All Because Of Him

three.

      Panic immediately takes over my emotions and I begin to wish that all of this is just some huge joke and that somebody will open the doors and laugh at my gullibleness. I can not be locked in the garage with Mason West. I haven't seen or talked to him in years, and now because of my fear of becoming a buzzkill of a friend I am at a party trapped in the garage with the boy from my past.

     "What's the hold up?" Mason says behind me, attitude clear in his voice and I sigh in defeat. This is not how I expected my night to go. 

     "It's locked," I say, turning around to face him. He raises his eyebrows in confusion and I nod my head towards the door. 

     I know Sofia is behind this and I can already picture her smiling at my misery.

     "What do you mean it's locked?" He says, stepping in closer to me.

     "I mean... it's locked, there isn't really another way to say it." I snap back, the anger already starting to grow inside of me.

     "Move," he says and pushes past me just like what Sofia did to me earlier. 

    I scoff at his sudden attitude, and cross my arms while I wait for him to magically open the locked door. 

    He places his hands on the door and tries to push it open, and I can't help but shake my head as I laugh escapes my lips.

     "What? Do you think I don't know how to open a door?" I ask him, attitude clear in my voice. 

     "Well I see you haven't changed a bit." He says under his breath, turning back around to face me. 

     "Excuse me?" He sighs and walks past me, sitting down on the couch. 

      Normally I wouldn't feel this awkward at a sudden run in with somebody that I used to know, but a lot has changed since he left. He may be a different boy now but so am I. I wish I could tell him about the horrors of the last three years with him gone, but I don't want to open that can of worms yet. 

     Not that it will matter to him anyways.

     I suddenly remember about the cops pulling into the driveway and I walk back to the door, cupping my fingers around the side of my head to look outside from the glass above the garage door. The sirens seem to have stopped and all the teenagers that were outside were gone.

     "The cops are just a show, relax." He says, looking over at me.

     I place my hands back to my sides and sit down on the lounge chair adjacent to the couch. I don't say anything, just nod my head. What would I say? It feels like there was this huge elephant in the room that none of us want to make aware of each other.

     "...So when'd you get back?" I finally bring myself to ask. Small talk, that's not so bad, right? I notice how he tenses a bit at my question but I chose to ignore it.

     "Yesturday." He answers shortly, looking down at the floor.

     I examine his face over once again and see all the small little dark spots of bruising. I look down a little further and spot come cuts and gashes along his knuckles.

     "What's with the cuts and bruises?" I blurt out and instantly regret it.

     "What's with you and all the fucking questions?" He snaps.

     I've only been stuck in this garage with him for a few minutes and I've already grown sick of his attitude. What's gotten into him? I sigh and sink back into the seat and stare at the ceiling. I hope Jessica and Natalie made it out okay.