CHAPTER TWENTY: BLUE & PURPLE LIPSTAINS

Adam's POV

I quickly switched off the hot water in the shower and pulled the shower curtain just far enough back to retrieve the lime green towel. There was still steam radiating off of my body as I dried myself off.

My feet rested on the fuzzy white rug when I eventually stepped out. I tied the green towel around my waist before wiping away the steam collecting on the bathroom mirror. I flipped the light switch off and stepped into the empty hallway.

I listened to see if anybody was still awake. I could hear guns going off in Drew's room down the hall. He must've been playing the new game he'd bought. We still hadn't talked, but we made sure to act at least cordial with each other when Mom and Dad were around.

Slowly, I began moving to the left to look over the railing at the living room and kitchen area. My stepfather was headed towards his and my mom's room with a bottle of purple colored Gatorade.

I must've been in the shower longer than I'd thought if he was just now getting to bed.

I shrugged to myself as the living room and kitchen lights went out. I walked past my mom's work area where a large working desk sat with a laptop resting on top of it. My mom was typing away at her laptop, not even noticing I was in the hallway. There were family portraits resting on her desk. One showed all four of us and Fiona at a water park.

A heavy sigh escaped my lips before I walked into the study room. My mom looked up at me as I lifted the picture from its resting place on her desk.

"What are you looking at, Adam?" she asked. The corner of my mouth twitched with the warning of a smile. It bothered me that it had taken a whole year for my mom to like Fiona. It had only taken me three days. But my mom had taken a liking to the raven-haired beauty.

"Nothing," I set the picture back in its original place on her desk, "I was just thinking about Fiona. I'm going to sleep." I didn't give her any time to give me a response before walking out of her study room.

The door to my room was locked as soon as I closed the door. I tossed the soft towel into a corner with other dirty soft towels and slipped into a pair of underwear and maroon basketball shorts.

I had just started pulling back the sheets of my bed when I heard someone tapping on my window. I frowned and turned around to look through the glass. I couldn't see much of anything, so I warily began pulling my window open.

My head was sticking out of the open window when a voice to my right gasped, "I thought I had the wrong window."

I jumped at least two feet off of the ground. I felt searing pain in the back of my head when it had banged against the windowsill. I winced a little bit and rubbed the sore place with my right hand.

"Adam," my mom knocked on my door, "is everything okay? I heard sounds."

"Everything's fine, Mom. I just stubbed my toe." I waited a couple seconds before she finally stepped away from my door. Her footsteps had just gotten distant when I turned around and faced the intruder.

"You know," I grumbled, "you could at least call before you show up on my roof like this."

Bianca crawled through my window before turning and shutting it closed. She watched me with sad eyes. I'd never seen Bianca like this. Her chocolate brown eyes were rimmed with a red color, giving me the impression that she'd been crying or she was tired. I was thinking it was the first one based off of her body language.

Suddenly the throbbing pain in the back of my head no longer mattered to me.. The only thing that mattered was Bianca's runny mascara and her sad eyes.

"What's wrong? Did Owen hurt you? Because if Owen so much as-"

"Owen didn't do anything," she interrupted. She sat down at the edge of my bed with her hands resting in her lap. Her eyes instantly met mine. She looked like she was waiting for me to do something. Anything.

I made sure my window was locked and turned around with my back pressed against my bedroom wall. "So what happened?" I finally asked. Bianca kept her eyes on the ground now and said, "I got into a fight with my mom. I couldn't take it so I just…left."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," she answered with a hand running through her dark curls. "But I can't go back there. Not tonight at least."

I nodded with my lips rubbing against each other. I was about to open my mouth to speak, but she spoke first. "You don't have to let me stay here. I'm sure I can find somewhere else."

"I know," I answered, "but I want to. I'd feel a whole lot better if you crashed here tonight. Drew has a hockey game tomorrow morning, so don't worry about waking up early or anything."

Bianca nodded while fighting a happy smile. I moved past her to continue pulling back my sheets, but Bianca didn't let me get very far. She stood up from my bed to meet my eyes in the dim lit of my bedroom. Normally she'd be wearing a lustful smile. But tonight she just looked sad. She actually looked like she needed a friend.

She moved her hand up to rest against my neck. It was shaking the whole time until it was curled around my neck. Bianca moved closer to me now. Her chest was pressed against mine, and our noses were lightly brushing against each other.

I looked her up and down. Even with red rimmed eyes and runny mascara, she still looked incredible. She moved an inch closer to me, and I felt her lips crash into mine.

I pulled away from the kiss and began pressing my lips gently down her jaw and neck. Her breathing picked up as I dragged my teeth along her collarbone.

I breathed hot air on her neck and rested my hands on the curves of her waist. My hands had just brushed against her ribs when she made a whimpering sound and pulled away.

I frowned in confusion as she stepped away from me and hugged herself. I couldn't see her face right then, but I could tell something was terribly bothering this girl. I hesitantly approached her shivering body and touched her shoulder gently.

"What is it?" I asked as softly as possible.

Bianca swallowed hard before admitting, "I didn't get into a fight with my mom tonight. Some of Ron-Ron's friends jumped me in an alley on my way home."

My eyes were wide. "They did what? They didn't try to touch you anywhere right?"

"No, I'm fine. Don't worry about it, Adam. I'm probably just overreacting. Let's just forget about it and go to sleep."

I narrowed my eyes for a short second before moving to open my closet and retrieve a shirt from inside. "What are you doing?" Bianca demanded as I threw my hands around inside my closet.

"Finding a shirt."

"Why?"

"Because I'm about to go kill the guys who thought it was okay to jump you in an alley."

"What? No. No, Adam, don't do that. You could get seriously hurt."

I turned to look at her. I was holding a shirt in my hand when our eyes met.. "And you've already gotten seriously hurt. This isn't going to happen again."

Bianca followed close behind as I moved to open my bedroom window. Who did these guys think they were? Did they think it was okay to just jump some girl in an alley that they barely knew? Well whoever they were, they were about to get a taste of their own medicine.

"No. Adam, stop. Just-Just stop!" Bianca got a tight grip on my wrist and pushed my away from the window. I lost my balance pretty quickly and landed on the floor. I glared up at her.

"You are not to go anywhere near Ron-Ron, or his friends, or The Ravine," she ordered. "Do you understand me?"

"Bianca, I can't just sit around and let some thugs jump you in an alley. Next time it could be more serious than just some bruised ribs." I tired to push myself up, but she stepped a little closer to me with a threatening look in her big brown eyes.

"Adam," she warned with a finger pointed at my face, "just stay out of it. If this does get more dangerous than it is now, I don't want you involved."

"This has already gone too far. There's not much more danger to be added."

She didn't have a response this time. Bianca placed her palm against her forehead and began pacing back and forth in front of me. I could see the fear in her glassy brown eyes.

I sighed and rearranged myself so that I was sitting Indian style on the floor. I caught her hand after she'd walked past me at least five more times. Bianca looked frustrated with me, but she didn't pull away..

"Look," she finally said, "I'm scared of them too. Don't make me any more scared."

"Bianca-"

She didn't let me finish. "Promise me you won't do anything reckless."

I looked at the floor. Bianca knelt in front of me so that I'd have to look at her face. Her hand was resting on my neck again. "Promise me, Adam."

"Alright," I said after counting two heartbeats, "I promise."

Bianca forced a smile and dragged her thumb back and forth over my jaw line.. "Don't worry about me so much. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"I'm not worried," I shot back a little too quickly..

She rolled her eyes and put on one of her brightest smiles. Both of her arms wrapped around my neck as she pulled me into a tight hug.