bound to happen | complete

chapter thirty two | connor

M E L A N I E L E I G H T O N

"WHERE'VE YOU BEEN?" My voice comes off shaky as I stand in his kitchen. He's lived alone since fourteen, his parents having left one night and never coming back.

I know where he's been, I'm not stupid. He's home later than he said he'd be, his shirt isn't on right, his jeans a little too crinkled to have been worn all day and his hair a complete mess. His lips are puffy, his neck loitered with marks.

None of that coming from me, all coming from my so-called best friend.

"Out," he bites. Walking over to his fridge and pulling out a beer. His older brother who's twenty-four gets him whatever he wants.

I'm so sick of him lying to me constantly. Why can't he just be straight up with me about the situation. He obviously doesn't want me if he's doing this. "Were you with Chelsey?" I ask, standing behind the safety of the kitchen island.

The moment I see his back tense, and hear him stop drinking from the bottle, I know I shouldn't of asked. He turns around slowly and looks at me.

"Why're you fucking asking me that?" He seethes. He's already drunk, this beer he's holding now is probably just an excuse to slam an empty bottle against my head again.

"I just though-" I start, but he cuts me off, slamming the bottle onto the island.

"Well don't fucking think, Melanie." He runs his hand through his hair, "fuck, why're you always on my case?"

"I-I'm sorry," I mumble out. His face sobers up a little bit as he looks at me. "I was just worried if you were safe, that's all."

He sighs as he walks around the table and over to me. He pulls me into a hug. "I'm sorry, Love. I'm just stressed." He mumbles against my head. He's quite short, only about 5'8.

I have to refrain from gagging when he calls me Love. I hate any pet name coming from him. I even hate it when he says my name.

I feel a vibration against my leg, Connor groans and pulls his phone out, answering the call. "Hi... yep, oh, is that where I left it... thank you... I'll pick it up tomorrow... bye, love you too..."

Just as he ends the call I catch the first three letters of the name. 'Che..' his brothers name is Neil. The rest of his family are gone, and he doesn't know anyone with the first three letters of their name being Che. Anyone but Chelsey.

Courage builds up inside me, I look up at him and ask. "Was that Chelsey?"

He rolls his eyes and pushes me off of him. "Not this again."

"Answer me this, Connor." I start. "Are you sleeping with her?" Shut up, Mellie. Seriously shut up, he'll kill you.

A laugh escapes him, his eyes narrowing in on me. "Why would you say that?"

"Because you stink of her." I bite out, tears welling in my eyes as I watch his demeanour completely change into one that scares the life out of me. "You come back, pissed out of your mind, you smell like her, she rings you and you say 'love you too' so answer my question. Are you... sleeping with her." I try my hardest to act calm, but something inside be burns.