Dive into Temptation [ManxBoy]

27. He Hit Me

I walked into the classroom, feeling a slight sense of relief being away from home. It was strange because I usually hated leaving the house. I was definitely a homebody, a hermit. But Dom had changed me. Now, I wanted to be as far away from him as possible, and I was already dreading the car ride back with him. Thankfully, Lily had dropped me off since Dom had a work thing, but I knew I'd have to face him later after class.

I hadn't spoken to Dominic since he profusely apologized for hitting me. I huffed at the memory, feeling a sinking sensation in my gut. I settled into my usual seat, a bit disappointed to see that Ryan hadn't arrived yet. But he was usually late. I pulled out my textbook, mindlessly flipping the pages, my eyes scanning the images, hoping to distract myself from my unhappiness. Finally, Ryan sat down next to me, offering a friendly smile in greeting.

"Hey," he said, pulling out his textbook.

I nodded in greeting.

"Rosie won't care that you're gay, you know," he blurted out, catching me off guard. I shot him a sharp glare, annoyed by him discussing it so openly.

"Okay," I replied, my displeasure evident in my tone.

"You know, she always found our 'thing' funny," he continued.

He was referring to the fake bromance he had made up. It dawned on me that it had been a while since Ryan had shown that playful side of him. Perhaps he felt uncomfortable joking that way now that he knew about my attraction to men.

"We didn't have a 'thing'," I stated flatly, and he blinked, seemingly hurt by my response.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern growing on his face.

"Yeah?" I replied, attempting to mask my growing annoyance.

"You just seem... quiet," he observed, his mouth twisting awkwardly.

"I'm always quiet."

"Yeah, I guess so," he said, trying to ease the tension, but occasionally shot sideways glances at me. "So, how's things with the asshole?" he asked.

"Fine," I replied, pursing my lips.

"Fine?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Well," I sighed, unsure if I wanted to divulge the details.

"What? What did he do?" he asked, sensing my hesitation.

I stared at him for a moment, my annoyance melting away as I saw the genuine concern in his expression. Ryan was just trying to be there for me as a friend. I realized I shouldn't have been treating him so rudely, especially when Dominic was the one I was truly upset with.

"I think he... hit me," I admitted, feeling my cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"What?" Ryan looked bewildered. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I did something to piss him off, and then he just hit me, giving me a bloody nose," I explained, feeling a mix of shame and embarrassment.

"He did what??" Ryan's expression turned deadly serious. "Did you call the police?"

"What? No," I laughed uneasily. "It was more like an accident, really. Kind of embarrassing."

He paused, his face contorted with shock and a hint of disgust. I felt a deep sense of shame, wanting to shrink away. "Are you... defending him?" he asked with disbelief.

I quickly shook my head, glancing around at the other students who seemed oblivious to our conversation. "No, no, I don't think he meant to do it. I think he was just really angry or something."

"Why? What did you do?" Ryan's face displayed a mix of confusion and anger.

"Umm..." I mumbled, trying to piece together the sequence of events. "Oh, I yelled at him when he was trying to shut me up. I was trying to get Lily to come in and stop him."