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Chapter 4

“Bri, oh my gosh are you okay?” I let the tears flow and tried to get out of his grip but to no avail.

“L-L-Let me g-g-go,” I said just above a whisper. He looked at me then was ripped off of me by Ethan.

“What the hell Luke! What did you do to my sister?” Ethan said deadly calmly. It kinda scared me a little but I knew he would never hurt me.

“Sorry dude, I was just talking to her, and then I went to move closer to grab some corn off of the shelf and she started to cry and shake and not respond so I started to shake her to get her out of it, and then you came.” He said that all in one breath and by the end, he was panting.

“Is that true Bri?” I looked at Ethan and shook my head “yes” over and over again. Ethan let go of Luke and pulled me out of the aisle before I could utter one word. He pulled me to where the cart was and did not say anything. He pushed the cart down the aisles and I followed him like a lost puppy. We did not exchange any words at all until we got to the cashout. We paid for our food and then loaded it up into bags. I helped carry the smaller stuff to the car because I was still weak from the accident.

Once we got everything in the car, Ethan turned to me. “Bri…” He trailed off, not knowing what to say. Tears made their way to my eyes and my nose started to burn.

“Ethan, I'm sorry. I..” Ethan then suddenly cut me off.

“Bri, I should be the one who should apologize. I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you. I just hate seeing you hurt and I want you to be happy.”

Tears started to flow out of my eyes like a river and my sobs were the only noise heard. Ethan grabbed my hand and rubbed circles on it with his thumb. He put the keys in the car and started to pull out of the grocery store. He drove all the way home while holding my hand. My sobs started to quiet down but my tears were still flowing.

Once we were home Ethan got out of the car and started to bring in the groceries. I slowly got out of the car and brought in the bread. By the time I made it into the house, Ethan already brought in all of the groceries. I closed and locked the door and then went into the kitchen. I put the bread into the bread box and turned to Ethan. I didn’t even have to say anything.

He came over to me and embraced me into a bone-crushing hug. It was surprisingly gentle but firm. Tears made their way to my eyes again and sobs were found in my throat. Cries of pain and agony were heard throughout my house and nobody seemed to hear. I stuffed my head in his chest and cried out everything. I pounded on his chest with my fist and screamed. This didn’t hurt him physically but mentally this put weight on his chest.

Ethan always felt like everything was his fault, but it wasn’t. I can’t imagine what’s going on in his brain right now. We stood there for 20 long minutes. I finally ran out of tears. For the first time in my life, I felt numb. I don’t know how to feel anymore. Feelings are so confusing. You either feel too much or you don’t feel at all. I slowly pulled away from Ethan to find his red puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks. I was so caught up in myself that I didn’t notice how hurt he was.

He gave me a weak smile and wiped his remaining tears. “Why don’t you help me put the groceries away and then you can take a nice bath.” I slowly nodded and walked over to the groceries and started to put the food away. How could I be so selfish? I didn’t even think about how hurt Ethan probably is.

He is probably suffering as much as me or even worse. I feel like vomiting thinking about what he went through when I was gone.

“I’m sorry I’m so selfish.” I blurted out suddenly, surprising both Ethan and me. He turned around slowly with such a confused face.

“What are you talking about?” He said while walking over to me.

“I never realized how much pain you are in too. I am so selfish and I never thought you felt. I am so sorry Ethan. I am here for you and-” I was cut off by Ethan’s firm voice.

“Don’t you dare say sorry. Brianna Marie Smith, I did not tolerate any of the nonsense. You are hurting, probably more than I can imagine and I am too but don’t you dare call yourself selfish.” His little rant got cut short by the phone ringing.

Ethan looked startled for a second but quickly got over it and went to grab his phone out of his pocket. He looked at the number but didn’t recognize the number. He just shrugged and answered it anyway. Before anyone spoke Ethan put it on speaker.

“Hello?” Ethan waited for a response but didn’t get one. “Hello?” He repeated but still no response. Ethan was about to hang up but then someone finally spoke.

“Ethan?” That voice, the voice that taunted me for years. How did he get my number? I looked at Ethan and gave him wide eyes.

“Justin, I told you never to contact us ever again. What part of that didn’t get into your head?” Ethan asked with an edge to his voice. I heard Jake gulp through the phone. I held in my giggles and saw Ethan smirking.

“I just wanted to say sorry and that I hope Bri is okay. I heard about the accident.” Ethan looked just as confused as me. The last time Justin talked to me he threatened to pull my “fake hair” out. Justin always thought that I was his ticket for popularity. Before everything happened I was pretty popular. As bad as it sounds, everyone knew me and liked me. I was nice to everyone. Justin was a football player and he wanted to be the couple that everyone knew.

The classic cheerleader and football player love story but it didn’t turn out like that. After a little while of being together, he started to demand things from me. After I declined he threatened me. Day in and day out I lived in fear of this person who had seemed to have so much power over me. I got so tired of it that one day I put my foot down and ended things with Justin. It felt like the best thing ever until he spread rumors about me. Thankfully people believed me when I said they were fake and Justin got bashed for it. Since the accident, I haven’t been to school. I bet people already forgot about me but that’s fine. I don’t care about social status.

“Yeah, she is fine,” Ethan said carefully while looking at me.

“Okay well please tell her to be careful.” This shocked both of us. I became nervous. Before Justin could say anymore Ethan cut him off.

“That’s enough! Never call here again or I will call the police.” Ethan then hung up and slammed the phone down. “Bri, why don’t you go upstairs and take that bath?” He asked sweetly even though his face was hard. When I didn’t move or respond he looked at me. His face softened and he came over to me.

“I’m sorry Bri, but don’t let him have that power over you.” I nodded and hugged him again. I broke away and made my way upstairs.

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