Bruises in Miniature Form

I was awoken roughly by a heavy weight upon my chest, suffocating me until I began slapping at the weight. It laughed above me in a familiar tone, its features blurry through my sleep ridden eyes.

“Good morning miss Nettie”
“Get off Ronnie” I responded instantly, trying to roll over and hide under my pillow.
“No can do cupcake, I’m here to save your ass”
“Excuse me?” I yawned, rubbing at my eyelids.
Ronnie turned on his devilish smile as he leaned a little too close to my face, “I know what you did last night darling. And while Elisa might be oblivious, Rick won’t”
My eyes widened to a new size, “what!?”
“Relax,” Ronnie waved his hand in my face, “Max already threatened me not to tell. It’s just my job to help with Rick’s curiosity”
Mouth agape I allowed Ronnie to move off my body, feet landing on the floor.
I couldn’t think of anything to say as Ronnie began throwing clothes my way, head bent down as he spoke quietly to me:
“You know, I kind of wish I told Max to stop”
“What?” I blanked at the black haired boy, pulling the shirt over my head when he wasn’t looking.
“When you too first met and started that war. I wish I told him to back off”
“No changing the past” I grumbled, being pulled from my bed and dragged out into the hall.

Ronnie took me quickly out to his car, parked in the drive way before shifting into the driver’s seat. I buckled myself in quickly, knowing exactly how these boys drove.
As the engine turned over I spotted Rick exiting the front door and waving for us to wait, my heart skipping a beat.

“fuck” Ronnie cursed as he reached over me to roll me window down, “Hey Rick, what’s up?”
“I was hoping to talk to Newton before you two left. Where are you headed anyway?”
Ronnie glanced at me quickly before turning his attention back on a somber Rick, “We’re just heading to our first date. I’m surprising Nettie”
Rick’s face scrunched up in shock, “Date? You two are dating?”
Blushing I looked nervously at Ronnie, realizing quickly what he was playing at.
“Well, I’ve wanted to ask Nettie for a long time, but I didn’t have the guts. I got Max to talk her into joining me for today” Ronnie grinned deviously.
I couldn’t believe how deceptive Ronnie could be.
Rick nodded plainly before smiling at us both, “Well in that case, have her home by eleven and you two have a good time!”

Ronnie and I waved goodbye to Rick as the car reversed, pulling onto the road to lead us three miles away.
“Jesus Christ,” Ronnie breathed, “I am good”
Rolling my eyes I gave him dirty looks while playing with my hair, “I get why you did that, but how the hell is my dating you going to…”
The idea quickly struck me and had me shrieking at the poor boy, “I am NOT going to start fooling around with Max! That was a mistake and won’t happen ever again!”
Ronnie sent me a ‘duh’ look before returning his eyes to the road, “Then you tell Max that and we’ll simply say our date didn’t work out”
“You really think Rick is going to fall for this? You boys are such idiots!”
“I take offense to that,” Ronnie barked, obviously upset, “Why can’t you girls ever be grateful for something?”
“We are grateful!” I argued back.
Ronnie groaned at me, pulling into his home and shutting off the car, “Fuck, you and Max really are alike”
My eyes bulged as Ronnie exited the car, leaving me behind as he entered his house,
“RONNIE! RONNIE GET BACK HERE!” I yelled after him, leaping from my seat after unbuckling the belt.

The front door was left wide open for me as I entered, and the smell of soil and booze slammed into my nostrils heavily. Coughing into my hand I entered the living room to find it empty, the smell more pungent.
Reeling back I walked down the hall to search for Ronnie’s room, calling out his name through the silence. The boy knew how to disappear, that was for sure.
Opening the closest door first I frowned in frustration at the revealed, trying the next three rooms to find them all empty. Even the last room, which obviously belonged to Ronnie, was empty.
Confused and a little disoriented I clambered back towards the living room, finding the whole house empty.

“RONNIE?” I called out, biting at my bottom lip.
“BOO!” hands grabbed onto my sides, making me scream loudly and jump to the floor.
Looking over my shoulder I saw a grinning Max, and this only made my blood boil over. Striking fast I connected my fist against his chest, sending him back only a couple of steps.
He still laughed like everything was some big joke, grinning at me when I moved to hit him again.
“Oh come on, it was only a joke” He teased, retreating.
“A crappy joke!” I scolded, “Jesus, what are you doing here anyway?”
“Told Ronnie to bring you here,” He grinned, inviting himself to my personal space, “Though I heard you didn’t quite want to be here”
“You heard right”
Max bobbed his head, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth. His hands dug around in the pockets of his tight jeans, his dirty black shirt stretching to cover his hidden wrists.
“Rick will kill me for last night”
“As he rightfully should” I scowled.
I was beginning to think I scowled too much.
Max rocked on is eels, staring at me like a lost puppy, “You wanted it just as bad as I did. You could’ve stopped it at any time”
And that was true. I couldn’t blame everything on Max; I had let my hormones get out of control.
“It was a moment of stupidity!” I exclaimed, hoping that would end the conversation.

Unfortunately my comment had not ended the conversation, but instead brought the lifeless doll named Max to life. He quickly sprung into action, his eyes lighting up as if he had found the greatest secret of all, and maybe he had.
His legs took him closer to me, faster than mine could to take me away and his hands no longer waited inside the jeans pockets but enclosed around my shoulders tightly.
It wasn’t long before I was backed into the corner of Ronnie’s living room, looking up into Max’s eyes.

“And you think you won’t make that moment of stupidity again?” He asked me, curiosity present in his vocal patterns.
I did my best to firmly answer; “yes” though I had a feeling I was a bit too slow with my response.
“I think you will,” Max egged on, “In fact, I’ll think you liked that moment of stupidity a lot more than your willing to admit”
“I t-t-think your too cocky! It’s not happening again!” I bashfully stuttered.
“You’re cute when you stutter” he quickly diverted my attention by brushing the strands of my hair away from my face, ducking his lips quickly when my eyes followed his fingers.

My face felt flushed when he pulled away to place chaste kisses along my jaw, fingers playing circles upon my skin. He gave me uncontrollable goose bumps.
“What if I want it to happen again?” His breath hit my face, ghosting over my lips before I felt his lips press against my forehead.
I tried defying him once more: “It doesn’t matter. It won’t”
Shaking his head Max leaned away from my body, a small smile playing against his shady features, “I think you want it just as bad as I do”
“Stop being delusional”
Max swayed his hand in front of him, dismissing my comment for nothing.

“Max! Stop it!” I hissed finally, pushing his body farther from mine. “I’m leaving”
“And where will you go?” He teased.
“Home!” I shouted, making my way to the front door.
“Whoa Nettie, just wait a sec!” Ronnie’s voice shouted out, catching me around the waist before I had time to escape properly. “Didn’t I say be nice Max?”
“I was nice” Max rolled his blue eyes.
Ronnie hummed in his throat as he looked down his nose at me, “Nettie, please sit down and visit. We never get to spend any time together”
“YEAH!” Multiple voices yelled from the front door, bursting into the living room with matching grins.
“Hey guys” I waved shyly, staring as the three boys tumbled over each other.

Robert was looking as tall as ever, clothed in dark attire and new chains that hung off his belt loops. Bryan had situated himself atop Robert’s back, arms wrapped loosely around his neck as he sent us a small salute.

Omar was trailing in the back, skipping over to wrap me in sturdy arms. “Max’s Newton!”
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry. My Newton!” He corrected, wiggling his nose and eyebrows.
“Yah, screw you, she likes me more.” Bryan scoffed. “So they make out already? He questioned Ronnie.
Pouting like a petulant child Max sunk onto the floor with his arms crossed. “I didn’t make out with her. Stop jumping to conclusions”
“Well you sure made it sound like you were gonna” Robert piped up, greeting me with a sideways wave.
“You know, I can’t help but wonder what you two would be like as a couple” Omar hummed atop my head where his chin perched.
“No thank you. I have Trent” I spat out, wincing at how stern my voice sounded.

The boys fell silent around me, each sharing looks with each other. I knew what I had said would bother Max, yet I didn’t care anymore.
I wanted to prove to him that I didn’t need him like he thought, I could control my hormones and stop from pursuing him. I refused to become whatever Max wanted me to be, besides Trent cared about me in a way I wasn’t sure Max could.

“For now” Max spoke up suddenly, his eyes looking bright from underneath his eyelashes.
“What do you mean, for now?”
“Well, I’m just saying. He’s going back home eventually. But let’s just see how long it lasts, shall we?”