Why You Shouldn't Lend A Bad Boy Your Clothes

by Philline Harms

  Hunter noticed how tense I got and held my hand a little tighter. When that didn’t help, he tried to distract me. “You know, this is our first official date. Isn’t that weird?”

  I nodded and looked up at him. “It is. Last time we went out alone, we weren’t even together yet. That’s so strange to me because I feel like I’ve known you forever.”

  “Yeah, I know. But there just weren’t enough opportunities for us to go out, with your parents and Victoria and all that…”

  “The others have no idea how lucky they are,” I said and couldn’t keep myself from sounding bitter. “Liam and Emily could be going out already. Alex and Nate, as well. They can go anywhere without people staring and telling them to stop kissing. They can introduce each other to their parents without any risks. They can go to prom together…”

  Hunter looked just as downcast as I felt. “Would you want to change it if you could?”

  “My sexuality, you mean?” I asked. When he nodded, I considered it for a while. “I don’t know. Everything would be easier if I were straight. I would still have my family and no one would look twice at me at school.” I looked down at our hands and said, “But I wouldn’t have this. I wouldn’t be with you. And I wouldn’t change anything if it meant losing this.”

  Hunter’s smile was like the sun breaking through a cloudy sky when he suddenly pulled me aside and crashed his lips onto mine.

  My surprised gasp was smothered under his mouth as he expertly took me apart.

  He only let go of me when I was a panting flushed mess and was leaning against the brick wall behind me to stop my legs from giving away.

  “You can’t just do that!” I exclaimed once I trusted myself to speak again and scowled at Hunter.

  “Do what?” he asked.

  For a second, I forgot what I was going to say when I looked at him. His lips were red and slightly swollen, his eyes dark and twinkling, and his cheeks slightly stained with a hint of pink.

  Beautiful.

  “You can’t just kiss me like this whenever you want,” I eventually managed to say.

  “Why?”

  “I might…I don’t know, faint? Have a heart attack?” I pressed a hand to my wildly beating heart. “This can’t be healthy.”

  Hunter looked at me wide-eyed for a few seconds before he let out a chuckle. I watched him carefully when he stepped closer and brushed some curls out of my face.

  “Then stop saying things like that. What am I supposed to do when you make it so damn hard to stay away from you?”

  My heart started beating even faster at that point like it was trying to pound its way out of my chest. Without thinking, I grabbed his hand and placed it right over it. “See what you’re doing? I don’t think I can take you anymore when you continue like this.”

  Hunter’s lips curled into a smile that showed that he was clearly satisfied with himself. “That’s too bad because I definitely won’t stop.”

  I rolled my eyes at him and got onto my toes to kiss his smug smirk away.

  A few minutes later, we decided that, as nice as it was, we couldn’t spend the entire evening making out in an alleyway.

  When I asked him what he wanted to do, he said, “We should get ice cream.”

  “Ice cream?” I asked. “It’s nine in the evening.”

  Hunter looked at me for a few seconds as if he was waiting for me to explain myself. “Sorry, were you trying to make a point?”

  I laughed and slipped my hand into his as he set off on a search for the next ice cream parlor. By now, the streets were noticeably empty, and only a few people were still strolling around.

  “See that?” Hunter suddenly asked and pointed at the windows of what looked like a really posh restaurant. “I’m gonna take you there for our anniversary.”

  After looking at him in surprise, I stepped closer to the window and peeked inside. In the soft light of some chandeliers were men in suits and ties along with women in evening gowns, dining at tables with white tablecloths.

  Apparently, Hunter wasn’t the only one who had the idea of going here on a date. There were couples everywhere, holding hands and laughing over glasses of red wine. Two people close to where we were standing were full-on making out right now.

  I frowned when I watched them. Something about the man seemed strangely familiar, something about his posture and his clothes, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. The man leaned back in his seat right then, momentarily stopping his attack on the woman’s lips.

  My right hand flew up to my mouth to stifle the gasp that escaped.

  “What is it?” Hunter asked and stepped closer.

  “It’s my dad,” I whispered.

  Hunter followed my gaze to the pair at their table and grimaced. “That’s…not your mother, is it?”

  I shook my head silently.

  The woman was way younger than my parents, around thirty maybe. She was skinny, platinum blonde, and had a face that distinctly reminded me of a horse. Right now, she was busy dabbing her smudged lipstick clean with a handkerchief my dad handed her.

  Suddenly, all of it made sense. All those business meetings my dad had attended over the past few weeks, the weird silence between my parents, and that guilty look on my father’s face whenever he came home late. I hadn’t cared—hadn’t wanted to care—when I heard them arguing downstairs.

  Now, I was wondering for how long this had been going on and felt sick to my stomach.

  “Remember that time when we were at the cinema, and he was there, too?” I muttered, slightly dazed and unable to take my eyes off them. “I bet that he was there with her, that woman.”

  Hunter was silent for a moment, then he suddenly reached into my back pocket and fished my phone out of it.

  I sent him a puzzled look when he started to take pictures through the window. “Hunter, what are you doing?”

  “Collecting evidence. Maybe this will come in handy…Now you finally have something against your father.”

  My eyes widened as I let that settle in. “You’re right. Oh my God. You’re right!” I muttered. “I’m sure he doesn’t want Mom to know about this…so he needs to listen to me for once.”

  Hunter nodded and handed me my phone back. Then he looked at me again. “Are you alright?”

  “Yeah. No. I’m not sure,” I murmured and glanced at my father again. “It’s not like I put it past him, but I didn’t expect him to do it.”

  “We should head home.”

  “No! I don’t want to ruin our date because of this—”

  Hunter rolled his eyes at me, but the look on his face was worried rather than annoyed. “Jules, you’re not ruining anything. I just want to make sure you’re okay. Besides, now you wouldn’t enjoy anything we’d do anyway.”

  I considered that, searching his face for any signs of disappointment about our night out being cut short. Then I sighed. “Fine. Let’s get out of here.”

  ***

  The drive back home was a tense one. Hunter offered to drive, but I declined. I wanted something to focus on that wasn’t my parents’ dysfunctional relationship.

  “Tell me what happened with Victoria last night,” I said. “I meant to ask you why you were so down earlier today, but then I forgot.”

  Hunter’s face immediately lost all its color. “Are you sure you want to hear that right now?” he asked carefully. “I mean, after what just happened with your dad and all…”

  “It’s okay. I want to know.”

  After a minute, Hunter took a deep breath. “Victoria told me something yesterday. Showed me, rather. It…it was a pregnancy test.”

  My head whipped around to him. “Hunter, what—”

  “I don’t know how it happened. I swear,” Hunter said quietly. “When I used to sleep with her all those months ago, we always used protection, I swear. I would never risk something like that.”

  All I could do was stare at him in shock. “What are you going to do now?” I asked because it was the only thing t
hat came to mind as I was still trying to process this information.

  “Victoria wants to keep the baby. I asked her if we could give it up for adoption or something, but she refused,” he muttered. “I’m so sorry, Jules. Really, I didn’t know…” He broke off, not knowing what else to say.

  Neither did I, so we just sat there in silence.

  The road ahead was dark and mainly deserted, so I didn’t bother staying within the speed limit. Soon, we were driving just as fast as my thoughts were racing. Hunter didn’t comment. Maybe because he was used to speeding himself or maybe because he didn’t want to make things worse.

  Houses and cars and trees flew by in a blur outside, but I didn’t pay any attention to them. All that mattered was the feeling of the steering wheel under my hands and the engine making the car vibrate from the inside out.

  The shock of seeing my dad with another woman had subsided by now, overshadowed by what Hunter told me. Now there was only rage and a feeling of disappointment so overwhelming it made my eyes water. I blinked the tears away angrily. Still, there seemed to build more and more with every second passing until the street wasn’t more than a blurry mix of shadows and lights.

  I didn’t see the truck appearing.

  My foot found the brake a second too late.

  The sound of crushing metal and splintering glass was deafening and nearly drowned out Hunter’s shout. I didn’t know why my forehead was on fire all of a sudden. Only when something wet trickled down the side of my face, I realized that I hit my head on the steering wheel.

  Through the fog, I knew that Hunter was shouting something, but all I could hear was the numb throbbing in my skull. My head turned to look at him, to make sure he was fine, but I couldn’t see anything.

  Only when the dark spots before my eyes finally blocked my sight entirely, I understood what he was calling.

  It was my name, over and over again.

  Chapter 35

  There were voices right next to my right ear.

  What were they thinking, talking so loudly when I wanted to sleep? What were my parents doing in my room, anyway? They hadn’t come in here ever since they had seen the video.

  When after a few seconds, they still didn’t stop talking. I let out a quiet groan. They fell silent immediately.

  Then I heard my mom’s voice again, even closer to my ear now. “Is he awake? Jules, baby, can you hear me?”

  Why wouldn’t I be able to hear you? Why are you calling me baby? Why do you sound so worried? You don’t worry about me anymore.

  “Come on, honey. Open your eyes. Look at me.”

  A cold hand ran through my hair, finally startling me awake. My eyes opened reluctantly, blinking into the bright light. There was too much white in this room. The walls, the curtains, the sheets—all of it was hurting my eyes.

  It took a few seconds for me to realize that I was in a hospital.

  “Mom?” I muttered and looked up at her ashen face.

  Her eyes were red and swollen, her quivering lips pressed into a thin line. She looked at least ten years older right now.

  “Jules.” She breathed and pressed a wet kiss onto my forehead. “God, I was so worried about you.”

  My head felt too heavy when I lifted it to catch a glimpse of my father, who was sitting in an armchair by the window. He looked just as tired as my mom, but instead of relief, there was irritation evident on his features. For a second, I wondered why he was wearing a suit but brushed it as unimportant.

  “What happened?” I rasped.

  “You wrecked your mother’s car and interrupted my business meeting. That’s what happened,” my father snarled.

  I winced and sank back into the pillows to hide from his angry stare.

  “Andrew.” Mom snapped. “Now is not the time.” Her tone was softer when she turned back to me and said, “You got into a car accident. You hit your head on the steering wheel, so you have a mild concussion and a small cut on your forehead, but nothing worse. We can take you back home after a quick check-up, alright?”

  I nodded numbly. Something was off. How had I gotten into a car crash? As hard as I tried, I couldn’t remember anything that happened last night. I knew that I was out with Hunter, but—

  “Hunter.” I choked out and gripped my mother’s arm. “Mom, where is Hunter? Is he alright?”

  Mom’s reassuring smile slid from her face as soon as I spoke his name. Her voice was strained when she shortly answered, “He’s fine.”

  “Not for long,” my father said. “When I get my hands on that bastard—”

  “Dad, no. It wasn’t his fault!”

  “You’re right. It’s yours. This is what you get for acting against our rules.”

  I didn’t have the energy nor the will to argue, so I just turned my head and stared at the ceiling in silence.

  Mom inhaled sharply and spun around to face my father. “Don’t say such things. You don’t really mean that.”

  When he just stared at her, unyielding and unaffected, she took his arm and led him out of the room. As soon as the door fell shut behind them, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. My mom’s suddenly newfound affection was almost as unsettling as my father’s repulsion. At least, I was used to the latter.

  I didn’t have much time to dwell on my thoughts when only two minutes later, the door opened again. A small gasp fell from my lips when I saw who was standing there.

  Hunter was by my side in five strides and almost crushed my hand when he gripped it as if he was scared I’d vanish as soon as he let go.

  “You’re okay,” he whispered. It sounded almost incredulous.

  My hand shot forward and grabbed his chin on its own accord. “Are you?” I asked with equally as much concern and turned his face from side to side to check for any bruises. The weight on my chest lifted a little when I didn’t find any.

  “I’m alright.” Hunter looked at me for a few seconds with a weird look on his face. There were insecurity and relief and something else…guilt? His voice was barely more than a whisper when he asked, “Is it…Can I kiss you?”

  I blinked up at him in bewilderment. Why is he asking? He knows he doesn’t have to do that.

  Instead of answering, I propped myself up on one arm and pulled him into a short kiss. As soon as his lips grazed over mine, I noticed that something was different. He seemed almost scared to touch me and left his hands by his sides instead of holding me close. He was careful, and he let me take control instead. Not once did he push or take the initiative.

  After a few seconds, I let it go in favor of concentrating solely on the feeling of him. He was probably just being careful because I had a head injury.

  “You need to go,” I whispered when we eventually separated. “My parents will be back soon.”

  Hunter looked like he wanted to say something, but then he just nodded. When he already had one hand on the door handle, he turned around and smiled tentatively at me. “Thank you.”

  Before I could say something and ask what the hell he was thanking me for, he disappeared in the corridor outside, leaving me alone with dozens of questions and my lips still tingling from the weight of his mouth against them.

  ***

  “It’s just a mild concussion and a small cut on your forehead. You might feel dizzy and nauseous and have a headache, but that should wear off in a few days. It’s important that you rest and avoid too much physical effort.”

  I nodded slowly. Somehow it was kind of hard for me to follow the doctor as she was running through all the results of her check-up.

  She seemed to notice and smiled warmly at me. “It isn’t unusual that the brain will process new information a little slower for a few days. You might also experience memory loss of recent events, but in most cases, it’s temporary.”

  So that’s why I can’t remember last night.

  “You’re really lucky nothing worse happened to you, young man,” the doctor then said with her hands on her hips. “Take this as a
lesson to drive more carefully in the future.”

  “He won’t drive at all,” Dad said before I could answer.

  I spun around to him with an incredulous stare. “You’re joking, right?”

  “The time for jokes is over,” he answered, stone-faced. “Your car is getting fixed right now. When we get it back, I’ll sell it to someone else.”

  “Dad, you can’t—”

  “It’s for the best, sweetie.” Mom interfered and slung an arm around my shoulders. “You’re clearly in no condition to drive lately.”

  The doctor awkwardly clearing her throat to direct the attention back to the matter at hand interrupted the tension between us. “Well, I hope you feel better soon, Julian. If you experience any type of physical discomfort during the next few days, don’t hesitate to call. Have a nice day.”

  I nodded and forced a smile onto my lips.

  As soon as she was gone, my father gripped my arm, hard enough to hurt, and dragged me out of the room. We didn’t get very far. Only a few steps down the corridor, a door opened and out stepped—

  “Victoria,” I hissed.

  Victoria looked different than usual. Instead of being dressed to the nines, she was clad in sweatpants and a baggy shirt. Without tons of makeup on, she looked like an entirely different person. For the first time, I could see the dark circles under her eyes and how pale she actually was.

  “Oh. Hello, Jules,” she said.

  I raised a brow when I heard her voice. She didn’t even bother to lace her words with disgust or anger as she usually did. Her tone was flat and tired. Exhausted, almost.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Hunter hasn’t told you?” she asked incredulously.

  I shook my head, taken aback by that comment. For some reason, I felt like I was supposed to know why she was here, but even when I concentrated, I came up with nothing.

  ***

  You might also experience memory loss of recent events, but in most cases, it’s temporary.

  ***