How To Play the Player (COMPLETED)

I Dare You To Dare Me

My entire life whenever I was faced with indecisiveness or tragedy, I made a list. It was a coping mechanism of a sort, I suppose, as it was the only way I could calm myself during a panic attack. Sometimes the lists were just things I loved in chronological order, sometimes a pro and con, and sometimes they were an entire Playbook of good deeds for the school's egotistical bad boy to complete.

As I shut my notebook, I couldn't help but wonder exactly the reason for making a list in relation to Liam Scott. Sure, he was a prick with a superiority complex, but he hadn't ever actually made me feel a thing outside of distaste and disgust. The fact that I was so enthralled in writing out this crazy playbook made my skin crawl a little; maybe there was an underlying issue that needed to be solved that my brain hadn't quite wrapped its head around yet, but my heart had discovered long ago.

"Reese." My mom's quiet hum broke me from my tired daze. When I glanced up she was leaning into the doorframe in her scrubs, bags so heavy under her eyes that I was sure she'd gotten about as much sleep as I had last night. "Bryan's here, sweetheart."

I stood, not bothering to rush around in a frenzy to try and find nicer close to put on. Bryan had seen me in worse things than rainbow pajamas.

My weak smile faltered as soon as I was eye to eye with my mother in the doorway. She looked so completely, utterly exhausted that I wanted to hug her and assure her that things would get better. The unfortunate truth, however, was that things likely would only go down hill from here. My parents had been waging war on one another for the last two years, after my mother had caught my father cheating-in their own bedroom upstairs. My mother, the sweet, forgiving heart she had, forced herself to forgive Dad and tried to work things out. My mother was also a devout Christian who didn't believe in divorce, and I knew deep down she was afraid of the judgement she'd receive from the rest of our family.

But with the twelve hour graveyard shifts at the hospital and coming home to stand victim to my father's verbal abuse had to be taking its toll on her body. So much so that sometimes she didn't come home after work, but I'd learned, stayed overnight to avoid facing my father.

"I have a swing shift tonight." She said through a yawn, her blue eyes roaming my face. "Your father is in Rhode Island for the weekend too. Just make sure to have Bryan stay until I get home or head over to the Waters house, I don't want you home all alone."

I nodded and hugged her gently. She clutched me tightly against her, her own version of an apology as she'd always struggled to find the words to actually verbalize it.

"Hi, honey!" My mother tried to greet Bryan with enthusiasm, but my best friend only waved shyly and stepped aside so my mother could hurry out the door. "You two behave yourselves!"

She shut the door behind her a little too hard. A picture frame of a family photo hung over the mantel rattled and would have crashed to the ground if Bryan didn't have super secret ninja skills and caught it.

"You both look exhausted." Bryan commented, rehanging the photo. "Your dad is back already?"

"No. Just more nightmares for me." I sighed, throwing myself down on the sofa. "And you know how Mom is, she avoids this house like its her own personal hell."

Which I guess it kind of was.

Bryan heaved out a sigh and crossed the room to me, immediately pulling me into his arms. That was one of the many things I loved about having him as my best friend. I didn't have to talk about it, he always just knew and was there.

"How's the playbook coming?" He questioned, taking the vacant seat beside me as he smoothed out the wrinkles in his red shirt. "Figure anything that'll make Scott's skin crawl yet?"