Athena

14. The Door's Unlocked

After my explosive breakdown at the park, Cruz doesn't say a word about my crazed waterworks. He doesn't need to say anything. His actions speak for themselves. Cruz is still holding my hand as we get ready to leave the park, his grip remains strong and steady while we walk home, and he doesn't let go of me until the front door is in sight.

It's strange, though.

The moment Cruz and I step inside the house, our bond from the park is broken. We revert back to ignoring each other in front of Ron and Aunt Katrina. It's hard for me to pretend as though nothing significant happened with Cruz, but there's an unspoken understanding between us, even though we haven't done anything wrong or taboo by holding hands, for some reason, it feels necessary to keep our distance when we're around others.

At home, life is eerily normal.

Aunt Katrina is doing laundry. She doesn't ask about why I went out this morning or my whereabouts. I don't know if she's being dense or self-absorbed, but the woman hasn't picked up on any of the red flags regarding my situation.

Ron has also snapped back to his usual self. All traces of his scary outburst over the laptop are gone, and he's quietly answering some work emails on his laptop while ignoring the rest of us.

At 10 am, Cruz leaves for soccer practice.

I hide my panic as I watch him go. He's been my rock so far. Without Cruz around, I'll be alone again with my thoughts, and I can't stand the thought of being alone. I head to my room, not knowing what to do. I plop onto my bed and start scrolling through some TikToks. Although, I'm not really paying attention to any of them. I keep glancing at the door. I keep my ears open for the sound of footsteps.

My brow furrows. I catch myself.

Why am I acting this way?

It takes me a while to realize that I'm waiting for someone.

That I'm hoping Aunt Katrina will come check on me.

I consider opening up to her. Cruz has been amazing so far, but I don't feel right about leaning on him so much. I want to be able to lean on my aunt.

But she doesn't come.

When I hear the garage door open and see Ron's Benz backing out of the driveway, I realize my aunt might've forgotten that she grounded me. Aunt Katrina goes out with Ron for the rest of the day, and, by the time they come home, I don't feel like talking to her about anything anymore.

It's not like she would care, anyway.

In the afternoon, I try to start on some homework. I feel too depressed to stay motivated, though. I'm too restless to focus on anything for more than a minute or two. However, every time I start feeling sorry for myself, I tell myself to snap out of it. I know things could be way worse. Releasing all my pent up emotions at the park had been therapeutic. I still feel broken, but I guess the pieces are somewhat lighter now. All things considered, I'm one of the luckier ones. I could've been raped as well as roofied. 

It takes me a second to realize how twisted this sounds in my head.

Man, this silver lining is dark as fuck.

Later that night, I can't sleep. Again. My brain keeps buzzing with memories I don't want to remember. I'm scared to close my eyes. To fall asleep in the dark. To lose control and consciousness like I did at Sam's party. My fears are irrational, I know. I'm in the safety of my room at the moment, but my anxiety doesn't go away. Tossing and turning in bed, I release a frustrated groan. It's already well past 1 am.

In the darkness of my bedroom, my phone lights up.

It's a DM notification from Brody.

My entire body seizes up at the sight of his name. He must be texting about the shit that went down at Sam's party. I choose not to read his message.

A minute later, my phone blinks with another text notification. This one's from Cruz. I open it.

The Spawn: You awake?

I type back: I'm up

The Spawn: Did Brody message you?

I reply: yeah he did...

The Spawn: He messaged me, too.

My eyes widen.

Brody contacted both of us?

I wonder, then, if he contacted Alison, too?

The Spawn: We should talk.

My nerves from earlier fade away, and, immediately, I become curious about Brody's DM. I definitely want to discuss whatever he wrote with Cruz. This ugly conflict involves all of us now since Alison and Cruz were the ones who found me with Chrissa and Brody.

I tap back: come to my room

The Spawn: You sure?

This gives me pause.

What if we get caught?

It'll definitely be tricky to explain what Cruz is doing in my room in the dead of night.

What if Ron loses his shit again?

Then, again, Ron and Aunt Katrina are probably sound asleep by now. I doubt they'll notice Cruz sneaking into my room if they didn't even notice me sneaking out last night. I decide to take the risk.

I send: yeah. come in. the door's unlocked.

I'm only wearing my sleep shirt and panties. I quickly pull on a pair of shorts to make myself decent. Soon, I hear a soft, almost inaudible rattle and click as my doorknob turns. The door opens. Cruz appears in my doorway. I can't see him very clearly in the dark. He locks the door behind him and approaches my bed with quiet footsteps.

He's holding his phone. The light from the screen casts a glow on his face, and his expression looks troubled. As he comes closer, I notice that he's not wearing a shirt. Only a pair of joggers.

"What's wrong?" I ask nervously.

I'm nervous now for two reasons.

One—judging by Cruz's face, Brody's messages can't be good news.

Two—Cruz is half-naked in my room.

With somber tones and a deep scowl, Cruz answers my question with a question of his own, "Do you know anything about these photos and videos that Brody is talking about?"

I stare back in bewilderment. My confusion overshadows my nerves for a second.

What photos?

What videos?

Dread sinks in.

I have no fucking clue what he's talking about, but I can't shake the feeling that shit is about to hit the fan.