Chapter 7

                “Did you have a good sleep last night?” Alex asked, as I entered the kitchen the next morning.

                Alex had a blue bowl out that was filled with milk and some kind of sugary cereal.

                “Yeah, I did.” I muttered, pouring myself a glass of orange juice from his fridge.

                “Of course, you were all cuddled in my arms.” Alex smirked, stuffing a spoonful of cereal in his mouth.

                I choked on the tangy orange juice, as I stared at him with disbelief. “Excuse me? You came on to me!”

                Alex rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever.” He muttered sarcastically. “A few of the guy’s are coming over soon.”

                “Alright.” I said, staring down at the baggy clothes Alex lent me. “Do I have to get dressed or something?”

                “No.” Alex scoffed. “Who are you trying to impress?”

                I glared at him, as Alex poured the rest of his unfinished cereal in the sink. “No one.” I muttered, setting down my empty glass in the sink.

                An hour later, the door was pushed open, as Hayden rummaged through the door with Damian, Ashton, and two girls whom I’ve never met.

                “Aerial!” Hayden grinned when he saw me, coming over to give me a tight bear hug.

                I choked as I patted Hayden’s back. “Hayden- can’t breathe!” I coughed.

                Hayden immediately let go, giving me an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I just haven’t seen you around in a while.” He paused, remembering my phone call to him last night. “Did something happen last night?  You sounded kind of upset when you called me.”

                I shook my head, giving him a forced smile. “I’m fine now, I swear.” I lied, tearing my gaze away from him.

                Hayden bought my lie, as he nodded. “Oh! And sorry I couldn’t give you a place to stay last night. My parents were over, and they still wouldn’t forgive me for getting suspended a few weeks ago.”

                I frowned, giving him a smile. “I don’t even want to know about it.”

                Hayden chuckled, as my eyes wandered over to where the two girls, whom I’ve never met before, were. “Who are they?” I asked, keeping my eyes on the one who had messy dyed, red hair. She had black eyeliner covering her entire lid, and had pouty lipstick red lips. She was wearing leather tights, and a top that exposed the tattoo on her stomach. If that didn’t scream ‘badass’, then I didn’t know what did.

                Her eyes locked into mine, as she raised an eyebrow at me. “What are you looking at?” she snarled at me, eyeing my outfit up and down. “Why the fuck are you wearing Alex’s shirt?”

                She was exactly like Aubrey Small. They both had the same, catty attitude. The only thing that sets them apart was their appearances. Aubrey liked to wear bright clothing, and always had a clean look. But, this bitch clearly had trashy stamped on her forehead.

                “Natalia, don’t be a bitch.” Damian said, as he appeared from the kitchen with Alex, holding a few bottles of beer in their hands.

                I flinched when I saw the alcohol in their hands, but I tried to hide any signs of discomfort.

                “Don’t be calling me names!” Natalia snapped at Damian, raising her hands to the air. She turned her attention back to me, giving me a disgusted glance. “Are you some slut that Alex banged last night?”

                The words made me flinch, as I stayed close to Hayden. “Fuck off, Natalia.” Hayden spat at her, as she rolled her eyes. She ignored Hayden, as she continued to pester me. “Do you have some kind of stripper name, too?”

                I stayed quiet, as Hayden laced his fingers through mine protectively. It wasn’t in a romantic way, but more of a brotherly perspective.

                “Let me guess,” Natalia rambled on, “Tit whore Tracy? Crack head Cindy? Butt-“

                “Shut up.” A voice suddenly said coldly, making everyone’s head turn.

                We all stared at Alex, before Natalia growled at him. “What?”

                “I said, shut up, Nat.” Alex snapped, glaring at Natalia with harsh eyes.

                Natalia pursed her lips together with anger, as her cheeks flamed up into a spicy red color. She scoffed, reaching in her black purse. She pulled out a small zip-loc bag that had some small, crushed green leaves in it. “I need to get stoned right now.” She said, staring at everyone. “Who wants a blunt?”

                Damian and Ashton grinned, as they followed Natalia to Alex’s back porch, along with the other girl that was beside her.

                “Alex! You better come if you want some, babe!” Natalia called out from the back porch.

                Alex looked hesitant to go, but he shot me a quick look before he left to where the others were.

                When he left, I noticed that Hayden was still beside me, still holding onto my hand. “You can go, if you want.” I smiled, not wanting him to hold back because of me.

                Hayden chuckled shaking his head. “I don’t do weed.” He paused, before giving me a small smile. “Sorry about Natalia. She’s a bit tough and gets jealous easily.”

                We let go of each other’s hands, as we took a seat on the couch next to each other. “Jealous? Of what?”

                “You, of course.” He said, as I stared at him with a confused expression.

                Something clicked inside Hayden’s head, as he muttered something under his breath. “Oh, right. You don’t know yet.”

                I frowned. “Know what?”

                “Natalia is Alex’s ex.” He said.

                My eyes widened, as I stared down at the clothes that Alex gave me to wear. No wonder! She hated me for wearing her ex-boyfriend’s clothes. “Oh.” I muttered. “It makes sense now. What happened between the two of them?”

                Hayden smirked, leaning back on the couch. “They have a lot of history.” He paused. “They met each other a year ago at some club we snuck in to. They hooked up after they both got drunk, and Natalia kind of stuck to Alex ever since. Alex gave Natalia a shot, and he actually ended up liking her. But, Natalia cheated on Alex last month with some guy, and Alex literally got in jail for breaking the guy’s nose. They broke up after that. We all kind of thought that Natalia and her friend would just fade and leave, but they still stuck by us, as much as we didn’t like them. I think the only reason why Damian and Ashton don’t mind them is because she gives them free weed.”

                “Oh.” I muttered, my gaze falling to my fingers. “Does Alex mind that she’s still hanging around?”

                Hayden shrugged. “He never admits it, but I know he does. I think it’s because he still has feelings for her.”

                I don’t know why, but my heart sank when Hayden said that Alex still had feelings for Natalia. It was almost supernatural for me to feel that way.

                Suddenly, the strong gas of burnt weed hit my nose, as I coughed. Hayden stared at me with concern, as he pulled me up. “Are you okay? Do you need some air?” he asked.

                I nodded, shielding my nose from the heavy scent. Hayden led me outside to his car, as he opened the passenger door for me. He slid in the driver’s seat next to me, starting up the car. “Do you want to get some breakfast?”

                I nodded, staring down at Alex’s clothes. “I can’t go wearing this.” I pointed to Alex’s boxers.

                Hayden smirked. “Of course. I’ll take you home to change.”

                My heart picked up its beat, as I nodded cautiously. I didn’t know whether my father was home or not. I didn’t want to risk bumping into him, and having him slaughter me for running away.

                I told Hayden to park a street away from my house, just to be safe. When I walked up my front steps to my house, I noticed that my father’s car wasn’t in the driveway, which was a sign that he wasn’t home. Sighing with relief, I opened the front door, hurrying to my room.

                I grabbed a large duffel bag out from my closet, as I began to stuff it with as many clothes as I can. I quickly ran to my father’s room to grab a wad of money to keep me safe for now. Zipping up the duffel bag, I didn’t realize how heavy it would be. I threw it over my shoulder, as I staggered my way out of the house, and pulled it to Hayden’s car. I tossed the duffel bag in Hayden’s back seat, as he stared at me curiously.

                “Why do you have a duffel bag?” he asked me, eyeing it suspiciously.

                I should come forth to Hayden now, since he trusted me so much. I sighed, as I turned on the radio that was in his car. “I’ll tell you over breakfast.”

*

                A plate of bacon, sausages, pancakes, eggs and fruits were set in front of me, along with a tall glass of apple juice.

                I drizzled a pool of maple syrup of my pancakes, as I began to poke into them.

                “So, are you going to tell me why it seems like you’re running away?” he asked me, eyebrows raised.

                Hayden just had to ruin my moment with my pancakes and I.

                “I’m not technically running away. I’m going to have to go home eventually, maybe when I run out of money or whatever, but-“

                “The point?” Hayden reminded me, stopping me from rambling about pointless things.

                I sighed, giving him a look. “I’m getting there.” I paused. “I can’t stay with my dad anymore.”

                Hayden frowned, not getting it. “What?”

                “My dad- he’s changed ever since my mom, “ I took in a deep breath of air, “died, from cancer. He turned to drinking, and he comes home every night completely cranky and… violent.”

                Hayden’s eyes widened, as his face hardened. “Did he ever hurt you?”

                I cleared my throat, as I stared at my pancakes. They suddenly didn’t look so delicious anymore. “He’s hit me a few times, but-“

                “Shit.” Hayden glowered, as his eyes darkened. His eyes traveled to my wrists, as he finally noticed bruises around them. “He did that to you, didn’t he?” Hayden asked, his angry brown eyes piercing into mine.

                I begged to myself to not break down and cry in front of Hayden. I was scared that I would scare him away.

                “That’s why you got so pissed at Alex for giving you a drink, right? Because-“

                “I didn’t want to become like my father if I got drunk.” I finished, taking in a deep breath of air, as I poked at my untouched pancakes.

                Hayden sighed, biting his lips. “If only there was a way to help you.”

                I shook my head, giving Hayden a reassuring smile. “You don’t need to help me, Hayden. Trust me, you’ve done enough, just by being my friend.”

                Hayden smiled, staring down at me. “That’s a bit sappy.”

                Rolling my eyes, I let out a deep breath of air. “Whatever.” I muffled, taking a bacon strip, and stuffing it in my mouth.                

                Hayden took a sip out of his drink. “So, where are you going to stay?”

                I licked my lips, wiping the grease off of my lips with a napkin. “I haven’t figured that out yet. I was hoping I could find a place to crash at before the weekends over.”

                Hayden suddenly looked guilty. “If it weren’t for my royally pissed off parents, I would let you stay over at my place.”

                I chuckled lightly, shaking my head. “It’s fine, really.”

                “Just stay over Alex’s for the week! His mom’s not going to be home.” Hayden beamed. “It wasn’t so bad staying over at his house yesterday, was it?”

                I blushed at the memory of the two of us sleeping together last night, my back pressed against his chest and all. “I-I guess not.” I hesitated. “But, he wouldn’t let me stay for that long.”

                “He would! He let me stay over at his place for a month when my mom kicked me out.” Hayden said.

                I frowned. “Kicked you out for month? What the hell did you do?”

                “That’s not the point.” Hayden rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I’ll talk to him.”

                I shook my head, staring at him with pleading eyes. “No, it’s okay, really!” I remarked.

                Hayden’s face suddenly turned serious, as he gave me a look. “I don’t want you camping out on the streets, Aerial. Just trust me with this, okay?”

                I opened my mouth to speak, but Hayden’s eyes bored into mine, making my mouth go dry. I sighed with defeat, leaning back in my chair. “Okay, fine.” I muttered, crossing my arms.

                Hayden laughed, as he nodded. “Alex was right when he said you were stubborn.” He mumbled under his breath.