Rough Heart | ethan dolan

[three - making a deal]

[sorry about these next few chapters- they're not double-spaced. i promise it doesn't last for long!]

Since it has been two days since the big fight at the party, I decide I should call Sarah to check up on her and Charlie.
Lilly told me that Sarah was pretty pissed off and that Charlie's face was pretty bad, but I should probably call her myself.
"Hey Jessica," her voice echoes through the phone.
"Hey, I just called to check up on you and Charlie. Is he okay?"
I hear her sigh over the phone.
"I've been taking good care of him, but he's still pretty bad. He's been icing his face non-stop, but he still has a really bad headache. I feel so bad, I could cry."
If someone beat the shit out of my boyfriend, I would feel the same way.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" I ask her.
"You could go kill that Ethan guy for me,"
"Done."
We both laugh.
"I think he's going to be okay. Thank you for calling, I should probably call Lilly and thank her too."
"Okay. I'll talk to you later."
We hang up the phone.
I start to think about the twins. How in the world could Grayson be so kind and sweet and Ethan be the exact opposite? I still have no idea why Ethan would beat up Charlie like that.
It's crazy how they could cause so much drama when they've only just moved here.
-
I hesitantly walk into my Pre-Cal class and force myself to sit in my desk. For some reason, I'm incredibly tired today.
Mrs. Jones starts to take roll after the bell rings and I fiddle with the notebooks in front of me.
I glance up at the clock.
I look beside me to see an empty desk. Ethan usually shows up around this time, barely late for class. He's still not here, which is a bit odd.
I force myself to pay attention to Mrs. Jones, but today I'm finding it especially hard. I can't stop thinking about Ethan.
Why isn't he here today?
-
"Hey, is Grayson here today?" I ask Lilly as we walk to lunch.
"Yeah, why?"
"Ethan isn't. I guess he must be sick or something." I shrug.
-
After an entire week of Ethan not showing up to school, I still have no idea why, and it's killing me.
I've been meaning to ask Grayson the past few days, but I don't have any classes with him and can't seem to find him anywhere in the hallways.
This entire week I've been worried sick. I don't know why I'm worried about Ethan out of all people, but I can't help it. Nobody really likes him anyway after what he did to Charlie, but I still find myself becoming worried about the rude boy.
The bell finally rings, signaling that my first period is over. Normally, I would be happy that it's Friday.
But today I feel stressed out.
I realize that everyone around me has left and I'm the only student that remains in the classroom.
"Jessica, you wouldn't happen to know where Ethan has been this week, would you?" Mrs. Jones asks me.
Trust me, I wish I did know, Mrs. Jones.
"No, I don't."
"I have a huge pile of make up work to get to him," she taps her fingernails on her desk.
"I can take it to Grayson." I offer.
Plus, taking it to Grayson would mean I finally get an explanation as to where Ethan's been the entire week. Not that it's any of my business, but it would be nice to know so I could stop worrying so much.
Why am I so worried about Ethan?
"That would be great, it would help me out a ton." Mrs. Jones smiles.
I walk over to her desk and watch as she grabs a stack of papers and clips them all together. She gently hands them to me.
"Thank you, Jessica. Make sure to tell Grayson that Ethan must have this work done by next week. He's incredibly behind, and it's only the second week of school." She explains.
I nod.
"I will. I'll see you on Monday, Mrs. Jones."
I attempt to wave, but my hands are full with Ethan's papers.
-
"The bonfire is Saturday this weekend." Lilly tells me as we walk out of school.
"I'm not going. Especially after what happened last weekend." I decide.
Lilly sighs.
"I understand. Sarah and Charlie aren't going either, obviously." She says.
"How is Charlie?" I ask her.
"Better. His headache went away, and his scars are starting to heal up."
I don't have classes with Charlie so I haven't seen him anywhere.
"That's good." Is all I manage to say.
"Are you going to go?" I then ask Lilly.
"I guess I could use a weekend off." She shrugs.
"Good girl,"
We laugh.
We then both climb into my car and set our things in the backseat.
"Ethan hasn't been here all week." I tell Lilly.
"Really? That's odd, Grayson hasn't said anything about him." She tells me.
"Is it weird that I'm kind of worried about him?" I ask her.
"He beat up our good friend and has been nothing but a dick to anyone here. You shouldn't be worried about him."
I know she's right.
Why am I so worried about him anyways? It's a waste of my time.
I start my car and pull out of the school parking lot. The drive to Lilly's house is mostly silent.
I wave as she jumps out of the car and walks up to her house. I turn the radio up and drive off.
Suddenly, it hits me.