I could hear footsteps coming from the window, I didn’t need to turn to know it was Donovan and I silently cursed myself for not closing it earlier.
My heart started to pound and I swallowed the urge to hug him because I missed his damned presence around me.
Damn, I was so screwed.
I took an earring and began to put it in my ear as I turned to show a huge fake smile to the intruder a few meters away from me with a frown. “Hey, how are you?”
He nodded, scanning me from head to toe. “Fine… What are you dressed up for and… Is that makeup on your face?”
I was wearing a simple white dress that reached my knees and yes, I was barely made up, so it surprised me that Donovan noticed.
Cris invited me out this morning when he brought me home after school and I didn’t turn him down, I had to do something this weekend otherwise, I would go crazy.
“In twenty minutes Cris is picking me up. We’re going out. So… great that you’re fine. Can you leave?” I tried to sound courteous, but I knew I wasn’t good at that.
With the considerable distance between us in this room, I was more than happy, but when he started to approach my irritation increased. “Where are you going?”
He dared to ask and it took a lot of effort not to tell him to fuck off. “I don’t know.”
“Can I come?”
Is he sick? He dared to ask that after I ignored him for a week? Does he remember what he did to me or did his memory erase it?
“No,” I replied, moving away from him and trying to sort papers on my desk. Okay, yes, his damned presence makes me nervous, it’s obvious.
I swear I didn’t want to say any of that, but his persistence behind me ended up pissing me off, couldn’t he just leave and stop being so fucking insistent? “I don’t want to ruin your weekend, go out with your friend, didn’t you give her hopes? Don’t break her ego.”
He let out a laugh full of grace. It was the first time in four days that I turned to look at him, I mean, really, as I used to, I could almost define it as eye-rape.
He was in a black tank top -as usual- and loose pants, he looked like he just came out of the shower, because of his wet hair and I didn’t understand how he could still look the same or even cuter than ever. I hate him.
“Are you jealous?” he inquired, smiling and crossing his arms, sitting down without permission on my bed.
I denied, indignant. Could he still joke around? “No, I was just surprised by your position in that fight, but I understand now that we were friends who occasionally kissed, you didn’t have to take my side, no hard feelings.”
“Friends who occasionally kissed?” he articulated slowly as if he was processing my words.
That’s not what I felt, nor what I thought, for me it was much more than that, but he didn’t deserve to know. He didn’t even deserve me talking to him right now.
I remembered my words from a few days ago, “You could break me into a thousand pieces, but I would never tell you to stay away.” I proved to myself that I was lying. I wanted Donovan, but I would never let him hurt me knowingly as he did and not have consequences for it, I was not that easy to convince, I was not going to let myself be bastardized.
“Exactly…” I assured him and I heard the horn of Cris’s car below. “Cris is here. Do you need anything else?”
“No,” he simply responded, with an anger in his eyes to which I was already accustomed, but I was not going to be mortified by it anymore… well, at least, I was trying.
He left like hell through the window and I knew what he would do. Shit.
I grabbed my purse and ran down the stairs, I was surprised I didn’t fall down step by step.
The moment I crossed the gate and stepped on the sidewalk, Donovan came out of Cris’s car window and went to his own. What did he tell him?
“What did you tell him?” I muttered, leaning in to get a good look at Cris’s face and kill him if necessary.
“Nothing…”
I grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him close. “Cris, either you tell me what the hell you said, or I swear to God I’ll shave your head while you sleep, and I don’t care how much I can laugh with you tonight, I’ll do it.”
He smiled and gently hit my forehead with his palm to get me to let go. “I just told him we were going bowling.”
“Are we going bowling?” I mumbled. Donovan would go wherever Cris told him and I didn’t want to have to put up with his stupid look all night. It was enough that I spent ten minutes with him without making a scene, my self-control is not much.
“No,” he said winking at me and starting the car for me to get in.
I smiled from ear to ear. “That’s my boy.”
“Vodka?” Cris asked amused, offering me a glass.
Again we were at a party, the bastard took advantage of the fact I was desperate to accompany him.
“I thought we were going to the movies or something,” I grumbled in his direction, looking disgusted at what he was holding in his hand. Just remembering the taste made me want to throw up and if that happened, Donovan wasn’t there to hold my hair back.
“Just stop complaining, we’re going to have a good time, we did last time,” he stated, bumping my arm and forcing me to take the glass.
We were in the yard of a huge house, like the one I lived in. It’s almost impossible to walk around because of the excessive amount of people around us and we were lucky to get to the bar for Cris to give me this killer drink. The music was pounding in my ears because of how loud it was.
There was something much worse than all of the above. Much worse. At the entrance was Jessi with her entourage, I don’t know how I managed not to attract the slightest attention, but that’s how it was, they didn’t notice my existence and I was totally grateful for that.
“Are you going to drink that or what?” Cris bumped his hip against me, expecting me to take a sip. Did he want me to get drunk?
“Do I have to?” The plea I thought was evident in my eyes, but either he decided to ignore it, or he didn’t notice it. I lean towards the first option.
“Yes, let’s go, for me, I saved you a while ago. Remember?” He reminded me referring to the scene with Donovan at my house. Well, maybe I did owe him.
“If after this sip I vomit on you, I won’t take responsibility,” I warned, looking with greater repulsion at the content in the glass. It looked like water, but God, it wasn’t, not even close.
“I’ll take the risk,” he said, narrowing his eyes, not too sure about his decision. “Now, let’s see Celenita obey, come on, one sip for daddy Cris.”
I laughed and did it, I took a drink.
Then, three.
And then, seven.
I lost count.
“Alright gorgeous, give me that,” Cris ordered trying to take the bottle out of my hands.
“What? Why? You told me to drink,” I reminded him, holding onto that bottle with my life. I wasn’t completely drunk, but I wasn’t sober either.
He looked around, as if hoping to find someone to save him from my unstoppable drunkenness.
Suddenly, he gave in. He left me the bottle, put a hand on the back of my neck and brought me close to his mouth. “If you shave me, I swear your eyebrows will disappear.”
I looked at him bewildered, I didn’t understand what he meant.
Then, I did.
I turned around and Donovan was heading towards me, changed, with his usual jacket and tight jeans, shit, not only did he catch my eye, but everyone’s in this patio.
I turned ready to kill Cris, but he was already running inside the house. He was a little son of a bitch.