Falling For The Girl I Bullied
Chapter 7

Kyle’s P.O.V.

I g*****d in pain while holding my head. I was looking awful and completely wasted when I saw myself in the mirror. I sighed and opened the cabinet over the sink to take some Advil for the headache. I gulped down the tablet with water and closed my eyes. The last night was nothing but again a nightmare for me. I went to the party with my parents and, just like in the past, they abandoned me in an unfamiliar crowd and socialized with themselves. They occasionally called me whenever they had someone important beside them and they wanted me to introduce them or to their daughters. I hated this part of these meetings. Those girls drooled over my body and looked at me with hungry eyes as if I am a piece of delicious meat. I hated everything related to my parents but I couldn’t do anything.

I was at Ethan’s house right now as Ethan and Noah brought me here from the street where I was lying after drinking a whole bottle of wine. I was so frustrated that I took a bottle of wine from the bar counter and went out of the party. I wandered on the road aimlessly while drinking the wine from the bottle. I knew that I was pathetic, but I didn’t want to live like this. I opened my eyes and looked at my pathetic self once again in the mirror. I then finished my business, brushed my teeth and took my shower. The headache was now subsidized, which made me breathe with relief.

“How are you feeling now?” Ethan asked me when I came out of the washroom after showering. I had wrapped a towel around my waist. He brought clothes for me. “Fine”, I answered him briefly while taking the clothes from the bed. “Mr Watson has sent your bag too. Dress up and come to the dining room for breakfast”, he told me and then walked out of the room. I dressed up for school. School and the volleyball court were the only places where I really wanted to go and stay. We had a series of matches after two weeks and I only wanted to concentrate on my play now.

“Good Morning, Mrs Parker”, I greeted Ethan’s mom while taking a chair beside the dining table. “Good morning, Kyle”, she greeted me back with a genuine small smile on her lips. “Last night.. you were drunk”, I was about to pick the toast when she suddenly said. I pursed my lips into a thin line and lowered my head. She sighed and then spoke again. “I don’t want to embarrass you, Kyle. You are just like my other son and you know this. I am worried about you, son. You are too young to get drunk that much. I …. (she took a deep breath)… promise me that you will not touch alcohol again”, she almost pleaded in front of me, making me close my eyes because I was trying to hold back my tears. She was not my mother yet she was worried about me. How did I wish my mother to be that concerned about my well-being?

“I promise you, Mrs Parker. No matter what happens in the future, I will not touch alcohol until I come up of age”, I said in a low and apologetic tone, without looking at her. Suddenly, I felt someone wrapping hands around my neck and I took a deep breath. I didn’t want to appear weak, but her motherly aura was enough to make me weak and helpless in front of her. I felt loved and this was what I wanted from my mother. “I am sorry”, I apologized to her in a cracked tone. “It’s okay, son. Things happened”, she said in a loving tone while stroking my head gently. After a while, I regained my composure, and she slowly released me from her embrace. She patted my head gently before going back to her seat.

At the same time, Ethan also came to the dining table. He looked at me with raised brows but didn’t say anything. “Hey, you won’t believe what happened last night”, he suddenly spoke while filling his plate with breakfast. “What happened?” I asked him lightly while biting the toast. I knew that he was trying to distract me. “I was coming back from the club with Noah and Dustin when we saw Carter on the road going back to her home after her shift in the diner”, he paused and I raised my brow in confusion this time while chewing my food. He gulped down the content of his mouth. “At first, we ignored her and passed her but then we saw some drunken men in the next alley. That silly girl was walking in a wolf’s den unaware of what could happen to her”, he paused again and I stopped eating.

Although I hated her but I couldn’t imagine something going worse with her. “So, we went back to her and I forced her to take a ride with us. Noah told her about the drunken men and guess what?” he paused and gave me a mysterious smile. I narrowed my eyes and my eyes widened in shock. “No way”, I chuckled and he laughed while shaking his head and pointed towards me. “What?? Did she imagine all the worst things?” it was Mrs Parker who asked in a shocked tone. “Yeah, mom”, Ethan was still laughing hard. I also laughed a little because I knew how wild her imagination could be.

“Ethan?” suddenly the tone of Mrs Parker changed and we both looked at her in confusion. “Do you bully her?” he suddenly asked her in a stern tone with cold eyes. Ethan and I were startled by her question and looked at each other. For a few seconds, we couldn’t conceal our expressions of horror and I knew we were doomed. “N… no mom… you are thinking too much”, Ethan stammered while replying to her. He tried to appear calm but I knew it was enough to alert her. “Ethan… Kyle”, she again used her stern voice and we both looked at her like a deer caught in a headlight.

“I believe that you two are not bullies but”, she stressed at the last word and we blinked innocently. She was really a lovely woman and a very caring mother but she could be strict anytime if she wanted to. “If I come to know any time that you bully someone or that girl”, she paused while looking at us. I was holding my breath while listening to her. “You will not like the consequences…. Am I clear?” she asked in a stern voice and we two immediately nodded furiously. “We are not bullies, Mrs Parker”, I said in a meek voice but I held my confidence in my voice.

“It will be good if it remains in this way”, she said in a stern voice again and I just nodded once again. “Now finish your breakfast… you are getting late for school”, she ordered us in a stern voice and I breathed out slowly. She was really scary but it made me love her more than I loved my mother. In fact, I just hated my mother. I didn’t have even a pinch of love for my mother in my heart. Mrs Parker was the only lady who was a mother figure in my life and that was why her scolding and motherly warnings always made me listen to her.

After finishing our meal, we both silently went out of the villa. “O, My God…. That… that was really close”, Ethan said while taking a breath of relief and I also nodded in agreement. “Your mother is really scary”, I complained while hopping on the passenger seat of his car. “I know… but I love her”, he said with a genuine smile and I smiled too. “I love her too”, I said in my heart as I didn’t want to say these words to his face. “By the way”, I looked at him as he ignited the engine. “Why did you help her last night? She is a big girl and it’s her daily routine”, I asked him in an annoying tone this time. “I know that, okay. The thing is that it was already around 11 at the night and she was alone on the street. I am not so cruel to leave a girl on the street alone for the predators waiting for their prey on the next corner, let alone Carter. We bully her only for fun, but I can’t even think about something bad like that happening to her”, he said in an annoying tone too but his words made me shut up.

He was right. Even though I hated her for being independent, she is still a girl and needs to be protected from dangers like that. “I am waiting to meet her today”, suddenly I spoke with some mischievous thoughts in my mind. Ethan laughed once again and I laughed with him too. “Don’t tell me that you wanted to know whether she saw ghosts in the night flying over her body on the bed or not?” he said while laughing and her words made me laugh more. I was looking forward to meeting Violet today.