part of me | e.d

twelve

"kara," ethan says as he walks over to her. "what are you doing here?" she puts a hand on her hip, looking up at him. 

"what were you guys just doing?" she glances at me, giving me a death stare. she then looks back at ethan, her eyes turning innocent.

my dad walks away and down the hall once he notices the teenage drama going on. i eventually hear his car take off to who knows where.

ethan runs his hands through his hair. "just talking. we're allowed to talk."

she scoffs and then lowers her voice. "you know how i feel about her, baby."

i almost throw up right then and there. baby?

ethan rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. his muscular arms become more defined, his biceps showing off. he looks down at the ground to avoid looking at kara, jaw clenched.

god, he was so hot.

and not mine.

"we've been through this, kara. she's my best friend." i wince at his words. friendzoned yet again. "if you get to know her, you'll like her and see that there's nothing to worry about."

ethan turns his head and looks at me, finally acknowledging i was still here during all of this. he gives me a small smile and i do the same, admiring his cheekbones.

kara then grabs his hand, dragging him down the hall. apparently she wanted to talk in private. ethan follows, shoulders slumped and closes my door behind him.

why does he put up with her? it's pretty obvious she annoys the crap out of him.

i sit on my bed, thinking about everything that's happened this weekend. it was very overwhelming. i was nervous about going back to school and facing hunter, facing kyle. hopefully they'd just leave me the fuck alone.

after a few minutes, my door opens revealing ethan. "hey, sorry about her. she's just really not comfortable with our being so close, but she'll come around."

i just nod, twiddling my fingers on my lap. "ethan!" i hear kara calling for him from down the stairs.

ethan sighs, lowering his head. "i have to go. i'll see you in class tomorrow morning?"

"yeah, sure." i give him a fake smile and small wave as he exits my room, closing my door again. i hated that kara kept taking him away from me. but if i wanted to keep hanging out with ethan, i needed to learn to deal with her and get her on my good side.

the bitch was not going to make it easy.

i spend the rest of the day lounging around my room doing nothing. my mind kept reminding me of all my problems, but i tried distracting myself as much as i could by watching movies, painting my nails, and scrolling through social media.

at around seven thirty, i hear my dad's car pull back into our driveway. i feel my heart beating quicker from my nerves. i hoped he wasn't drunk.

i wait a few moments before walking downstairs into the kitchen, and i see him sitting down at the table with his head in his hands.

"dad?" he turns to look at me and i see his eyes red and puffy. he's been crying.

"rylin," he gets up, walking near me. i flinch at first, but then relax and allow him to pull me into a hug. "i'm so so sorry, sweetie." he speaks into my hair, squeezing me tight.

i don't really know what to say. so i don't say anything, but he continues. "i promise you that will never happen again. i just slipped up because i was stressed out from some financial issues we've been having. but you have my word."