My Bad Boy’s Ego — Chapter 10

With my fingers tapping against my chin, and my rabbit slippers slapping the hard wood floor as I take each step; I paced around the center of my bedroom. I was wearing one of Colton's oversized olive-green hoodie, along with my loose pajama pants dragging on the floor, and my messy wavy hair was sitting in a loose bun on top of my head.

"You look like you're about to go to war," Isaiah commented, laughing at my uncontrollable pacing.

I quickly hushed him as I brought my fingers back up to my chin.

"I left the classroom right after the incident," I mumbled to myself, "there's no way I put that in my locker!" I screamed as I pointed to the galaxy painting laying innocently on the edge of my bed.

In the corner of my eyes, I can see Isaiah looking at me as if I was possessed. I put my hands on my hips and quickly turned my body towards him, examining him from head to toe. Isaiah suddenly jerked up, holding his hands up as if he was just being stopped by the police. I slowly took my gaze away from Isaiah and squinted my eyes at the painting.

"But only I know the combination to my locker," I scoffed and crossed my arms.

"Are you a hundred percent sure, you didn't put it in there?" he asked me.

Isaiah was sitting on the bean bag that was in the corner of my bedroom, next to the window. He had his backpack sitting on his thighs as his legs laid straight out on the floor with his feet crossed.

"A hundred and ten," I waved him off.

After years of walking in a circle, I decided to give up on the mystery. I took the canvas and toss it into the corner of my bedroom, where all my finished art projects end up. It's unbelievable how much paintings a girl can create in her lifetime. There were a handful in the corner of my room, and an infinite amount of paintings in the garage. There were even a few hung up around the house as wall décor. Austin even has three paintings on his wall, although he is never in his room.

Suddenly my bedroom door busted open as Austin called my name at the top of this lungs. I lifted my eyebrows and turned towards the door, oblivious to that fact that I had a boy in my room. Austin froze as his gaze slowly went from me to Isaiah. As soon as I got the gist of what Austin was thinking, I jumped up and waved my hands at him.

"It's not what it looks like!" I panicked, covering my face in surprise.

Austin stood there silently as he continued to stare back and forth between me and Isaiah. Slowly, Austin finally took a step into my bedroom and held his hand out towards Isaiah, "Austin." He blankly greeted.

Isaiah smiled and grabbed his hand, shaking it firmly before introducing himself to Austin.

"No offense," Austin started, "but why are you in my little sister's room?" Austin crosses his arms, leaning his weight towards his left leg while tapping his right food against the floor. Austin was wearing panda slippers that slapped the floor every time his foot met it.

By the look of Isaiah's face, I can sense the awkward aura in the room. Isaiah looked Austin up and down, rotating between Austin's eyes and his panda slippers.

"She invited—"

"School project!" I voluntarily interrupted him. I flashed a huge grin towards Austin and grabbed his arm, "Okay my dear loving brother, we need to focus on our assignment now!"

I dragged Austin back towards the door and tried to push him with all of my strength. Austin didn't budge; however he took a step back from be slamming the door in his face.

"Okay, don't do anything stupid!" Austin called from the other side of the door, "I will kill you, soccer boy!"

I pressed my lips together in embarrassment and stopped myself from laughing at the situation. Isaiah seemed dumbfounded as he was sinking in the bean bag chair. He moved his backpack so his side and rested his feet on the floor, spreading his legs out like how guys normally do when they feel relaxed.

"Your brother is cute," he said as he leaned his head back in comfort, "you guys are both cute." He clarified.

I stayed quiet.

Isaiah lifted his head back up and looked at me. He then pulled away from his relaxed position and leaned towards me. He rested both of his elbows on top of his knees, fingers intertwined as he rests his chin on it, "I didn't mean it like that," he finally corrected himself.

I laughed lightly and shook my head as I made my way towards my bed. I sat on the edge, with my body still facing Isaiah.

"I heard about what Landon did to you," Isaiah said out of the blue.

I didn't respond; however I was still giving him my full attention. My heart started beating fast as my mind tries its best to block out the horrible flashback. Landon calling me a bitch, grabbing me, shaking me until I feared him.

"I want to apologize for him," he trailed off and paused. He got up from the bean bag chair and walked towards me. He sat next to me on the bed, one leg propped up on the bed as he turns his body to face me. I pulled both of my legs up, criss crossed and turning my body towards him. I remained quiet as I waited for him to finish his confession.

"Sometimes Landon is just extremely," he paused, "bipolar."

"One day, he can feel like he's on top of the world. The nicest guy on earth."

I shook my head and denied that observation.

Isaiah looked at me and shook his head, "Listen to me. One day he feels at his best, and one day he feels at his worst. I feel like you've only seen him in his worst days."

I furrowed my eyebrows in disbelief, feeling betrayed. I helped Isaiah the day no one wanted to stop the fight between them, and here he is asking me to forgive Landon for all the harassment since my first day of school.

"That's not a good excuse, Isaiah," I finally spoke up.

Isaiah stared at me with sorrowful eyes, and lifted his hands up to convey his message, "It's not an excuse!" he defended.

"I helped you. He harassed me," I concluded.

"I understand," Isaiah quickly responded.

"No, you don't," I shook my head, "You only want me to forgive him because he's your friend, even when you know about the things that he did to me."

"I might be defending him because he's my friend," he paused, "but I'm also trying to help you."

"I'm not going to forgive him and be friends suddenly. I'm not going to walk into a possible abusive friendship!"

"You're not."

I didn't respond to him, instead I started to look at my bed sheets, acting as if I had no interest in what he had to say.

"I don't need your help." I finished off the argument.

There was a moment of silence before Isaiah started to shuffle around uneasily.

"Aubrey," he said, breaking the silence. I looked at him unintentionally, as my eyes met his. He took a deep breath before putting both hands on my shoulder, gripping them softly.

"How can you stand up for me, but you can't stand up for yourself?" He held onto my shoulders for a few more seconds before dropping his hands. He got up from the bed and walked over to his backpack. He swiftly swung it over his shoulder as he made his way towards the door. He turns around and flashes me a sad smile, before exiting the door, closing it behind him.

My breathing started to stabilize. However, being the selfish girl I am, I ignored Isaiah's apology for Landon and pushed it in the back of my mind. Apologies should come from the person that caused the problem, not his friend. I collapse on my bed as Isaiah's question wandered in my mind.

How can you stand up for me, but you can't stand up for yourself?

Moments later the door softly opens and Austin walks in. I sat up as I recognized the look of guilt plastered across his face.

"Did you hear?" I asked.

He nodded and frowned at me, opening his arms before embracing me in a tight hug.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, rubbing my back.

"I can handle it on my own." I reassured.