Managing Boys

Managing Boys (19)

I woke up from a nap Sunday afternoon, drenched in sweat. I had dreamed of the night everything had happened with Ian, and it was like I was going through it all over again, but much more vividly. No matter how much I screamed or pleaded, he just wouldn’t stop. He just kept going and going until—

I shook my head quickly to rid these images. I was crying, and I was so glad that my dad was at work and Sophie was at a friend’s house. It was only six o’clock at night but I knew I wouldn't fall asleep later.

At least we had the next day of school off… It was a holiday for some president that I wasn’t exactly sure of, but I was happy about it. Now I wouldn’t be dragging myself around like a zombie the next day.

I wiped at my eyes and tried to control my jagged breath as I reached over for my phone. The last thing I wanted at that moment was to be alone, so I called Grim.

“Hey,” he greeted once he answered, and for some reason, his voice made me want to cry even more. I sucked in a breath, not wanting him to know that I had been, and currently was, crying, but I knew that it was too late. “Aria, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I breathed, even though I was sure I didn’t sound like I was. “It’s really not a big deal. It’s a stupid reason. Can you come over, please?”

“Well, I’m with the guys right now…” he informed me, sounding so guilty that I felt kind of bad. “Could they come over, too? They’ll think something’s up if I leave them for you.”

Sawyer and Ben already thought that there was something going on between Grim and me, so it wouldn’t have mattered what they thought if he had left them… But I didn’t care if they came over. At least I wouldn’t be alone any longer.

“The more the merrier!” I giggled, trying to sound chipper, but I was pretty sure that I failed at that.

Grim could tell how much I was hurting. “We’ll be right over.”

The second after we hung up, I jumped up off the couch and got myself ready. I contemplated taking a shower, because I wasn’t sure when they were going to get to my house. I decided to take one anyway, since I didn’t think I looked very nice covered in sweat.

The shower only took ten minutes, and the doorbell had yet to ring so I knew that they weren’t there yet. I wrapped my towel around my body, realizing I had left my clothes in my room, and I made my way down the hallway and inside.

But when I opened the door, I saw the four most famous boys in the word staring right back at me.

“Jeez!” I shouted, jumping so high that I almost let go of my towel. “What are you guys doing in my room?”

Grim seemed horrified with the fact that the other three boys were seeing me in nothing more than a towel, so he quickly stepped in front of me.

“Sorry,” he apologized, seeming to be embarrassed as well, though I wouldn’t know why. “We didn’t think you weren’t going to be dressed.”

I glanced at my clothes that I had laid out on my bed. “So you just thought I put clothes extra clothes on my bed while I’m taking a shower just in case I changed my mind about what I wanted to wear?”

Grim blanched. “I didn’t even think about it.”

“You’ve got a hot bod, Aria!” Ben laughed, trying to look around Grim until the drummer hit him over the head to stop him.

This made me very uncomfortable. Not because it was Ben, but because someone had said this to me before. So all I did was quietly thank Ben for the compliment.