The Girls of 310 [COMPLETED]

Chapter Nine: Strangers

CHAPTER NINE

I decided to finish watching the movie to give Marianna some time before I asked her if she was ready to go. When the movie was finished, I tapped Josh on his shoulder.

"You can go to bed, we're just gonna catch an Uber,"

"Nah, it's fine I can take you," He began checking his pockets for his keys while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

I shook my head, "Come on, you had a long day."

He smiled appreciatively and stood up, pulling me into a hug. "You guys aren't too bad, we should definitely do this more often."

I grinned and nodded, letting go of him. "You're not so bad yourself. Now go to bed, I'll get Travis to lock up when we're gone."

After Josh went upstairs, I began to clean up the living room. I started with folding the blankets. As I folded the last blanket, quick footsteps going down the stairs caused me to stop. I turned around just in time to see Angel pull her boots on and slam the door closed.

Hmm.

Before I had time to draw a conclusion on my own, Reece appeared at the top of the stairs. He descended them slowly, stopping to sit at the bottom. "Are you really cleaning up for us?" he asked, amused. A small smile tugged at the corner of his perfect lips.

I shrugged my shoulders, knowing that if I opened my mouth it would result in me being a 'nosy bitch.' He waited until I finished fixing up the living room before saying his next words.

Such an asshole.

"We should talk," he said. Without waiting for an answer, he stood up and retreated to his room.

I had never been to his room. When I got to the top of the stairs, I passed what I could assume was the bathroom. Then, I passed a room where I could hear a female's giggle followed by a man's low chuckle. That was definitely Travis' room. I passed a dead silent room, where I was sure that Josh was sleeping soundly. Finally, I got to a room where the door was slightly ajar.

The room was simple: black furniture which included a desk; a dresser; and a queen sized bed. The sheets on the bed were also black, with four pillows. The walls were white and bare and the floor was surprisingly clean, save for the school bag that was thrown by the foot of the bed.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, wondering where Reece was. Before I could finish my thought, he walked into the room and shut the door. He had changed from his earlier attire and was now wearing nothing but a pair of basketball shorts that lay low on his hips. My gaze once again fell upon the long scar that stretched halfway across his stomach.

He ran a weary hand through his hair and took a seat opposite me, in his desk chair. For a moment we just looked at each other, both of our faces blank. I could tell that he didn't want to have to start the conversation, but he knew he had to.

"I wasn't always a great guy," he started.

"You say that like you're a great guy now," I interrupted.

He gave me a look telling me to shut up, causing me to mumble an apology. "There was this girl. I don't even remember her name to be honest."

I snorted, earning me a glare from him.

"I slept with her a couple times. It was nothing serious, I swear to God," He sounded as if he was trying to convince himself more than me. "One night she texted that she had to tell me something so she came over. We had sex. I told her I wanted to end things because I was bored and I thought she was going to tell me that she loved me or some stupid shit like that.

"I kicked her out. A week later this guy shows up at my house, right?" he paused to look at me, making sure I was paying attention. If I wasn't before, I sure was now. The pain on his face was so evident that I felt it too. I just wanted to hold him and tell him that it was alright.

He took a deep breath before continuing, his eyes darkening. "It was her brother."

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I didn't understand what was happening in the story but I understood that he needed a moment to collect himself.

"She didn't make it home, Mal, she got hit by a drunk driver," he stood up and started pacing his room.

I shook my head, still not understanding. "That wasn't your fault, Reece."

"She was carrying my child! Malia was pregnant with my kid. That's what she wanted to talk to me about and I kicked her out. I let her walk home by herself, not even caring enough to call her a ride!"

So he did remember her name. Denying it was just a coping mechanism.

"He asked me if I knew Malia. I couldn't even recall who the fuck that was, but he knew who I was and he knew what I had done," he trailed off, now standing directly in front of me with his head hung low.

"He did this to you?" I squeaked out, gently brushing my fingertips against his scar.

Reece nodded. "I did tell you that last September was hectic for me," He laughed, but it was a sound void of any humour. It was the epitome of pain.

I wanted to comfort him, but a part of me wondered how he could have gone through that, and still choose to sleep around. After a few minutes, I decided on saying, "Andre told me to stay away from you."

"Of course he did," he scoffed. "He knew that I had feelings for Sierra. While I was in the hospital, he swooped in. But he was there with me every step of the way through that whole situation."

"So why do you keep treating girls like shit then?" I blurted out.

He smiled gently. One of the few genuine smiles that I had seen. "I hardly think I do. I make sure I don't lead them on. They know what they're getting into. Plus, I haven't been with anyone since you."

I didn't believe him. "Izzy?"

"Met her at the party. She seemed fun. Boy, did I misjudge that one," he shook his head in amazement.

"Angel?" I questioned.

"Her, I tried. I really did. Mostly just to get a reaction from you, but then I realized I couldn't take my mind off of you. So I told her that she deserved better," he shrugged.

I glared at him. "Basically, you're saying that the only reason that you told me all this is because you wanted to get back in my pants?"

A slight pink crept onto his cheeks. "Maybe."

The audacity of this one. To think that it was actually working, I was ashamed of myself. "Reece, we barely know each other."

"Not true!" he huffed. "I know that you have a beauty mark next to your right nipple and you have a heart tattoo on your butt."

In an instant, my face was on fire. "Is that all there is to me?"

"Why do we need to know each other? No commitment, no feelings, remember?"

Ouch. That one kind of hurt. Why did I find myself wanting to get to know him better, when he clearly couldn't care less?

That's easy, Mal. Because he makes your heart rate increase, and your palms all sweaty, and don't forget that feeling in your stomach. You know it's more than just physical. You want it to be more than just physical.

"Well, I don't want to feel like I'm sleeping with some stranger anymore. So we're not having sex until we know each other,"

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Do you feel bad for Reece? My poor lil pumpkin was about to be a father! But if I let that happen, then he probably would have dropped out of school, and he wouldn't have been around to get on Mal's and all of y'all's nerves ;) I've been writing since this evening and it's 3:30 am now but I think I might write ONE more chapter. Watch me fuck around and finish this book tonight lmaoooo

Song for this chapter is the Heart on Ice Remix by Rod Wave ft Lil Durk because that song puts me in my feelingssssssss, comment some of your fave sad hours songs x