BAD BOY ABUSED (male pov)

#66 I'm different.

I looked back at myself in the mirror, the same mirror that captures all of my horror stories, all of my hidden tears and all of my insecurities. But this time my eyes were not desaturated like they usually are, grey and lost in a world of pain and suffering. This time my eyes were alive with bright azure that reflected my happiness in every shade of blue.

I'm different.

It's because of Olivia.

I grabbed my jacket from my closet and made my way downstairs. My mom stood in the hallway looking through all the pockets of one of her coats quite frantically. I mentally argued with myself on whether I should ask her what she was looking for but I didn't want her to dampen my evening if I didn't like her answer. So instead I planned to ignore her and just walk out the door.

"You going out with that girl of yours?" She said just as my fingers skimmed over the door handle. I closed my eyes and sighed as I turned back around to face her.

"Yeah." I replied simply. Mom scoffed and I knew some form of negativity was headed my way so I turned back to face the door.

"She seems like a smart girl." I clutched the door handle tightly letting the pressure of my grip make friction sounds against the metal knob. "She'll see right through you eventually and throw you away like the garbage you are." My whole body tensed at her words and my self esteem plummeted to the ground.

I know she will. But I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

I didn't offer mom a reply, I just tugged on the doorknob and slammed the door tightly behind me but her words replayed over and over to the beat of my own footsteps.

I got to her house a few minutes before seven so I lingered around the front porch, running my fingers through my hair in order to make it look a little more presentable without seeming like I tried too hard. I straightened up my jacket and threw a mint or two in my mouth. This wasn't just my first date with Olivia, it was my first date ever and I butterflies fluttered wildly inside. I wasn't sure if that was a good sign or a bad sign.

When 7:00PM flashed up on my phone I knocked on her door and it didn't take long until she was standing in front of me, pushing my moms cruel words out of my mind completely. I wanted to tell her she looked absolutely beautiful but I was too nervous and didn't want to come across weird so instead I said

"You ready?" I held up the first envelope given to me by Jordan and I prayed they hadn't planned something out of my price range because I only had $100 to my name and even that will leave me short on the bills this month.

"Start off with dinner, we've booked a table at Ristorante Italia for seven thirty. Don't order a pizza, get something fancy - Jordans paying." I felt my body instantly relax, my friends just know. "Bonus points if you've never tried it before. During dinner it's time to discuss all of the hard topics. Let's get them out of the way first. Ex girlfriends and boyfriends? What's your body count? Whos your crush? Skeletons in the closet? Dish the dirt." I continued reading.

Those seem like strange topics to discuss on the first date and I subconsciously wondered if her friend Tia wanted this date to go horribly wrong and that's why she threw them in. However for Olivia and I those topics are child's play because the things she already knows about me are huge in comparison.

***

In Ristorante Italia we got seated at a intimate table towards the back, the lights were dimmed and each table was set for a candlelit dinner with a single red rose in a glass vase. It was a perfect first date vibe setting and I would never of brought Olivia here if I planned the date myself. So far Jordan and Tia had done good.