Bruises (Chapter 2 Subsiding)

"What do you have planned today?" My mother asked me as she leaned against the counter, munching on her cheerios. I shrugged, playing with the wheat circles in my own bowl.

"Library." I stated, finally taking a bite. I only had eaten half the bowl and I already lost my appetite. My mother made sure I was eating all of it, though. That's why her eyes always followed my spoon as I took a bite. "When do you have work today?" I asked her, forcing another bite down.

"Not until twelve today. Why do you go to the library so often lately?" My mother always seemed to know all the questions I was really uncomfortable answering. 

"I like it..." I answered nonchalantly. One of her eyebrows rose, as it does when she thinks I'm lying. I had been seeing Ethan for the past week, everyday at the library around noon. It was usually after my mother left to work, but she always asked me. The first time I answered honestly, the second time I lied since I thought it might look suspicious. Amazingly, my mother knew exactly when I was lying, which was something I didn't like. I wasn't the worse liar ever, and when I did lie I usually got away with it. 

"Corra Emilia, what is rule number three on our list of No Nonsense?" My mother asked, pointing at the fridge where a piece of notebook paper hung. It was a list titled No Nonsense that my mother had made me sign as some kind of contract. If I didn't abide by the contract, I would receive some kind of punishment.

"Don't lie to your mother if you are going to get caught. If you are caught, you must tell the whole truth." I repeated, squinting so I could read the print. I sighed. "I just have a friend I meet over there..." 

"Uh-huh...A friend, eh? And what is this friend's name?" She smirked slightly, finishing her bowl.

"Uhm...Ethan..." I replied, looking out the window as my hands started to ring together. I was getting anxious about sharing the information. Why though? It's not like it mattered that much right?

"Oh, so they're a boy...friend?" My mother had the most brilliant way of putting things. I had only been with her three weeks and she has already antagonized me out of my mind at some points. 

"Not a boyfriend! Just a friend." I said simply. She chuckled. 

"Do we need to have 'The Talk'?" She said, smiling. 

"Mom, I am going to be a senior in high school. I am very aware of what 'The Talk' is about." I allowed myself a smile as my hands loosened their grip on one another. One good aspect of my mother is that I feel more relaxed around her than other people.

She took a seat next to me, her face becoming serious. Now that she was looking right at me, I was a bit freaked out by how many features we shared. Our curly black hair was the same, except hers was long and tied back in a pony tail most days. Our face shaped matched perfectly, with the same round cheeks and small nose. Our skin and eye colored differed, though. Her skin was lightly tanned and she had tiny wrinkles here and there since she liked gardening and being outdoors. Her eyes were the color of the ocean and I was a bit jealous I hadn't inherited such a trait. 

"Corra...all joking aside...I don't want you to fall for some guy because you think it will make you stop hurting..." My mother's eyes showed her obvious concern.

"I know." I said, and I really did. The more time I spent with Ethan, the more I fell for him, but also the more I realized that I had some problems and maybe he didn't want to help me with them. So I needed to deal with it myself.

"I'm sorry. I'm not saying anything bad about this Ethan guy. I just know how susceptible a girl is when...when she just got out of some hard times..." She continued carefully. She patted my shoulder then got back up. "Well, I think I've made you feel awkward enough! I'll be upstairs, working on my new article. Oh and as punishment for getting caught, you do the dishes."

With that she sauntered out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her room. I sighed and smiled a bit. My mother was crazy.

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"No, no really it happens!" 

"Don't you hate it? How do you manage?"

"Well, it wasn't exactly as gruesome...who am I kid din'? It was rotten, I'm telling' ya!" Ethan exclaimed, using hand gestures to emphasize his disgust. I laughed at his story of eating blood pudding at a family gathering in Ireland. The librarian had to shush us and I looked a bit embarrassed. 

"Aye, you wantta get out of 'ere?" Ethan asked, smiling at me. I nodded and he led me out of the library. "It probably isn't the best place for a lil' conversation."

"Yea...We were being a bit loud...Well, where do we go?" I shifted my weight from foot to foot, grabbing a hair tie to put my hair back. It was a particularly hot day, and it was only one in the afternoon. Ethan took off his jacket that he usually wore. Underneath was a thin, short sleeved v-neck with stripers going vertically across it. It fit him rather well and I caught myself staring for a bit too long. Half the time I wondered if he noticed, but he seemed oblivious to the matter. I smiled a bit to myself, thinking I was happy he had decided to be my friend.

"Are ya hot, Corra?" he asked me. I was wearing a long sleeved sweatshirt that covered my purple wrist and my jeans were long and a bit baggy. 

"I'm fine..." I said, pulling down my sleeves more. Ethan raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"Suit yerself. Let's not die in this heat. How about we go and get some ice cream?" He asked, starting to walk toward his car. I followed unsurely.

"That sounds good." I said, watching him go into his car. It was a shabby, silver Ford Focus.I stood awkwardly to the side of it, wondering what I should do. Maybe he wants me to walk there while he rides...? Or am I suppose to get in? Was it okay if I get in?

"For the love o' Jeysus, just get in!" He said, chuckling and opening the passenger door. I blushed and slid into the leather seat. Inside, the car was okay. The leather on the seats was a bit worn and it had an up-to-date radio with speakers in the back settling near the rear window. A Celtic cross hung from the rearview mirror. I reached up to turn it around, trying to get a better look at the design.

"Corra...What are those...?" Ethan asked, his voice losing its usual joking manner. I looked sideways at him. His hand reached out to grab my hand and my face flushed for a minute until I realized what he was looking at. Ethan's stormy eyes had turned dark as they gazed upon the bruises around my wrist. I had fresh bruises that looked worse than before, with their purplish green tones. 

I didn't answer. My body began to shake again. I was trying so hard. I just wanted to pretend that nothing was wrong with me...

He leaned back in his seat, taking a deep breathe. I tried hard to do the same, but my breathes were fast and shallow. My heart beat quickened and I started to grab my wrist. The pain helped to calm me down a bit.

"Is that what you've been doin'?" Ethan said, sliding a hand over mine and prying my fingers from my wrist. I stood silent, concentrating more on trying to breathe. My chest started to ache as I grew more panicked. I didn't want him to think I was a freak. I just made a new friend. Why is this happening? I don't want to lose him. Please...

"Corra? Corra, please? Calm down. You look a skawly..." Ethan said, putting a hand on my shoulder. His eyes were full of concern. I just shook my head, starting to cough a bit as my chest grew tighter. Then Ethan did something I didn't expect.

He reached up and started to trail his hand up and down my back, as he drew me closer to him, pressing his forehead against mine.

"Corra...listen to me...calm down...breathe....It's only a bit o' bruisin' around ya wrist...I'm not pissed or anythin' like tha'..." He whispered, lifting my chin so I can see his eyes. I stared into them, feeling his hot breath against my face and started to feel my heart rate drop. The anxiety was subsiding. "There ya go..."

Ethan gave me a chance to catch my breathe, than I started to explain. I explained about my father and how I was diagnosed with anxiety. I also explained to him the reason why I was here in the first place.

He listened carefully, never trying to draw away from me.Afterwards, it seemed like nothing was wrong. He was as kind as ever and bought my ice cream for me. For a moment, I pictured what it would be like if we were actually dating, but thought against it. If he was just my friend, that was better than anything else. If he was my friend, that was all I needed. For the first time in awhile, I felt truly happy.