| torn up

~ chapter 9 ☁️

It's only when I'm back at home after the long but fun shopping trip with the girls that I realise that somehow I have completely forgotten about the whole Alexander drama for the rest of day. The girls had managed to successfully distract me from my worries after I had confided in them. And since then Alexander hadn't even crossed my mind.

Instead my focus had been diverted since school had ended on simply just enjoying myself with my best friends and having fun. And even when Piper had dropped me off home, I had become engrossed with finishing the latest season of Stranger Things.

At least, that is until the late evening when I get the shock of my life.

I'm in the kitchen, washing up some dishes from dinner. It doesn't take long since I am the only one home, as per usual.

My mom is the chief operating officer of a big marketing company in town and her senior position means she's working pretty much all the time. Don't get me wrong, I'm insanely proud of her and all but it can get pretty lonely sometimes. When she does have time off we make sure to make the most of it but it's pretty limited. When I wake up in the mornings, she's usually long gone and she doesn't come back until late most days so I don't really see her all that much. The emptiness I feel in the house is only amplified by the fact that I don't have any siblings or a dad on the scene.

I was the product of a one night stand gone wrong. The 'gone wrong' bit being my mom accidentally getting pregnant and not being able to trace my biological dad after finding out. She told me that he was a random stranger she met on a night out at a club and that they slept together while both being highly intoxicated. The next morning when she awoke, he was long gone and she didn't even have a number for him let alone a name. She went back to the same club a couple times in the following months in the hopes of seeing him again but she never did.

So it's pretty much just me and my mom really, and I guess, Eric too. Eric is my mum's boyfriend and they've been dating a little over two years now. He's really sweet and he treats my mum like a princess so I can't really complain. He's the second closest thing I've ever had to a dad (following my grandad of course) and I can't even see my mum ever being with anyone else anymore.  He's the one who bought around my dinner tonight actually. Eric owns a chain of restaurants so I guess that's another benefit of him and my mom being an item, and can I say, free food is always a bonus.

I finish washing the last of the dishes before drying my hands with a paper towel, being careful to avoid hitting my earphones out of my ears. I am about to turn to exit the kitchen and go back to my bedroom when suddenly a strong arm snakes around my waist while a rough hand slams down onto my mouth.

My eyes widen and I begin screaming loudly in panic but my shouts are muffled by the stranger's hand clamping down on my lips. Struggling in their tight hold, my earphones soon come undone until I can finally hear the real world again.

'Hey, hey! Calm down will you, Willy. It's just me.'

A moment of silence passes as I instantly freeze at the familiarity of the deep voice. His arm loosens around me until he eventually steps away from my body completely- and that's when my blood starts boiling.

'Eli! You nearly gave me a heart attack, you jerk! What the hell is wrong with you?'

I'm instantly on him, adrenaline pumping wildly in my veins as I begin hitting at his chest with my hands and screeching at him. He just stands there, taking it and sniggering which just infuriates me even more.

I stare at him in shock having quickly grown tired before stepping away and shakily pressing my palm against my chest in an effort to try and calm my erratic heartbeat.