The Football Boys (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter Five : Let's Pretend

I woke up to the sun shining rudely in my face. That same pounding headache was back as I lay in bed withering in pain. I'm never drinking again. But I've already said that more than once. I stretched out and it was only then that I realized Dakota was gone.

I grabbed the phone from my nightstand and punched in his number. Why would he leave so early? He answered on the third ring.

"Hey, when did you leave?"
"A couple hours ago maybe."

"We could've ate or something." I chuckled. He didn't say anything for awhile, and I could only hear him breathing. I waited, wondering what he was thinking.

"Anyway I gotta go, but look.. let's forget about that night okay?"

"Yeah, you're right. I mean it's better that way."

"See you around."

I felt sick and not from the hangover, a sudden feeling of loneliness over came me. I figured we would have talked in depth about that night but who am I kidding. Dakota never wants to talk about anything.

I laid in bed for a while before getting up to shower. I made it as hot as I could stand and hopped in, trying to wash away all the feelings I had at that moment. I didn't want to feel anything except for the steaming hot water against my skin.

"Hey, hun. Where's Kota?" Mom asked without looking at me as soon as I came out of my room.

"He went home a bit early, wasn't feeling too well I guess." I grabbed a bowl and some cereal filling it with milk. I could go for a burger but I'd definitely end up hurling. I sat across from mom at the table and started chowing down.

"So how was your night?" Mom looked up from her from knitting and gasped.

"What!?" I jumped, nearly choked on my cereal.

"What happened to your face!?"

"Huh?"

"Luka, you have a bruise on your cheek. What happened?"

"Dakota." I shrugged and continued to eat.

"Don't be silly, he'd never hurt anyone. Now tell me where did you get that?"

"I'm telling the truth."
"I didn't know Dakota was friends with a liar." She got up from the table in a hurry and walked out the front door.

I shook my head in bewilderment, continuing to eat. Some days I find it hard to believe that she's my mother.

On Monday at school a swarm of people were asking me about the big fight that happened at the party in the Platz. People I didn't even recognize. Apparently Gemma told her friends and her friends told, well almost everybody, in their own words what happened at the party which seemed to have involved a gun and a knife.

I knew right away Queenie was the one to blame. She seems like that type of girl. Dakota and I are still friends, no one got stabbed or shot. I'm certain if any of that happened I wouldn't be at school.

"Sorry Luka, I didn't know they'd twist the story like that." Gemma said as we sat on the bleachers at lunch. Dakota was god knows where. He's been ignoring me since that morning he left. I thought things were supposed to go back to normal now that we were pretending nothing happened.