《Bulletproof (Publishing 2023) ✔》10: Tyler
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I wait until Franny goes to the other room to order pizza before I let the pain wash over me.
I breathe in and out slowly, but I can still feel the swelling around my eye push up my cheek. The bastard made the black eye worse when he dug his damn fingers into my face. I won't be surprised if I look in the mirror and see his fingerprints embedded in my skin.
I hear Franny's voice as she talks into the phone in the other room. She's weird, I decide. Most people would call an ambulance or tell me to get lost if I showed up on their doorstep. But she just stood there and did everything I asked.
Maybe she was too scared to realize that an ambulance is the usual route to go when someone's beaten up. I'm glad she didn't though. I would have had to come up with some kind of lie to avoid having to go to the hospital. Hospitals mean my parents would be called and then I'd have to explain everything to them.
I'm going to have to tell them anyway though.
How am I supposed to hide a huge cut along my side and a swollen face? It's not something a hood over the head can hide.
Franny comes back a few minutes later and places the phone back in the holder. She walks past me and swipes a hand down the wall, catching a light switch as she goes. I look at the sitting room where there's a television, a couch and an armchair. Franny walks over to the television and puts it on before arranging some pillows on the couch until they are plumped to one side.
"Do you want to lie down?" she asks. "Or is sitting easier?"
"Lying down's good. Thanks," I say and push off from the table, grabbing my bag and dropping it down with me.
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My legs are shaky as I force them to walk over to the sitting room. The house is simple, not too much furniture and not too cluttered but it does feel like it's missing something. It's just a house. Nothing really seems personal.
"What happens when the food comes?" Franny asks. "I don't really want to see you choke to death."
I smile in amusement. "I'll sit up."
I drop my bag on the floor beside the couch and slowly lie down on the seat, my upper body elevated by the pillows. It isn't enough to bend my body and hurt the cut but it's enough so I can eat without worrying about choking it back up.
Franny curls up in the armchair, with her legs tucked under her. She has the remote in her hand.
"Do you want anything on?" she asks.
I shake my head and smile to myself.
She's a people-pleaser.
I close my eyes and lift my arm on the side that isn't hurt and rest it on my forehead gently. My eye throbs but the painkillers are slowly doing their job even though I didn't think ibuprofen would be strong enough for this excruciating pain. Just frowning makes the eye pain worse.
A penetrating pain enters through the side of my head and everything throbs and becomes a mass of distress and hurt. I close my eyes tighter, willing the pain to move out of the way, but it doesn't. It just grows and pulses through my head until I feel like it's going to explode. I let out a short breath, trying to release the pain.
But it stays and presses down on me until my eyes are completely closed and my mind slows down.
***
I jolt awake and the movement makes my side ache along with my face. My head hurts still, but the pain is a little subdued as I'm still trying to wake up. I open my eyes and notice that the vision out of my right eye is limited from the swelling. I curse inwardly and push myself upright.
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I look over at Franny who offers a small smile.
"How long have I been out?" I ask.
"Only twenty minutes," she says. "The pizza should be here any second now."
"Um . . . do you have any ice?" I ask and point to my face, which I'm sure looks like shit.
She springs up, making the remote crash to the floor. "Yeah, sorry," she says and walks past me quickly into the kitchen. I hear shuffling and doors being opened and shut. I reach down beside me and grab my bag, opening the zip and shuffling inside until I find my wallet. I take it out and dump the bag back on the floor. I pull out a twenty-dollar bill and then drop my wallet on top of my bag.
Franny comes back into the room and gently places a bag of ice wrapped in a towel on my chest as the doorbell rings. "Hold that over your eye," she says and turns around to go to the front door, but I quickly grab her wrist.
I place the twenty-dollar bill in her hand. "Use this."
She stares back at the money and then sighs. "I can pay for the pizza myself."
"Use this," I repeat. "As a repayment for helping me."
Franny looks indecisive but slowly nods, gripping the money and walking off as I let go of her wrist. I hear her talking and another voice speaking alongside her until the door shuts and the smell of pizza wafts into the room with Franny.
I glance at the television and squint a bit when the harsh light from the screen makes my eyes sting. Some kids channel is on, with a cartoon playing. "You watch cartoons?"
Franny places the pizza on the coffee table and looks behind her, catching sight of the TV show that's on. She turns back to me with a slight blush. "Um, yeah. You can put on whatever you want. Sorry."
I shake my head. "It's fine. I don't mind."
Franny smiles. "Okay. I'll go get some plates. Thanks for the money, by the way."
She rushes past me and the quick movement makes a breeze blow onto my sweaty forehead which I'm momentarily relieved by. I lift the towel off my chest and unwrap it to see a clear bag filled with ice inside. I remove the towel, placing it by my feet and press the ice to my eye, hissing from the cold.
Franny walks back in and places two plates on the table. She looks over at me and frowns. "Isn't it too cold without the towel?"
I shake my head. "I need it."
She just nods and lifts up the lid of the cardboard box. After she passes me two slices and serves herself, we settle into a comfortable silence with the television playing in the background. I feel my body wanting to fall asleep again as I finish my pizza. My stomach aches for more food but the rest of me just wants to sleep.
"You can go to sleep," Franny says eventually, and I look at her. "I'll wake you up if my dad comes."
I nod gratefully and just before I close my eyes I see Franny smile. Her entire face falls into a welcoming warmth and I can't help but smile back. She's pretty when she smiles.
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Billionaire Boss
Daphne Miller moved to Boston to escape the ghosts of her past. She hid behind a mask of happiness and acted like everything was ok, but when her past came back to haunt her, it all came rushing back. Mason Zolar was Boston's billionaire bachelor. Women threw themselves at him and it certainly didn't help that he had the body of a Greek God. Mason was a hard man to get along with, but he was fiercely loyal and protected the ones he loved. What happens when two worlds clash and combine into one messy concoction?
8 296Romance - plus Judgemental Powers? Completed
Blue was a red headed boy who desperately wanted a girlfriend. So he asked the class beauty to walk home with him. She very nicely refused him. So he asked another girl in the same class, one with an average rating in the social status ranking. She also refused him. So, still desperate, he thinks – “I’m probably at the bottom of the ranking for boys in this class, so how about I ask the girl who is also at the lowest ranking?” The girl’s name was Pink. She said yes. Gulp. “What do I do now?” was his reaction. Well, obviously, have a romance. And, along the way, they get one hell of a lot more than they bargained for. Like, for example, supernatural Judgemental Powers. How did they get those? And that was only the start. The two most insignificant students in their class become famous. Not just in their class or even in their school, but to the population at large. They end up breaking and making the top politicians and rulers of their country. But finally, of course, they get what they wanted. A committed relationship. This is an Esmeralda the Angel of Death story. It follows on from my previous novel “Maybe it would have been a good idea not to wish for a harem?”, however it is a totally separate story with only a minimal overlap in the characters. There is no need to read the first story to enjoy this one. Although you just might enjoy the first story also… This story has multiple characters and multiple Points of View. Every POV change is clearly marked with a new header. Inside each POV section, the POV character’s thoughts are in italics. This story has about 105,000 words (about 380 RoyalRoad pages). It is fully written and proof read (the poor man’s proof read using Word). It has 25 chapters, and will be published at the rate of roughly one chapter per day. The front-page photo is by Valentin Antonucci from Pexels
8 70lifestyle.
" I don't know, cheers to everyone having a good lifestyle afterwards " I say.
8 160Insanity
A curious 15-year-old tries to unravel the mysteries behind the asylum, Blackthorn Veil Mental Institution, where her dad was locked up. She knew everything was not right in that place, but what happens if she meets one of the mysteries in that asylum? Will that person help her unravel the truth or bring her into . . . Insanity?"If you have never lost your sanity, then you have never been in love." •poopinghinsil•©Copyright 2013-2014All Rights Reserved•THIS FAN FICTION WAS WRITTEN WHEN I WAS LIKE 13-14 YEARS OLD SO BEWARE. THIS IS VERY BADLY WRITTEN••NOT EDITED AND WILL FOREVER STAY THAT WAY: UNEDITED•
8 141Spending The Villain's Money To Extend My Life -CHEAT SYSTEM- (1) (1 - 199)
#For Offline Purpose#Credits belong to the AuthorGu Shishi, a master of traditional Chinese painting, transmigrated into the role of a cannon fodder in a cliché novel.The cannon fodder female supporting character was switched at birth. She had barely spent a few days with her biological parents before she was tossed into the wolf's den by those same parents. Her parents, having no heart to send their fake daughter with a heart disease to live a hard life, forced the real daughter into becoming the replacement. Gu Shishi was sent away to marry the big villain - the rumored evil, cruel, and wife-cursing first young master of the Huo's.On the very first day that she had transmigrated, she had to face her fated tragic death....Luckily, she had also inadvertently discovered the path to altering her fate!- The more gifts she received from the big villain, the longer she could live and the more cheats she would gain!System:(Wealthy Housewife System, Initiated!)(Remaining Life: 8 minutes and 56 seconds)(Recharge to extend your life.)(Method of Recharging: Receive Money or Valuables from Wealthy Husband.)(Received DIOR Bobbin Net Smock x 1, recharge value: $15,000!)(Received FENDI Black Hooded Sweater x 1, recharge value: $10,160!)(Received Givenchy Single Strap Mini Floral Print Pleated Skirt x 1, recharge value $180,695!)(Recharge Successful!)(Note: 24 hours additional life for every $1,000.)
8 95When We Crashed
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