We are back at his place the next afternoon. Mike isn't home and neither is Jeremy, and with Whittney's mom watching tv in her room, the house is ours. A relaxed arm is wrapped around my waist while my back leans against his chest. There's a comfortable silence that surrounds us as we lie there.

Whittney kisses the top of my head as he pulls me even closer and I smile lightly. I grab his hand and give it a squeeze before intertwining our fingers.

There's a chiming of a phone and I sit up so that Whittney can take his phone out of his pocket. A smirk reaches his lips as he looks at his screen, eyes filled with amusement.

"No fucking way." He laughs loudly, covering his mouth with his hand. "I can't believe it fucking worked."

I frown. "What worked?"

He turns the screen to me and I gasp. It's a recent picture of Austin making out with some girl, and that girl isn't Sabrina. Wide eyed, I look at the sender of the photo, the name Berkeley displaying on the screen.

Ryan Berkeley.

"Oh my god, Whitt. What did you do?" I look up at Whittney, who's still smiling like he accomplished something huge.

"Even though Berkeley is a fucking sexist cunt, I helped him get back at Austin. He had beef, I had beef, so why not team up and remind That rich prick that he's not untouchable?"

"What are you going to do with the photo?" I grind my teeth, trying to hide my anger.

"Ryan wanted me to send it to the whole school, but I'll settle for just Sabrina." He smirks and reaches out his hand. "Gimme your phone."

I scoff. "Not a fucking chance. You're not bringing me into this."

His smile fades and his eyes darken. "Harry. Your phone."

I stand up. "No."

A laugh that lacks all empathy leaves his mouth, so different from the adorable ones he's been spouting the last couple days. "Come on, Hare. You've been hurt by Austin just as much as the rest of us. Don't think I didn't catch that ridiculous crush you had on him. He doesn't deserve you or your loyalty."

"You're gonna have to get her number another way, because I'm not playing a part in this." I head for the door but my back slams against the wall hard. Whittney is pinning me down and I scoff. "Are you really that desperate?"

Whittney doesn't say anything, but reaches into my front pocket to grab my phone. I shove him off of me and deck him in the face. The room falls under a heavy silence as he puts his fingers to his lip and looks to find blood coating his fingers. Complete shock is on his face as he looks at me.

"Did you seriously just-" A mixture of anger and sadness reflects in his eyes. It's the same look he had while talking about Austin. He takes a menacing step forward, the sadness gone, leaving only the hot, scolding anger as he glares at me.

He must think I've betrayed him.

"Wait, Whitt. I didn't mean-"

"Give me your phone, Harry. Now." There's no emotion behind his eyes and I know he's completely cutting me off. When I don't say anything, his eyes darken. "Give me your phone, or I'll tell everyone at school you're a fucking faggot."

My heart starts pounding in my, now hallow, chest as I reach for my phone with trembling fingers. "Okay," I say quietly, my fingers gripping my phone tightly. "But, if you go through with this, you'll lose me. It's me, or your stupid revenge scheme."

I hold my phone out towards Whittney, his gaze switching from the phone, to me, and back to the phone. My whole arm is shaking as it's stretched out to him, but when his eyes land on me for a long moment, I almost think he's made his decision, but without breaking eye contact, he swipes the phone from my hand.

When my vision starts to blur, I immediately head for the door, but Jeremy is blocking the way to my escape. How long has he been here?

"Hey there, buddy." His voice is kind, but the coldness in his eyes sends shivers through every nerve of my body. I can hear my rapid heartbeat ringing in my ears when he grins evilly. Wrapping his arm around my shoulder, he turns me back towards Whittney, who looks terrified. "Leaving so soon, faggot?"

Every muscle in my body goes stiff.

"Whittney, I'm disappointed that you never properly introduced me to your boyfriend." Jeremy tsks, shaking his head at his younger brother. "And to think we were getting along so well."

"I'm not a faggot," Whittney growls and looks to me. There's a look in his eyes that I just can't place as he looks me right in the eye. "He means nothing to me."

The breath is caught in the back of my throat and my tears finally spring free to run down my cheeks. His words hurt, but he looks like he's about to fall apart himself. Jeremy's hand grips the back of my neck and pushes me to the floor so that I'm on my hands and knees in front of Whittney.

"Prove it then." Jeremy's voice is so emotionless and there's a wicked smirk on his lips.

Whittney's face is unnaturally red as he glares at his brother before grabbing me by the shirt. He tosses me against the wall, slamming his fist right next to my head. I squeeze my eyes shut and I hear his uneven breathing next to my ear.

"I'm sorry," Whittney whispers, his voice shaking.

Before I can even open my eyes, a powerful blow connects with my cheek. My legs give out underneath me, but he keeps me up by my shirt. There's another hit and my bottom lip feels like it's on fire as warm iron fills my mouth. One more blow gets me on the mouth again and there's a ringing in my ears, my vision blurring completely.

I feel myself slide down to the floor when he suddenly lets go of me.

"Go home, faggot."

Those are the last words I heard from Whittney before bolting out the front door and scrambling for my car keys. It takes me a couple tries to get the keys into the ignition through my teared-up vision, but when the engine starts, I break down. My arms fold over the steering wheel and I cry into the sleeve of my hoodie, letting everything out.

I was right to think this wouldn't last, but I didn't think it would end this soon.

After wiping my tears away, I grip the wheel with determination and step on the gas. Whittney has completely lost it and even though Austin cheated, he at least deserves the chance to come clean to her himself. Plus, Sabrina doesn't deserve to find out that way, no matter how much I don't like her.

When I pull up in front of Austin's house, I remember what happened last time with his father and I hesitate a moment before getting out of the car. He could very well be the person to open the door and I just can't face him, especially not now.

I let out a breath of relief when it's Austin's mother who answers the door. The door is hiding one side of her face and she sighs when she sees that it's me. I'm taken back when she closes the door behind me, revealing the dark bruises on her cheek. Out of politeness, I don't address it, and she must be thinking the same, because she doesn't say anything about my bloody lip.

"Hi, Mrs. Griffin," I say with a weak smile. "Is Austin here?"

She looks in the direction of the basement. "He's downstairs, but he's not . . . decent."

I frown, walking past her to head down to Austin's room. When I get down there, the lights to his room are off. My hand searches for the switch and I see Austin's body lying on the floor after light fills the room.

"Oh god." I quickly kneel down next to him and shake him lightly until he wakes.

"Harry?" He looks over my face in a daze. "What happened to you?"

I can't help but laugh a little. "I could ask you the same thing."

Dried up blood and bruises are cover his face, much worse than what I got. He looks conflicted, most likely broken up about having fallen back into old patterns by cheating on his girlfriend.

"Who did this to you?" My eyes narrow as I help him off the floor. I set him down on his bed and realize he's still only just worried about what happened to me instead of himself. A small piece of my heart flutters at the realization that he still cares for me. "You don't have to worry about me."

He doesn't say anything, just nods.

"Your mom let me in... She has quite a few bruises, too," I add.

"I know." He looks down with a frown.

"It was your dad, wasn't it?"

Austin looks at me suddenly, seemingly surprised that I figured out the obvious.

"Why are you here, Harry?" He swiftly changes the subject.

I sigh, remembering I was here for something important. "I was just at Whittney's, and he-"

"Did Whittney do this to you?" He stands up, his face already red with anger.

"Austin, please calm down," I plead with him. "This is important."

He sighs and sits back down. "Okay."

"Whittney and I went out of town for a little road trip, or whatever. At first, I thought it was a fun idea, but now I realize it was to make sure I wasn't around. Then when we got back he got this text and said if I got in the way that he'd tell people-" I stop myself, avoiding eye contact.

"What would he tell people? Help him with what?"

"He... um, well-"

"Harry, fuck! Just say it!"

I jump a little. "Whittney has pictures of you and Casey at that party. He wanted me to give him Sabrina's number so he could send them to her."

"Pictures?" He mumbles to himself, confused. "How did he-?"

"Berkley sent them."

Austin suddenly stands, grabbing the closest thing to him and chucks it at the wall. The lamp bursts at the contact, broken shards fall to the floor. He charges at me and I shrink back.

"Did you give him the number?" He growls.

I try to answer, but I'm too afraid to open my mouth.

"Harry! Did you give him the-"

"N-no, of course not! I wouldn't do that to you."

He looks up as if he's got it all figured out. "He tried to beat it out of you, didn't he?" Then he bolts for the door.

"Austin, wait!" I chase after him. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go beat the shit out of Whittney. That's where I'm fucking going!" He's almost to the door, but I grab his arm to stop him. "What?"

"That's not what happened!" Tears blur my vision. "It's not, but Austin, he has my phone." When he stares at me blankly, I add, "It has Sabrina's number on it."

Just like that, he's out the door, and I'm alone again.

***

I know... It's been forever.

Please don't kill me...

Hope you enjoyed! If you liked it, don't forget to vote and leave a comment!

Until Next Time,

TheWriterD