Someone Will Remember Us

A Second Is A Long Time

Chapter Three

I've managed to wipe most of the blood away but just because the blood is gone doesn't mean that the damage is too. I can see the exact places where the bottle shattered and the glass dug into my skin.

I stand in the mirror and I tilt my head to get a better angle. Scott is gonna freak out when he sees.

I could take a few days off of school, wait till it's less visible and then Scott won't have to interrogate me.

I gently touch one of the cuts with my fingertips to checks for any leftover shards of glass and I managed to pick some bigger pieces out of my skin. It hurts and I wince once or twice but it's nothing I haven't done before.

Winston is sitting on the edge of the bathtub. I know that he's squeamish but he hasn't looked away, not once.

He doesn't ask any stupid questions, he can probably piece together what happened.

I wish he'd say something though, anything.

The last time we hung out in the summer I told him about my dad. He listened and then we said goodbye and we knew that that was the last time we were to hang out together.

Apparently not though.

I frown in the mirror thinking about how he broke that promise. I always knew he was the clingy type.

"Look, I know what you're gonna say...but I really think we should have someone check that out," Winston says. He's biting his lip and he's looking at me like he's worried about me.

Cute.

I stare back at my own reflection in the mirror. But Winston's teeth are still pressing down into his bottom lip and I feel my pulse quicken.

I turn the tap on and I run my hands under the warm water.

My jacket is soaking in cold water in the bathtub that Winston is sitting on, he googled it and apparently you can get blood out of clothes. Not sure if it'll get all of it though.

I rub my soapy hands together. They're probably clean by now but I need a moment to calm down and not to think about the fact that I'm standing in his bathroom. With him.

What is wrong with me.

"I got expelled," Winston says and his voice fills the silence between us. "And I'm sure you can guess why I decided to move to Liberty out of all places."

I dare to glance back at him and he gives me a small unsure smile. What's that supposed to mean?

I ignore the last part and I focus on the first. Expelled? I couldn't imagine him doing anything worth expelling for, he was too soft.

"What for? Did you copy someone's maths homework?" I tease him, he doesn't need to know how hard my heart is racing. I rinse my hands with lukewarm water, if I can appear to look calm then maybe he'll believe it. I look up into the mirror and I catch a glimpse of him. He's not laughing or smiling anymore, he even looks a bit nervous.

My hands are dripping wet with water and I shake them off. The towels are dangerously close to Winston and I don't trust myself to walk past him and reach the towels without doing anything stupid.

I turn around and I wipe my hands on my jeans as I lean against the sink.

Winstons looks down on the floor and he sighs. "Cheated on my SAT actually," he says quietly and I freeze.

He explains how the guy that took his SAT for him got caught and he ratted him out but I don't take any of it in.

We lost our leverage.