Deal With It

thirty two

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This chapter is dedicated to Mariale06 ♡

Enjoy!

Chapter 32

Arissa's POV

I wiped the tears off my face after my walk home and knocked on the door since I didn't have a key.

Once the door was opened, I pushed past my brother and raced up to my room, not wanting anyone to see my vulnerable state and ask me questions. I stripped down to my underwear which I removed in the bathroom and jumped into the shower, the one place where I could collect my thoughts and distance myself from everyone.

My heart was telling me to go back and accept his apology but my mind thought otherwise; I shouldn't let him off so easily. He really hurt me, and it wasn't the marks on my arms bothering me, it was the painful words spoken from his mouth.

My body immediately reacted to the hot water, relieving the aching muscles and washing away the day's tension and distress. I poured the sweet-scented citrus shampoo into my hands, my fingers finding my dishevelled mop of brown hair and sifting through it, removing each knot that had appeared over time.

I reached for the soap and dragged it over my body, soothing the soreness that had built up and softening my rough skin. A tear tickled my cheek but mixed with the clean water as I tilted my head back slightly, allowing the liquid to rinse off my hair and trickle down my body, warming it in the process. I watched as the suds of soap left through the drain and I tried to clear Tyler out of my mind, switching the shower head and jets off and stepping out to wrap myself in a soft, white towel.

I stepped into my room and got dressed in silky black nighties— it wasn't like I would be leaving the house any time soon. I wrapped my hair in another towel to let it dry naturally and headed downstairs to receive my punishment.

"So what's it gonna be?" I groaned.

Mum's eyes darted towards me and stopped, giving me a stern look. "First you'll tell me why you sneaked out," she emphasised, "and where you were all this time." I searched the room for my Dad, knowing he'd persuade his wife to shorten the period of time I'd be grounded for but he was out of sight. "Your father left for work this morning," she could practically read my mind.

"Oh."

"I'll be leaving tomorrow too, so Drew will be in charge," she told me, my eyes widening. Here I was, expecting my punishment to be held back until they returned but no, they had to leave my annoying older brother in charge. "So, you left with Tyler last night, right?" She began her interrogation. As I opened my mouth to deny it she spoke again. "Don't even bother lying."

"Mhm, I did," my gaze dropped to the ground.

"And he didn't take you to his home, did he? Because you would have been there this morning... and his dad told me he hadn't been home all night."

I gulped. She had really done her research so there was no point in lying. Maybe I should say something to end her questions? A smirk grew on my face as an idea formed in my head.

"No, he took me to his Grandpa's cabin about half an hour away from here and we made out the whole time," I sweetly smiled at her, fluttering my eyelashes. I decided to leave out the main details.

A shocked expression settled on her features and she cleared her throat. "Two weeks," she announced.

"That's it?" My smile grew. I figured she would have kept it longer because a) she wasn't very nice, b) I had snuck out with my boyfriend, c) I ignored all her calls and texts and d) she just wasn't very nice.