Antonio didn't come to school the next day, although I hadn't really expected him to.

After school, I decided I'd head over to the spot, as I figured he'd be there instead. It was quite a long walk. The cold wind nipped at my skin, though I was warmed by the oversized leather jacket I was wearing. It was Antonio's–he insisted I kept it after the time he'd lent it to me.

When I arrived at the spot, I was stunned to see that Antonio wasn't sitting on the grass per usual. Instead, he floated atop the cold water in nothing but a pair of boxers. His eyes were closed, and he was so pale that he practically looked dead. I emerged from behind the trees and ran towards his motionless body.

"Antonio!"

He yelped and splashed up.

"Flower," he sounded confused, "when'd you get here?"

I ignored his question and ran over to the edge of the water.

"What are you doing?" I wrapped my arms around my body. "You can't be going for a swim in this weather—it's freezing! You'll catch a cold."

"Pipe down, mother," he smirked.

I gave him a look, to which he huffed.

"I'm only in here so I can numb my body."

His response left me even more bewildered.

"Numb your body?" I repeated.

Antonio sighed as if he knew he was about to do something he'd regret. Suddenly, his tall body emerged from the water. On another day, I would've reveled in his sculpted figure, but I couldn't. Not when I could only see bruises.

His body, specifically his abdomen, was littered with bruises of varying shades. He was practically black and blue. There was a particularly large mark underneath his ribs that made my mouth run dry.

"Antonio..." I whispered in horror, gazing at him with wide eyes. "Who did this to you?"

Antonio shook his head so quickly that droplets of water escaped from his tousled hair. He began to place his clothes back on, as if to cover up what he'd shown me, though it was too late. Nothing could ever make me forget what I'd just seen.

"What happened?"

He didn't answer me and instead threw on his last piece of clothing, a black t-shirt, which was rather inapt considering the chilly weather. I lightly placed a hand on his shoulder, but he winced and shrugged me off.

"Why'd you flinch?" I softly asked.

Again, he ignored me. My mind flickered over to the conversation we'd had yesterday.

My dad'll give me so much shit for this, Antonio had said when I'd asked him if he'd be okay.

I gulped in horror, staring at Antonio while he wouldn't meet my eyes. "Did your dad hit you?" I tentatively asked.

He froze before snapping his head up at me. I was stunned to see the harsh glare on his face.

"What makes you think that?"

"Did he?" I asked again.

Antonio silently stared at me. He didn't need to answer for me to know that my assumption was correct, although that didn't comfort me at all. I felt rather sick.

"Why did he hurt you?" I stupidly asked, before shaking my head. "I mean, I know why, but doesn't he know that you didn't mean to hurt Buzz? It was just an accident!"

"Doesn't matter," Antonio curtly replied. "I made a mistake, I paid the price."

He said it as if this were normal. As if it happened often.

"H-How long has this been going on?" I faintly inquired.

By the way he averted eye contact, I knew what the answer was. Long enough.

"All those cuts and bruises you always have," I whispered in horror. "Those excuses–I fell off my motorcycle, I got hit by a ball–they weren't true. It was all your... your..."

"Damn it, Flower." He brushed past me.

I followed after his angry figure, repeating the same question I'd asked earlier. "How long has this been going on?"

"No!" Antonio snapped so harshly that I flinched. He swiveled around. "You don't get to ask me how long. You don't get to treat me like I'm some weak victim."

"He's hurting you!" I bit my quivering lip, peering up at him with doe eyes.

"Would you stop looking at me like that? You don't know anything about me."

"Yes, I do!" I insisted. "I know that you're a good person, who would do anything for his friends–who would do anything for me. You don't deserve this. No one does!"

"Why do you care?"

"Why should I not?" I demanded.

Although Antonio remained silent, I could see his anger accumulating. His dark eyebrows knitted together and his chest rose up and down as he stared at me with a stiff jaw.

"Why won't you let me help you?" I continued.

"Because I like you!" he angrily yelled.

We both froze. I blinked in shock.

"W-What?"

I nervously gulped as he took a step towards me. I half-expected him to take back his words. Maybe he didn't mean it. Perhaps he'd just blurted it out in the heat of the moment. However, his next words proved me wrong.

"Come on, Flower," he hoarsely said, dark eyes boring into mine. "I know I'm not the only one who feels it."

My lips slightly parted.

"I like you," he repeated with pure conviction.

I like you too, I wanted to say. But I couldn't.

"No," I weakly said, stepping backwards.

Antonio's face dropped. I was unable to bear the shattered look on his face, so I opted to looking at the ground instead.

"Y-You don't like me," I moved back to create a further distance between us. "You barely even know me."

He knew nothing about my past. He knew nothing about my parents. He knew nothing about my trauma, and the death I'd witnessed. I wasn't going to let him see how damaged I was. It'd ruin everything.

"What do you mean?" he demanded.

I didn't answer the question, and we breathlessly stared at each other. The only sound was the flowing waterfall, but at the moment, it wasn't quite as soothing as I remembered it being.

"Here, take this back," I quietly spoke after a moment, removing his leather jacket. "You must be cold."

After all, he was in nothing but a black tee. Though, he appeared unfazed by the weather. If anything, I trembled once the harsh wind came into contact with my arms, and quickly enough, goosebumps began to arise on my skin. Regardless, I pressed the leather jacket against his chest, giving him no choice but to take it back. His eyes roamed over my face, analyzing my every detail, reading my every thought.

"Why are you really giving this back to me?" he pressed, despite knowing the answer.

It solidified the end of a friendship.

"Flower..."

I solemnly shook my head before he could get any closer to me. I was afraid that if he did, I'd say something I'd regret–I'd confess that I liked him too.

So I peeled my eyes away from Antonio and ran off. He didn't follow after me, but I didn't expect him to.

• • •