

- lexi