If Red Means No, Invert The Color

Chapter 6

Everest's POV

I lay awake in my bed. It is 4:02am, and I have yet to fall asleep. My mind keeps replaying the events of the night over and over again in my head from the moment we kissed, to the moments after:

I haven't felt so alive in so long. The feeling of Kieran's lips on mine should have felt wrong, it should have felt gross; but it didn't. It felt the complete opposite, it felt so right. And I didn't want that feeling to go away. For the first time in years, I not only felt alive, but I felt human. It was like it was just me and him, no stars or nature around us; like we were in our own little world. I didn't feel numb or robotic; I felt like I was on cloud 9. My heart was racing, my mind fuzzy, and my whole body tingled with a sensation that one can only describe as fireworks. His lips were soft, plump, and molded against mine like clay. like two jigsaw puzzle pieces that completed the puzzle; they were perfect for one another. My body reacted on instinct, there was no thought to it in that moment, I soon found myself pulling him closer; his skin felt so cold and yet so smooth beneath my touch, making my whole body feel as if it had been engulfed in flames with excitement. He seemed so small in my frame, and yet he was just the right size. When our lips parted, I can honestly say, I didn't want them to.

My mind replayed that same scene over and over again until my alarm went off for school. I sighed and pressed the "dismiss" button that illuminated my phone screen. I had managed to get no sleep at all. Checking the time; it was 5:30am. I decided to skip my morning run today, and pick Kieran up and drive him to school. I needed to see him again. I shoot him a text simply saying, 'I'm driving you to school today, be there at 6:30. No exceptions.'

I slowly emerge from under my covers, the plush fabric leaving my naked body made me instantly more awake, making me hop into my on-sweet bathroom. I glanced over myself in the mirror as I waited for my shower to turn warm; my skin was tanned, as usual, but not to the point of being Donald Trump orange, just to the point of being sun kissed. My brown eyes had small circles around them from the lack of sleep, hidden underneath my pointe eyebrows. MY jawline stood strong against the rest of my features, my sandy blonde curls lay in a slightly askew mess on the top of my head, most of the gel had worn out by now. I sigh and hop into the shower, closing the glass door behind me. I step underneath the flow of water and instantly feel my mind go blank as my body relaxes from the warmth.

~~

The sound of my engine cutting off was the only sound audible this time of morning on the west side of town; all of the prostitutes were in for the morning and all the junkies were passed out on their cots and used mattresses in back alleys. I glance out my window and shoot Kieran another text telling him I was here. 'Read'. Again. I sigh and sit back in my seat, my nerves getting the best of me. Maybe after last night, he wouldn't want to talk to me anymore? Maybe he didn't want to see me? Maybe he regretted it-

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of my phone ringing, Kieran's ID popping up on my screen.  I answer it. 

       "Hello?" 

      "Hey uh..." Kieran's voice is low, almost whispering to me, "Please come to the door. It's unlocked but I can't get out. Hurry" 

I begin to panic. What could be wrong? I quickly get out of my car, unlocking the doors behind me, and run up to his front door. Hesitating for a moment, I open it. 

I see a woman passed out on the couch, a bottle of beer and a large bruise across her neck, naked; only a blanket was covering this woman. This woman, in fact, I knew to be Kieran's mother. I begin to panic even more. 

"In here" a voice whispers from my left, a voice I know to be Kieran's. 

I follow the sound to the only open door out of three at the end of a hallway and into it; Kieran's room. I spot Kieran in the corner, his leg in a cast propped up on a pillow, a black and blue bruise adamant on his cheek. That definitely wasn't there last night. I rush over to him, kneeling in front of his bed and looking up at him; he looked broken. His brown eyes were bugged out, brimmed with tears. His lip was busted as well, but it was fresh, unlike the small scab I had seen before. Dried blood trickled down his chin and onto his bare chest. His hair was pulled back, only a few curls hanging loose. And that bruise; it was fresh, bold, and looked painful. The other's, which he had told me were from falling off his bike, had faded by now, but not this one. He was shaking. A mixture of fear, pain, and anger on his face.