Chapter 6(Davis)
I looked deep into the mirror. Last nights tears and disturbing dreams had taken their toll. Even after I'd washed my hands of the mess, it was still etched in every line and dark circle beneath my eyes. More makeup. Every morning it was like I was an actress going on stage. I put on my mask, my part. The eternally happy girl, the perfect girl, the girl who everyone wanted to be. I covered up the internal bruises with blush. I hid my tears with mascara. Every dark thought and sad emotion had to be covered, buried, and turned inward so I could prepare for my daily performance at school.
I heard my door open and in slid Felix. He smiled at me, "Hey pretty girl."
I sucked my teeth. I knew I wasn't pretty without the makeup but it was nice of him to pretend anyways. I turned back to my mirror and I saw him come up behind me in the reflection. He opened his clutched hand to reveal a beautiful silver necklace. He reached around my neck and put it on.
I smiled, "This is gorgeous. Thank you so much, Felix." I leaned back and gave him a warm peck on the lips.
He smiled, not at me, but at my reflection in the mirror. It was almost like he was sizing me up. I didn't like the sensation but I couldn't really complain, could I? I did the exact same thing to my own self, every second of every day.
I turned back to look at him again, "You really didn't have to do this, you know? I'm sure the necklace was expensive."
He scoffed, "So what? You're mine….my girlfriend I mean. I want you to look good. Are you going to be ready in a bit? We don't want to be late." He glanced back at my bed, "Unless we're going to have fun being late?"
I shook my head. Boy's minds always went there. "Nope, I need to be to school, on time for once."
It only took me a few minutes to finish putting my mask on, over the years I'd become an expert on it.
Felix and I got to school a little early which wasn't surprising, the way he drove. He walked with me to my locker. As we went, I noticed some guys checking me out. They always did really, I was used to it. But Felix wasn't, he shot them dirty glares and cinched his arm around my waist so tight, it almost hurt. I tried to shrug him off but he didn't budge.
He didn't release me until we got to my locker. Unfortunately, Peyton was at hers too. At the beginning of the year, we'd cheered when we found out our lockers were near each other but now I wanted to be as far from her as possible. As I neared my locker, she looked up. Hell! She looked horrible. Her eyes were red which was fairly normal for being sad I guess but something about them was off. She looked at me but I don't know if she really saw me. I know that doesn't make any sense. I kind of got the same feeling that I get when I look at a stoner or something. They weren't all there. But Peyton? She'd never, ever do drugs. I just know she wouldn't.
Then she slammed her locker, harshly. I almost gasped. The word "Whore" was written in red paint all across the front of her door. It had dripped a little bit and it looked eerily like blood. Her empty eyes looked at me, now they were accusing and hurt. She looked at me, then back at her locker, and then back at me. Then she turned and walked away.
Two very powerful emotions coursed through my veins. The first was anger. How could someone do that to Peyton? Better yet, why? She was one of the most popular girls in school, even though lately she'd kind of been keeping to herself. And she's only been with one guy anyway and that's Nathan. Well…then there was Lucas. She told me that they'd stopped before it got that far but who knows if she was telling the truth? The second emotion was surprisingly…hurt. She thought I did it? It was clear that she did by the way she'd looked at me. I would never stoop to writing "Whore" on her locker and I kind of resented the fact that she thought I would.
Felix finally clued in to the fact that there was something going on. He looked over and Peyton's locker and gave a short bark of laughter. I turned my head, looking up at him and he must have seen the anger in my eyes.
He laughed, "Oh come on, Brooke. She totally deserves it."
I stepped out of his arms and turned to face him, hands on my hips, "Peyton does not deserve to be called a whore. She's not."
His eyes narrowed. He held up one finger like he was counting, "One…why the hell are you defending her." Another tanned finger joined the first one, "Two…Peyton is a bitch, if only for what she did to you." A third finger went up, "And third…I don't like you yelling at me."
That was the wrong thing to say. I leaned forward, "Felix…One…" I said mocking him but giving him my middle finger first, "Peyton is not a whore or a bitch and…Two…I can talk to you in whatever tone of voice I want." Don't ask me why I was defending Peyton to my boyfriend but I was. For some reason it grated on my nerves that anyone would insult her.
Felix moved so fast that I didn't even see his arm on me til' the last second. He gripped my upper arm and jerked me towards him. His strong fingers flexed into my skin, causing a burning sensation. My arm was held at an awkward angle as he pulled me close to his hard body.
He leaned in until his mouth was next to my ear and he whispered sweetly, "Don't talk to me like that, sweetie."
I gave a grimace of pain and slumped a little. "Felix" I gasped, "You're really hurting me." Almost immediately he let go with a look of dismay on his face.
He stuttered as I stood there rubbing my arm and looking at him, "I'm really sorry, baby. It's just…you know how much you mean to me, right? Well, I know how much Peyton hurt you and it hurts me to hear you defending her because I know that means you still have some feelings for her and that means you could be hurt again and I really need you to forgive me because you know I'd never let anyone hurt you and I never want to hurt you either and I just don't know my own strength…"
I cut him off, "Stop, Felix…its fine. Just please be more careful next time. I don't think you know how strong you are."
He pulled me forward, gently, this time and laid several butterfly kisses on my mouth, forehead, and cheeks. Then he softly took my arm and kissed it where he had grabbed it, with an apology in his eyes. In between each kiss he murmured, "I'm sorry."
I smiled at him and pushed his face away, "Come on, goofball let's go to class."
He grabbed my hand, interlacing our fingers as we walked away from my locker. I leaned into his strong arm and he turned and smiled down at me. Worry raced through my entire body. I'd put all my hopes on Felix. I had no best friend and Lucas was gone, I needed Felix. He was all I had. I rotated my shoulder about and felt a glimmer of pain still lingering from where he'd grabbed me.