His Flower [DISCONTINUED]

31: I Like You

Antonio didn't come to school the next day, although I hadn't really expected him to.

After school, I decided I'd head over to the spot, as I figured he'd be there instead. It was quite a long walk. The cold wind nipped at my skin, though I was warmed by the oversized leather jacket I was wearing. It was Antonio's–he insisted I kept it after the time he'd lent it to me.

When I arrived at the spot, I was stunned to see that Antonio wasn't sitting on the grass per usual. Instead, he floated atop the cold water in nothing but a pair of boxers. His eyes were closed, and he was so pale that he practically looked dead. I emerged from behind the trees and ran towards his motionless body.

"Antonio!"

He yelped and splashed up.

"Flower," he sounded confused, "when'd you get here?"

I ignored his question and ran over to the edge of the water.

"What are you doing?" I wrapped my arms around my body. "You can't be going for a swim in this weather—it's freezing! You'll catch a cold."

"Pipe down, mother," he smirked.

I gave him a look, to which he huffed.

"I'm only in here so I can numb my body."

His response left me even more bewildered.

"Numb your body?" I repeated.

Antonio sighed as if he knew he was about to do something he'd regret. Suddenly, his tall body emerged from the water. On another day, I would've reveled in his sculpted figure, but I couldn't. Not when I could only see bruises.

His body, specifically his abdomen, was littered with bruises of varying shades. He was practically black and blue. There was a particularly large mark underneath his ribs that made my mouth run dry.

"Antonio..." I whispered in horror, gazing at him with wide eyes. "Who did this to you?"

Antonio shook his head so quickly that droplets of water escaped from his tousled hair. He began to place his clothes back on, as if to cover up what he'd shown me, though it was too late. Nothing could ever make me forget what I'd just seen.

"What happened?"

He didn't answer me and instead threw on his last piece of clothing, a black t-shirt, which was rather inapt considering the chilly weather. I lightly placed a hand on his shoulder, but he winced and shrugged me off.

"Why'd you flinch?" I softly asked.

Again, he ignored me. My mind flickered over to the conversation we'd had yesterday.

My dad'll give me so much shit for this, Antonio had said when I'd asked him if he'd be okay.

I gulped in horror, staring at Antonio while he wouldn't meet my eyes. "Did your dad hit you?" I tentatively asked.

He froze before snapping his head up at me. I was stunned to see the harsh glare on his face.

"What makes you think that?"

"Did he?" I asked again.

Antonio silently stared at me. He didn't need to answer for me to know that my assumption was correct, although that didn't comfort me at all. I felt rather sick.

"Why did he hurt you?" I stupidly asked, before shaking my head. "I mean, I know why, but doesn't he know that you didn't mean to hurt Buzz? It was just an accident!"

"Doesn't matter," Antonio curtly replied. "I made a mistake, I paid the price."

He said it as if this were normal. As if it happened often.