Sorry for the late update amazing people! I literally went out and didn't come home for three days so.....yeah. My parents were v v pissed and not the good kind :/

36. Friday Week Fourteen

Only last week, Kiara had forced me to attend a house party against my will but seeing as I had actually ended up having a good time, I had decided to relent and join her this week also.

"So, you fell out of bed?" Kyle asked in a yell over the blasting music for about the fifth time.

I rolled my eyes, "yes, Kyle, I had a bad dream and I rolled over in my sleep, fell out the bed, and hit my cheek on my bedside table."

The deception flowed easily off my tongue and I was thankful that none of them knew that I didn't have a bedside table or even a bed frame. Rolling out of bed was a common occurrence for me but it rarely ever hurt me. Luckily, the only people I had encountered this week were Kiara, Kyle, Arik, and Jasper so I had yet to need a reason to change my lie.

However, I was forced to reconsider my poorly crafted fabrication when Kins, Tori, and Lana all came into the dark lounge which was littered with red cups and couples making out.

I knew the exact moment each of them saw my face; Tori gasped; Lana swore under her breath; Kins looked furious.

Tori was the first to rush over, cupping my cheek gently in her hand, "Rei, oh my god, what did you do?"

I shifted nervously and my eyes flickered to Kyle who was now, fortunately, chatting up a brunette and so paying no attention to us, "I slipped in the shower and hit my head on the edge of the bathtub."

Lana cocked her hip out, looking as sassy as ever, "really?" She drawled, "because Jasper seems to think that you hit your head on a bedside table that we all know you don't have."

"What's going on, Rei?" Kinsey asked softly, "you can tell us."

Sweat coated my hands making them clammy and I felt my ears ringing. The lying to my friends was becoming too much, I didn't know what I had told them and what I hadn't. What I could tell them and what I couldn't. All the lines were becoming blurred and I didn't know how to bring them back into focus.

I shrugged them all off and stood to my feet, "I'm fine, don't worry about it."

"Don't worry? Rei, it looks like you've been hit around the face with a baseball bat!" Kins admonished.

My flinch was imperceptible but I noticed Tori narrowing her eyes at me as she caught the movement. Then my eyes flickered over to the door where I noticed Eli striding in with a tall and slender blonde girl hanging from his arm. This time my flinch wasn't so imperceptible and the girls picked up on the action.

Lana followed my line of sight and she looked furious when she saw who I was staring at, "did he do this to you?" Her voice was low and quiet, barely discernible over the loud blare of dance music that wafted through the house but the hardness in her tone was terrifying and I never wanted to hear her talk like that again.

Vehemently, I shook my head, "no, of course not, Eli would never hurt me like that."

Tori began fiddling with her hands like she did when she was anxious, "are you sure, Reillyn? He has quite the temper on him."

Shocked by their words, I reeled backwards and stumbled in my black heels, "I can't believe you guys are saying this."

Worry etched onto her soft features, Lana reached out to me but I pulled away from her grasp. I couldn't believe what they were saying.

"Rei," Lana uttered warmly, "it's okay."

But then Kins stood straighter and turned her gaze away from the spot by the door where Eli had just been, "no," she muttered quietly but then again, louder, "no! It's not okay," tears glistened in her eyes, "none of this is okay, Rei. I can't lose you, none of us can," she gestured wildly to the three of them and I noticed the same hopeless, sad expressions adorning the faces of my friends. "I can't watch you go through this again, I can't. It nearly broke you, Reillyn," a tear tracked down her cheek and she whispered, "it nearly broke us all."

She wiped her eyes furiously with the back of her arm before storming off into the party, Tori gave me a look of complete disappointment and my heart split as she turned and ran after Kinsey.

"Rei," I looked at Lana when she spoke, "We love you so so much, carino, and it's because we love you that we can't let this happen to you again."

I shook my head back and forth, wiping my eyes furiously, "what are you talking about?"

"You need to tell us what is going on Reillyn, you need to let us help you and that starts with no more lies," she kissed my forehead before following in the footsteps of Tori and Kinsey, leaving me and my tears in the lounge.

I heard Kiara call my name over the lull of the music and the ringing in my ears but I ignored her, beelining for the door, desperate to get out of there.

Gulping in a breath, I allowed the cool air around me to soothe me as I practised my breathing exercises, willing my body and mind to calm.

Then two warm hands cupped my cheeks and I was staring into the pale blue eyes of my best friend, "Rei? Rei? Breathe, Rei, in and out, breathe," I copied him, "that's it."

When my vision stopped blurring and my ears stopped ringing Noah pulled away from the hug he had enveloped me in and tucked a curl behind my ear.

"Wha—" he stopped in whatever he was going to say when he caught sight of my cheek and his eyes darkened.

"Reillyn, what is this?" He had adopted the same hard voice as Lana and I struggled to find an explanation. I didn't know how to tell him and keep Eli's secret.

"I-I don't, I-I d-don't know," I managed to get out between sobs, gripping Noah's wrists in my hands, desperate to find stability. My emotions were turbulent, my heart put through so many rings of fire that it was burnt to a crisp.

His blazing pools of anger flickered to something behind me and he released my face and took a step forward, fists clenching.

I span on my heel and saw Eli stood in front of the door, the gorgeous blonde from earlier still hanging off his arm. Eli stopped when he saw Noah seething with anger at the bottom of the porch stairs but he froze completely when he saw me.

The blonde was pushed to the side as he stepped forward, looking right at me. For the first time since he broke up with me, Eli's face didn't hide his emotions, he looked furious, sad, guilty. He showed me everything for about 10 seconds before he locked himself back up and turned his icy glare to Noah.

Through gritted teeth, Noah spoke, pointing at my face, "did you do this, Ryker?" He practically spat Eli's name as if it burned his mouth to be uttering it aloud.

Eli growled and descended the stairs, stopping when he was toe-to-toe with Noah, "what the fuck did you just say to me?"

"You heard me perfectly fine, Ryker, and I swear to God if you laid a hand on her, I will end you."

It happened too fast for me to register what was happening but one second, they were squaring off and the next, Noah was on the floor with Eli delivering a menacing blow to his face.

Seconds later, Noah got the upper hand, bucking Eli off him and sending him a dangerous blow of his own. I heard Eli's breath leave his lips as Noah knocked the wind out of him.

Blood sprayed, hands flew. And I stood there hopelessly as they rained hellfire on each other, not knowing what to do or how to stop them.

Then Eli punched Noah so hard I could have sworn I heard bones crack. The sound tore a scream out of me.

"STOP!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face, my hands tugging at my hair out of frustration, my bottom lip gnawed to shred out of worry, "just stop," I whispered when they both turned to look at me.

Noah jumped to his feet. He had a cut in his upper lip and his left eye was swollen shut. A sob escaped me at his appearance, at the blood trickling down his face, the bruises taking shape on his skin. He reached out to me but I stepped back out of his hold, shaking my head, no.

My eyes flickered back to an emotionless Eli who looked no better than Noah and I released another sob at the sight of the two boys I loved, battered, bruised, and injured all because of me.

At the sound of my cry, Eli flinched, but I took no care as I span on my heel and ran away from the party. Away from my Noah and Eli. Away from Kinsey and Tori and Lana. From Kiara and Kyle and Arik and Jasper.

Away from my friends.

Away from the people I loved and who I thought loved me.

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an emotional one :(

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also you guys are getting a DOUBLE UPDATE - there is another chapter uploaded after this one!!

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