Traces of You

Chapter 16

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It was hard to fall asleep. Miles laid in bed with a hundred million more things running through his mind than he usually had. He tossed and turned until the sun was up. His body refused to lay still.

He groaned and sat from the bed. It wasn't like he was hungry or needed to go to the toilet, but anything was better than bathing in his sunken thoughts, anything to occupy his mind. Sitting there seriously wasn't helping.

His feet promptly got up and he started pacing around the room. He opened the window to let in some fresh air and then turned the lamp on. When he glanced at the clock, it was 10:49pm.

His feet suddenly felt uncomfortable and he soon got out his bedroom and started walking towards the toilet. He took a piss and washed his hands and went straight to the kitchen. He grabbed a glass of water from the chilled water jug in the fridge, took a swig and wiped his mouth. When he glanced outside, the moon was glaring down at him.

A second later, he heard footsteps come into the kitchen and found his mom come in scratching her head. When they saw each other, she jumped.

"Jesus, you scared me, Miles," she breathed in. "What are you doing up so late?"

He held up his water. "Thirsty."

"Then pour me one because I'm thirsty too," she sighed, walking to the counter.

He quickly poured her a cup without a qualm and handed it to her. When she took it, she slowly took a sip while staring at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Is that a bruise on your face?" she asked worriedly.

He forgot that he had that and instantly tried to play it off. "Yeah, I just banged into the pole by accident."

"Really?" she asked.

He nodded before quickly putting his empty cup into the sink and scurried out the kitchen from his suspecting mom.

"Going to bed?" she yelled after him.

"Yep," he said, walking back to his room without looking back.

He knew that if he didn't leave then, she would keep pestering him. If not that, she already had insight into what happened with her woman's intuition.

When he got to his bedroom, he went to the mirror and stared at the bruise that was slowly fading away. The purple mess was gradually getting smaller and smaller. He just needed to keep his face away from prying eyes and it'd soon go back to normal.

Luckily his mom was gullible enough to believe him. If the bruise was any bigger than she probably would have not believed him then.

When he glanced at the clock again, it was 10:59pm. He groaned and laid back onto his bed.

To his luck, his phone started buzzing. He glanced at the caller ID and saw Christie's name sprawled across the screen. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

Picking it up, he gave a low "Hello?". On the other side of the line, he heard her crying.

"We fought," she sobbed.

Miles instantly sat up from the bed with a worried expression. "Who fought?"

"Me and Colton," she replied, choking.

Miles frowned into the phone. "Where are you?"

"The ice cream shop near the school," she sniffled.

"I'll be there soon," he mumbled, walking over to the closet.