Hidden

Chapter One

Chapter one

With Seth, it's spontaneous and unexpected. He was everything I wanted out of a relationship. He was the bad boy; the guy every girl wanted, the guy every other guy hated and was jealous of, the guy who no one knew anything about. I was attracted to him from the moment I saw him on my first day at Riverside High School.

Seth had jet black hair, green eyes, light olive skin, and a well sculpted body. He was mysterious, closed-off, and cold when I first met him. He wasn't interested in girls, as drugs and alcohol took up most of his time and attention. I wanted to change him. I wanted to get to know the real Seth, and I did. After two long months, I finally discovered who the real Seth was.

There was a soft side to him. He was kind and gentle towards me. The temper remained, but he always regarded me with care and affection. Our friendship developed into much more in a short amount of time, and from the beginning I knew that this boy would change me.

~

It's pretty rare to see him happy and having a good time. Tonight, it's like a switch flipped in his personality. Where his usual angry, desperate scowl used to be, is now a warm, affectionate smile that is directed at me.

He had shown up at my house earlier this evening, insisting that we go out tonight. He surprised me by taking me to go ice skating. I was shocked by his sudden gesture and mood change, but happily went along with him. He's honestly been amazing the entire night.

As of now, he's walking me home. Our hands are laced together and I have to admit, tonight was fun. I am so lucky to be able to see this side of him when he lets me. It's freezing and snowing on us right now as we walk down the street towards my house, but that doesn't stop me from turning towards him and planting a soft kiss on his lips.

When I pull away, there's a small smile playing on his lips, but sadness overtakes his eyes. I continue walking with him, knowing what he has in store for me next and I avoid eye contact until we reach my house.

~

I follow the same routine the next morning. I wake up completely naked on the floor, Seth already gone. I glance at my alarm clock as I stand up, wincing in pain from the events that took place last night, but I'm grateful that it's Saturday.

I take a quick shower and do my makeup. I am again thankful that it's winter to cover up every piece of evidence from being with Seth last night with a simple long-sleeve tee. With my parents being gone until next Friday, I get the house to myself. And now that I come to think of it, Netflix is probably going to be my best friend today.

I'm in the middle of watching an episode of Friends when I hear a knock on the door. I reluctantly pause the tv show, irritated that my rare spurt of happiness was interrupted. Feeling cautious from the events that took place earlier tonight, I look through the window above the living room couch, just next to my front door.

My breathing halts and my heart starts to pick up pace when I see that Seth is staring angrily at my door. Fear settles in my stomach as I back up from the window into the kitchen, grabbing a knife from one of the drawers on the island. I settle myself into the farthest corner from the door, turning off the lights.

He begins kicking the door and yelling profanities at me. His tantrum lasts awhile, but slowly he comes down to begging me to let him in. When he doesn't receive a response after a few minutes, he  kicks the door as hard as he can. I know he's done for tonight, but the words that follow next surprise and kill me at the same time.

"I hate you."

~

After I know he's gone, I grab a couple tissues, wiping the frantic tears from my face. I begin to walk towards the couch, wanting to continue watching tv, but I'm interrupted once again by a knock at the door.

"Hey, it's Evan,"

I'm relieved to say the least, but I'm also worried that Seth could still be outside. Not thinking clearly, I run to the door, unlock it, grab the person who is currently knocking on my door, pull him inside, and lock the door.

I lean up against the locked door, finally feeling safe. However, my heart is racing and I'm finding it a little hard to breathe, but that just comes with Seth and I's messed up relationship.

"What the fuck?"

I look up at the guy in front of me, suddenly remembering that I had pulled him inside my pitch black house. "Sorry about that," I mutter, embarrassed by my actions, "Is he still out there?"

"No, who is he?" Evan asks, obviously confused by what he just witnessed.

"Um... my boyfriend," I tell him, deciding to be honest. I look up at him, expecting to see disgust, surprise, or maybe even humor written across his face, but much to my surprise, he looks worried instead.

For whatever reason, I didn't realize who he was at first. It only clicked just now when I realized it was Evan. Evan Andrews, the quarterback of my school's football team. He's the golden boy and every girl's dream guy, and he's standing five feet away from me, inside my house.

He's wearing black, worn out converse, ripped jeans, and a light grey sweatshirt. He's easily the hottest guy in school with his dark brown curly hair, baby blue eyes, and tan skin. "His name is Seth, right?" he asks, attempting to figure out the situation at hand.

"Yeah, he goes to Riverside with us," I reply quietly, a little scared that Evan already knows exactly what's going on between Seth and I.

"I saw him outside your door and I wanted to make sure you're okay," he pauses, looking at me with concern as he gestures my face, "but you're clearly not. What happened?"

I looked back down at the floor, trying to come up with a lie, but nothing came to me. I sigh, disappointed in myself for not coming up with something as I usually do.
"He was mad that I wouldn't let him in."

"But he's your boyfriend," he tells me, as if I don't already know that.

"I know, we're just sort of fighting at the moment," I lie, finally coming up with something to tell him that wouldn't cause him to call the police.

"Ella, he told you he hated you." He said firmly, taking a step closer. I can tell that he's worried, but I can't tell him what's really going on. Seth would kill me and I'd be humiliated.

"He's just drunk," I shoot back, not wanting this conversation to go on any further. I just want to get back to Friends.

"First of all, you're a crap liar. He was completely sober. No drunk guy is going to go up to their girlfriend's house screaming at them and then drive off in a straight line. Second of all, you pulled me inside with a knife in your hand, clearly scared, and asked if he was gone. What the hell is going on here?"

I was frozen in place. I stared at the floor trying to come up with something believable, but I couldn't. I couldn't lie and I couldn't tell him the truth, so I'd just have to avoid his questions completely.

I walk over to the couch and sit down, pulling a blanket over me as I do so. "Just leave it alone, Evan." I keep my eyes off of him so that I couldn't give anything away. I click the 'play' button on the remote. As Friends starts to play again, I hear the door opening and shutting, signifying that Evan has left with no further questions.

A/N:

I know people don't really read the author's notes too often, but I thought I'd at least write one for my first chapter. Thanks for reading and please leave a comment and a vote if you like what I have so far! Thank you so much!!