Chapter Seven
Tina’s Pov
I looked at Ethan, chuckling nervously, as we both sat in a corner at the far end of the library.
“Okay, I lied.“ I said, puffing out my cheeks and looking at him.
About?"  he asked.
“Everything.“ I said I was playing with my fingers.
“First, no, my cousins are not loving, neither is my aunt, and secondly, I knew Ryan from way back in grade school.“ I finished looking at him through my eyelashes.
“Really, your family ain’t nice; I mean, I understand your cousin's sister's; she’s literally a bitch, but the rest to even her brother?“ He asked with disbelief, but I just nodded my head at him.
“Woah! “ He exclaimed.
“What about Ryan? What’s up with that? How did you guys meet?“ He bombarded me with questions.
“Well, we met during one of my summer breaks in grade school. My mom asked me to get something at the supermarket, so I had to rush off in my dirty clothes, covering them with a big hoodie. But I fainted due to heat, and he rushed in, saving me like the knight he is not. “ I said, rushing through the story.
Ethan chuckled, looking at me.
“Why are you so mean, coming he is a handsome knight?“ He said he was winking.
I shook my head at him, rolling my eyes.
“But I hope your aunt is not one of those wicked ones. Ahhh, I hope she wasn’t the one who gave you those occasional bruises you bring to school. Tell me if she’s the one; let me go and talk some sense into her head.“ He said, puffing out his chest, clearing joking, but I stared at him silently.
“Oh, no, don’t tell me I was right.“ He asked, placing his hand over his mouth.
I burst into tears looking at him. He immediately came forward, hugging, running his hand against my back, smoothing it softly.
“It’s okay, Tina; everything is going to be alright, okay?“ He said he was trying to calm me down.
After a few minutes, I calm down and wipe my tears away.
“Are you okay now?“ He asked me, while I just nodded my head, slowly staring at him.
"I am so worried, Ethan. It looks like Ryan isn’t going to let my remaining high school life be easy.“ I said, looking at him with sympathy, as I had been dragged into a matter he knew nothing about.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Trust me, I am capable of violence, you know. If he comes at me, I am going to give him one of these.“ He said he was showing me his fist, making me chuckle again.
“But what’s up with you and that Caleb guy anyway?“ I asked him. But he simply blushed, covering his face, making me a little bit suspicious.
“I know I hid this from you when I clearly shouldn’t have; it’s just that I really needed a friend, okay? I decided to hide it.“ He said, Completely the last part slowly.
“What did you hide?“ I asked, even though I was being a guy, what it might really be.
"I am gay,“ he said bluntly, looking at me, trying to see any reaction, irritated reaction on me, I guess.
“Yeah, I kind of guessed it a long time ago; I just wasn’t sure, and I did not want to be rude.“ I said, shrugging my shoulders at him.
“Seriously, how?“ He asked, grabbing my cheeks, with a surprised expression masked to his face.
“All your crushes are male, Ethan.“ I said, furrowing my brows, while trying to get his hands off my cheeks.
He let me, sitting back down on the floor and looking at me with a sad face.
“What’s wrong?“ I asked him.
“Is it that obvious?“ He asked, bending his head down.
“What? “ I asked again.
“The gay stuff, is it that obvious?“ He asked again.
“Ohhhh, no, not really, except you talk to someone about yourself; it’s quite hard to know. But you do look cute like a girl too, though.“ I said the last part purposely to make him laugh, but he only smiled at me.
“Hey common, cheer up; I mean, it’s not that noticeable; besides, why are you trying to hide it?“ I asked.
“I was made fun of at my other school and am scared to pass through that kind of life again, Tina.“ He said he was hugging me.
I hugged him back before saying. “And whose going to make fun of you, ehnnn, bring them here; let me give them one of these.“ I said, waving my hands in the air, making him chuckle.
“Aww, you finally smiled.“ I said, smiling at him.
“So back to the gist. How do you know the Caleb guy?“ I asked again, curious.
“Well, let’s just say he is the guy I am being forced to marry in the future.“ He answered, looking at me.
I looked back at him with a surprised face.
“ Ehhhnn…. You mean you both are going to get married?“ I asked again just to be sure I heard correctly.
“Yeah, it’s deal stuff about family, business, and connection stuff; I don’t really know the full details.“ He said this, shrugging his shoulders.
“Woah." I was amazed.
“Common, let’s go back. School day is short today; we might have closed.“ He said he was getting up and forwarding his hand to help me up as well.
“Ahhhh, now I have to go back home and face those demons.“ I said, ruffling my head while groaning, as the thought of the hell I was about to go through flashed through my eyes.
“Are you going to be in trouble?“ He asked, looking at me with wide eyes.
“Well yeah, I mean, I just stole my cousin’s most handsome and desirable crush.“ I said, joining my hands together while batting my lashes furiously, making a dreamy sign.
Ethan chuckled, hitting me slightly.
“You are mean, seriously.“ He said he was smiling.
"No, I am not. Besides, I don’t really see what she sees in him; that’s making her go overly gaga for him seriously.“ I said, rolling my eyes.
"Well, the same thing you saw in him to date him, I guess.“ He mocked me, smirking.
“ Hey! On a serious note, I never really liked him. I mean, I crushed on him a little, but he had issues, being rude and all, and it instantly killed my feelings for him.“ I explained myself.
“So the relationship wasn’t fun?“ He asked, looking at me seriously.
“At the time, yes, it was; it was really sweet and nice, but after a week or so, he was all hanging out with Rich kids and being rude, telling them to change, and stuff. Honestly, it was annoying.“ I said, my voice cracking a little, as I remembered all the times I looked at myself in the mirror, wondering what was wrong, why I had to wear makeup, or why I had to change my attitude.
"Woah, it looks like he hurt you a lot.“ He said this before hugging me and smiling a bit.
“Yeah, but that was in the past, and I was like 12 at the time, so I wasn’t that mature until now.“ I said, boasting with a smirk, as he released me from the hug.
“Yeah, you're still little, though, so don’t go around dating Playboy’s again. Okay? “ He said he was patting my head.
“ Hey! I'm not little; I'm a big girl, okay? I'm 17; that’s big.“ I was pouting.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, let’s go.“ He said he was pulling me, and we both made our way out of the parking lot.
“Look.“ I said, pointing at Alex and Ryan,who were having a discussion inside Ryan’s car.
“I wonder what’s up; it looks like a serious discussion, and why’s your brother sitting like a lost puppy inside the car?“ He asked, looking at me.
"If I am guessing right, then Ryan is probably intimidating him right now.“ I said, looking back at him, then at the car, trying to figure out what the two were discussing.
“What did you do?“ I heard Rita yelling and coming towards us.
“What do you mean?“ I asked, looking at her with a confused expression on my face.
“Well, Ryan said he wanted to talk to Alex real quick, and we all know that Ryan and Alex have nothing in common to talk about except, of course, what happened today.“ She added, glaring at me.
“I swear, if Ryan hurts my brother, you will see a side of me you really don’t want to see.“ She was pointing at me.
“Hey common, it might not even be about Tina. Beside, she just got here; how could she possibly know what it’s about?“ Ethan said he was backing me up.
“And who was talking to you exactly?“ She asked, stepping forward towards Ethan.
“Okay, okay, I think that’s enough.“ I said I was blocking her path from Ethan’s own.
“You don’t tell me what to do, Tina; never tell me it’s enough.“ She yelled, raising her hand to hit me.
“Hey! “ Ethan said, grabbing her hand in the air.
“Let go of me.“ She shouted, stomping on Ethan’s foot.
“ Hey! Are you mad?“ The Caleb guy shouted, running towards Ethan.
Rita's eyes widen as she sees Caleb protecting Ethan.
“This is all your fault.“ She yelled again, coming towards me.
“Rita, stop it.“ Alex yelled, pushing her away from me before she could hit me.
Rita's eyes widen in shock as she looks at Alex with wide eyes in disbelief.
Chapter Eight
Alex Pov
I quickly rushed towards Tina, dragging her to my side, scared of what Ryan might do if Rita laid her hands on Tina.
I wasn’t fully aware of the full story, but one thing I am sure of is that we are in so much trouble, and the only person who could help us out was Tina.
“Calm the fuck down, Rita; don’t do anything stupid; Ryan is watching.“ I scolded her, hoping she would at least let us each go home so I could explain everything.
Caleb was on the other side, holding Tina's friend, while Ryan stood on the other side of the parking lot, watching us calmly.
If I knew better, he was patiently waiting for a moment to strike. I couldn’t help but pray silently in my mind that Mom comes to pick us up quickly today.
“Why the hell are you taking her side, Alex? Can’t you see what she has done? She came in between me and Ryan, and now we are gone.“ She screamed, looking at Tina with hatred.
“What the fuck! Ryan never even liked you, so what’s your problem exactly?“ Caleb said, rolling his eyes.
“How could you say that, Caleb? You know it’s not true.“ Rita turned towards him, taking a sob.
Caleb scoffed at her, shaking his head.
“In case you don’t know, Ryan liked Tina way before you met or thought of dating him, so I suggest you move on for everyone’s sake."“ Caleb added before making his way to his car, dragging that dude along, making me wonder if they were friends.
I have been trying to be friends with the click of friends for a long time now, but all they do is scoff at me, not giving me any attention, so it surprised me when Ryan wanted to talk to me, not knowing we were in big trouble.
“I hate you! Why can't we just leave? Just leave us alone. Go back to your slum and eat your diet; stop making my life miserable.“ Rita yelled, trying to launch at Tina again, but I armed her hands furiously.
“Stop it, Rita; you have put us in enough trouble, so except you want your ass locked up in jail by Ryan, I suggest you sit your ass down quietly.“ I shouted at her, again focusing attention on us.
“What do you mean?“ She asked, wiping away her forced tears from her eyes, now giving me her full attention.
“We will talk at home, so be quiet.“ I pointed my index finger at her in a warning manner, which seemed to work, as she glared at me, folding her arms and pouting.
"I am going to tell mom, you are talking her side and bullying me.“ She said, her head looking straight, glaring at the roof.
I scoffed before looking at my watch and wondering why mom wasn’t here yet.
It didn’t take long before a car honk was heard. Checking to see that my mom was here, I quickly grabbed both of the girls hands, dragging them into the car.
“Eww, why are you touching her hands and mine together?“ Rita yelled.
“Shut the fuck up.“ I said, shoving her into the car while climbing the front seat and asking my mother to drive out quickly. My mom looked at me suspiciously but said nothing, pulling me out of the parking lot.
I looked back through the car rear mirror to see Ethan gaze at our car.
“What’s wrong, honey?“ My mom asked, and I quickly looked at her, shaking my head.
“Mom, guess what?“ Rita yelled from the back seat, making me roll my eyes.
“What’s that, dear?“ My mom asked, her gaze still on me.
“Tina stole Ryan from me. They are both dating now.“ She said she was faking a cry again.
My mom immediately stepped on the brake, her face holding a shocked expression as she turned back to look at Tina. I quickly touched her arm, trying to calm her down.
“Mom, before you do anything, I think we should get home first; there is more to this than you think.“ I said it in a warning manner, making her look at me suspiciously again.
“See, and Alex keeps talking her side home.“ Rita said, faking a sob.
My mom ignited the car, ignoring Rita's cries, while Tina sat in the back quietly.
Immediately we made our way into the house, and my mom went straight into the living room, sitting on the chair while flinging her clutch purse to the other side furiously.
“Explain.“ She demanded to look at me.
“Tina, go to your room.“ I commanded. She looked at me, frowning, but quietly made her way up the stairs. I waited and checked to make sure she wasn’t eavesdropping on our conversation before slamming myself next to my mom while Rita sat on the chair opposite us.
“Talk already.“ My mom demanded it again.
“Ryan has something on Rita, and he says if Tina comes to school with even a bruise, he will end us.“ I explained quickly, looking at all of them.
“What do you mean?“ My mom asked, sitting straight.
“I can’t believe you fall for a cheap threat.“ Rita yelled, standing up.
“Cheap threat, ahhh, then tell me why there’s a video of you dragging the unconscious body of a man through the back door of a club.“ I yelled back, standing up.
“What? “ My mom yelled, also getting to her feet, while Rita looked as pale as a white sheet now, making me believe she actually had done something.
“Why are you pale, Rita? Did you actually do it?“ I couldn’t help but ask in a shaking voice.
She immediately shakes her head furiously, with panic in her eyes.
“No, no, I can explain it all as a mistake.“ She said it quickly, moving back slowly.
“Besides, I know Ryan loves me and is only playing with Tina now, so he wouldn’t do anything to me.“ She said it confidently.
My mom stood up, matching her, and slapped her, making both of us shocked.