My eyes felt incredibly heavy, but I still managed to open them. They were stinging a bit though, I closed them again.

'were they stinging because I was crying too much last night?'

That's probably it...

...and if that's the case--

I instantly shot up into a sitting position to observe my room's surroundings.

Everything seemed normal, not out of the ordinary at all... No more missing or misplaced things, no weird noises-- it all seemed normal at first.. But then I remembered...

'Where did Tommy go?'

No matter how much I scanned the room, he wasn't anywhere to be found.

Am I going crazy? Was all that had happened last night just some weird dreamish nightmare?

..must be, he would be here if--

I then suddenly got a big jolt of pain that went up my body, and most of all... My knees felt practically on fire...!!

Gabbing the covers, I used my strength to pull them aside so I would be able to observe my legs.

'In the same clothes... in the same bandages...'

I was partially thankful it wasn't a dream... But at the same time, I wasn't.

What the hell was I going to do?

I can most likely wear some pants, but then again-- would they notice my change in clothes?

..probably not now that I think about it.

Eh- might as well change and cover up.

Slowly, I got up and out of my bed to my drawers. Opening it up, I took out a pair of loose grey sweatpants and a black crop top. And after changing, I decided to search my room a bit more-- just in case everything was back to normal as I thought.

Walking and scanning the room, I found something out of the ordinary on my desk.

A small container of rice was placed, besides it was my phone that was now on the charger.

'why the fuck is there a pot of rice on my desk?'

And that's when I remembered and realized why it was there.

It wasn't me who put it there, but Tommy.

He took my phone and soaked it in rice--- though I don't remember him ever putting it on the charger afterwards...

Either way, I hoped and begged for my phone to be okay.

Once I picked it up, I held down the 'on' button.

I waited expectantly for my phone to operate as per usual... and after a while it turned on, displaying its starting up screen.

I silently cheered at the matter, happy that I wouldn't have to buy a new phone.

It took a hot minute, but when it officially turned on.. my phone blasted with notifications. Quickly, I muted all the mentions.

The poor thing might blow up if I didn't stop it...

I sat back down on my bed, overlooking the swarms of mentions.

A few from youtube, twitter, Instagram, twitch, discord and normal text.

I started getting bored of watching the notifications scroll by, but when I saw a notification from Tom I headed over to my contacts.

When I got there, I saw messages from now just Tommy.... but a bunch of spam from Luca too.

I went to check Tommy's first. Since it was only one message.

▪◽◼▫▪◻◾▫

Sorry I couldn't stay longer, mum called me to come home.

Call or message me whenever you need me. I'll be there.

And if you don't reply, I'll automatically think your phone is fucked.

▪◽◼▫▪◻◾▫

I couldn't help but smile at his message and decided to shoot him a quick reply. Just simply thanking him and that I'd take him up on the offer.

Just the thought of Tommy being over here at my place again made my heart somewhat flutter. He probably won't hug me like last night, but the thought of him being here made me somewhat happier for his next visit.

With that thought of and done, I checked Luca's messages.

She spammed me with a lot of caps and calls. In a summary, she told me to call her when I get up because she has some important things to tell me.

So, after taking a deep breath.. I called her.

And without any time to think, she picks up the call.

"Y/N!!!" She yells into the phone, me hearing it peak a bit at some levels.

I wince a bit at her cries.

"The fu- what happened to you?"

"Y/N!! It's- It's Aiden...!" She tells me, "It says he got arrested!!!"

Oh my god- the son of a bitch actually did it-

"...what?" I said, trying to act confused.

"There was, like, this MASSIVE top story on the news earlier today! And they said that Aiden got arrested!" Was what she told me.

Not gonna lie, I was a little impressed that the idiot got onto the headlines.

But- surely he did something else to get arrested...

"...so, what did he do?"

"...It was truly awful, Y/N. They said and showed these- these people.... They said that Aiden attacked them and harmed them very badly... He's going to jail, and--"

Luca let out a quick and quiet sob.

"...I just can't believe someone like him would do such a thing... It feels like some sick prank..." She said, voice shaking, "I literally saw him just yesterday, Y/N. He brought over Lily and just left... And now he's arrested? Going to court??"

I was just a little surprised with all she was saying.

So- he attacked other people besides me that night? And sounding from Luca's voice... The injuries must've been pretty bad to result in the news... not to mention a top story...

"Everything just feels so wrong..." She mutters out.

"..How's his sister?" I asked.

"...Lily? She's sleeping in my room right now." Luca replies to me, "She doesn't know yet."

"You should tell her--"

"--And traumatize her?? Y/N! There's no way I can do that..!" She exclaimed, "She's probably thinking when her big brother will come to visit her... I can't break the news to her-- she just got here last night... It's too cruel..."

While it is true that it would be kinda wrong to tell an assaulter's younger sister that their older sibling is... well... an assaulter and went to jail.. Mainly because of how it's hard to comprehend anything at such a young age.. But it'd also be wrong to never tell them.

"...Somebody has to tell her at some point" I told her, "And I'm saying that from personal experience. You can't just leave Lily in the dark about her brother"

Luca lets out a sigh.

"...I know. I know.." She mumbles, "And I will tell her... But not now..."

I know Luca means well, and I respect her decisions on a lot of things... She usually knows how to make good calls in certain situations, but she tends to draw her plans out more than she should.

Though even with that one minor flaw, I know I can rely on her for basically any problem I may or may not have.

"..But- Uhm... On another note-- Schools are shut down for a bit because of the incident." Luca decides to tell me.

"...that so?"

"yeah, yeah... It's honestly crazy..." She lets out a nervous chuckle, "So much has happened in- not even the last 24 hours.."

"...I know, right?" I say, "So much in so little time..."

'Which reminds me...'

"...Are you okay, Y/N?" Luca asks me, "You sound off"

"Of course I'm fine" I responded, "...Just thinking to myself. That bastard had what was coming to him."

"...I guess so." She murmurs, "I knew he was a little unhinged, but I didn't imagine he would do something like this..."

"He'd do anything, right?"

"Huh?"

"He was a people pleaser from the very beginning..." I spat bitterly, "Show him even the slightest bit of attention and he'd follow you around like some desperate lost puppy..."

"What are you saying, Y/N? What's up with you?" Luca asks me, "Are you taking the news that badly?"

"Of course not! Why would I?!?"

After realizing my little outburst, I mentally scolded myself.

Luca was completely silent. She didn't dare speak, and she didn't dare hang up.

It's been a while since I've ever spoken to anyone like that.. I honestly feel so stupid right now..

"...Sorry, I'm scaring you now, right? I don't normally talk that way." I let out a small laugh, attempting to lighten the mood, "I'll just collect my thoughts and call you another day, okay?"

"If you say so..." Luca says quietly, "Bye, Y/N"

"Cya, Luca"

And with that, I hung up our call. After doing so, I tossed my phone somewhere on my bed and buried my face into the palms of my hands.

I was annoyed with her bringing up Aiden.

I was stupid for being annoyed. She's probably thinking I'm angry at her right now when that's further from the truth.

My hatred for the guy burns brighter than fire. Possibly even to the extent that I would want him- ..no. I shouldn't. Fueling negative thoughts isn't the best thing to do right now.

I just need to get over this injury and get any thought of Aiden off my mind.

...God. I wonder what Tommy would do to get Aiden off my mind..?