Managing Boys

Managing Boys (32)

I didn't go to school for two weeks, and during that entire time, I never left my room in my mother's house. I just laid in bed and thought about everything and nothing, all at the same time.

Parker and Zoey would visit me. Sometimes together, and then sometimes individually. They brought me all the homework and schoolwork I missed, and I would do it, practically having to teach myself.

Normally, the school would never allow someone to miss two weeks in a row, but I was an acception. I wouldn't have been surprised if my parents just pulled me out of school and homeschooled me for the rest of the year.

But I didn't want that. I wanted to go back to school, but I just didn't feel ready. I didn't want to know how everyone was going to react to what had happened.

Ian had gotten out on bail, but he wasn't back at school. I didn't know where he was, honestly. Probably also at home, wondering why he had let himself ruin his life.

I tried to stay away from the internet and the news, but it was difficult. My face was all over the place, along with the boys who had saved me.

Everyone knew what had happened between Ian and me, both the first time and the second. I wasn't just the talk to the town, I was the talk of the whole world. And all because my saviors were four of the most popular boys on the planet.

I didn't even want to know what their fans were saying. Half of them already hated me because they thought I was dating Grim, and I was sure the other half would hate me if they found out I had actually been dating Ash. I was sure some of them felt bad and were saying nice things, but I didn't want to have to deal with any of the nasty comments.

And then there were the boys themselves. I hadn't talked to any of them since the day of the attack. They understood I needed my space, but I was sure they were getting antsy. Especially Grim. They had saved me from Ian, and now I didn't even want to talk to them. But I knew I was going to have to eventually. I still had to thank them for saving me.

Someone suddenly knocked on my door, and I almost let out a groan. The door then opened, so I assumed that it was my mother, since she was the only person I knew who knocked and then entered anyway.

"Aria," my mother began, only her head peaking through my door, "you have visitors."

I assumed that it was only Parker and Zoey, but when I rolled over and saw who was standing behind my mother, I nearly rolled right out of my bed and onto the floor.

My mother looked at me, and then to our visitor. I didn't say anything, because I didn't know how I was really supposed to react.

"Do you want to talk?" my mother asked, and I knew she wasn't about to do anything that I was uncomfortable with. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

I bit down on the inside of my lip and thought for a moment. Did I want to talk, or did I just want to avoid the problem like I had been avoiding everything else for the past two weeks? I couldn't avoid it forever...

"I'll talk," I finally mumbled, staring down at my lap.

My mother nodded, and finally let Annabelle by her and into my room. She then shut the door to give us privacy, and I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about this.

"Hello, Aria," she greeted, and neither of us mentioned how that was the name of the band that we had both managed once. Honestly, I had no idea if I was still their manager. I didn't even know if I was their babysitter. "It's been a while since we've seen each other, hasn't it?"

That was because I hadn't gone to my father's house in weeks, but I wasn't going to say this, since I knew that she already knew. She was just trying to start some kind of conversation with me, though it wasn't working out very well.