Endless Summer/ ✔️

Never Know

When I woke up the next morning, Bryce was lying beside me. For a second, I forgot all about last night until it came rushing back to me. Looking down, I was naked and I remember not   getting that way before I went to sleep.

Pulling the sheet with me, I felt a sudden hand on my lower back. "Where do you think you're going?" Bryce asked, sleep rolling off his tongue.

"I have to go make sure Lauren is alive and the house isn't trashed. I'll come back," I lied. I really needed to get out of this room and get some help. Throwing on a shirt, I took a quick look in the mirror on the wall. The cut under my eye was still a little raw and there was a new bruise at the beginning of my arm.

Downstairs, I could hear talking in the kitchen. From the voices, I could tell one was Jonah and one was Lauren. "Do you think she's okay?" Jonah asked.

"She was okay last night when she snuck away with her boyfriend," Daniel replied coldly. As I came around the corner, him and Jonah both sat up straight. Lauren, touched my face, lightly, examining the cut. m

"What happened to your face? Did Bryce do this?" She questioned. Pulling away from her fingers, I scoffed.

"I tripped on the stairs last night."

"So I suppose, the bruise on your arm? You tripped on the stairs too?" Lauren shot back. Sending a glare, I sat at the table next to Jonah, giving a smile. His blue eyes stared deep into my soul while he stared. I could feel it as I took a bite of the food. To my surprise, the house was cleaned and there was no sign that a party even happened.

Down at the end of the bar, I caught Daniel staring but when I looked, he snapped away. "Did he do anything to you, Maya? Tell me the truth, please," Jonah whispered. He traced the old bruise, goosebumps raising on my skin immediately.

Before I could answer, Bryce bounded down the stairs. My heart stopped and my body tensed. Jonah felt it. Daniel saw it. All of the others tensed up. "What's with all the long faces?" Bryce smiled as he threw open the fridge.

Standing, I walked over to him. "I think you should leave. Don't you have a place to stay?" I whispered.

"Sure, I rented an apartment across town for the two months. Do you want to join me?" He winked. I crossed my arms and blew out a shaky breath.

"Lauren and I have some things to do around town. Alone." Bryce's eyes turned am ugly light brown, his eyebrows furrowed and he clenched his jaw.

"Alright, fine. But I'll be back sometime," he whispered, kissing my cheek roughly. As soon as I heard the door close, I sighed. Lauren was tensed up, standing behind Zach, watching me as I moved back to my seat.

"Can we just focus on to something else?" I murmured. "Who cleaned up?" Everyone raised their hands, no trace of happiness in their faces. I wouldn't be happy either. They know what really happened and they didn't like the fact that I was going to let it keep happening. Truth is, I was scared to do anything about it because I have seen what he could do with just his fist.

Later in the day, I was lying back down on the bed when my mind wandered over last night. I woke up naked. But I never got undressed. By myself. In the middle of my thoughts, Lauren swung the door open. "I know you don't want to talk, but there is something you should know," she sighed as she sat on the bed. I groaned and threw myself back onto the bed. "I didn't want to tell you in front of the boys."

"Will you just get on with it?" I asked, annoyed.

"Relax. I was walking past your room with Zach and I-"

"Zach spent the night? In your room?" I asked, shocked.

"That's not the point!" She yelled. "The point is, I saw Bryce hovering over you. I didn't mean to barge in -I just- You should really close the door when you two sleep together," Lauren explained. I shot up to look at her.

"We didn't have se-" I stopped. "Oh my gosh," I gasped.

"What? Are you okay?"

"Lauren, I woke up with no clothes this morning. Bryce and I got into a fight last night and he accidentally hit me. After that, I climbed into bed and blacked out. I didn't think he was angry enough to do that to me. Lauren, what do I do?" Lauren's mouth hung open and I saw that tears were about to fall. It didn't take long before my own fell and without a word, I brought her in for a hug.

"You deserve so much better than him, Maya. Someone like Jonah or Daniel. They both like you, you just have to open your eyes."

"Open my eyes? Do you know how open they are, Lauren? Daniel saved me the other day, Jonah makes me feel alive. I don't think Bryce would ever make anyone feel that way."

"Maybe you should let the boys know what is going on. They could help you. They might try to kill him, but they wont judge you. Is that what you're scared of?" She asked. I shrugged and brought a hand to my injured face. Maybe I should do this. It could help me. As I wiped away the tears, I nodded. This was it.

Lauren latched onto my hand as we walked back down the stairs. Logan and the boys looked up at the both of us, worry in their eyes. "Is everything okay?" Jack asked, seeing the tears in both of our eyes. Slowly, I moved to stand in front of the couches they sat on. I could hear my heartbeat as it got silent.

"Actually, there is something I want you to know. Please, don't freak out." Jonah and Daniel both tensed up. They knew what was coming. But I was pretty sure all of them knew and before I knew it, I opened my mouth to speak.