Because I Care

"What are you doing here?" Cole angrily asked me.

"I'm dancing," I said in an annoyed tone.

"Go home." He demanded and I frowned at him.

"No, why should I go? I have every right to be here." I argued and Cole snapped at me.

"Liv, I'm not playing get out of here." He said so I angrily walked away from them. 

As soon as I reached the parking lot the music stopped and a few cheers and screams came from inside the gym.

I couldn't find Jade and her phone was on voicemail so I started walking home. 

This should be fun.

The further I walked away from school the darker it got. I rubbed my hands against the freezing skin on my arms in an attempt to warm myself up.

"Liv?" I suddenly heard Cole's voice from beside me. I looked to my side and found his car slowly driving next to me.

"Are you gonna scold me some more?" I asked him and there was silence between us.

"No." He replied softly. The car's engine died and Cole stepped out of the vehicle. "God you're freezing." He said before taking his jacket off and placing it around my shoulders.

"Why are you like this?" I asked him and he frowned deeply.

"Like what?" He asked me in confusion.

"You don't want me doing anything except for what you tell me to," I said and he ran his hand through his hair.

"Just get in the car." He said through a clenched jaw.

"Why does what I do matter so much to you?" I wildly asked him and he slammed his hand against the car behind me and he caged me in. He looked down at me with a scowl on his face.

"Because I care about you." He said in frustration and his face was mere inches from mine. His minty breath hit my nostrils and I nervously gulped at his closeness.

Cole slowly removed his hands from the car and his facial expression softened.

"Just get in the car." He said for the last time so I obeyed him by getting into the passenger seat of his car.

The rest of our ride home was quiet. I stared out of the window while my head rested against the car door.

Late-night car rides are so nostalgic. It's beautiful. I looked over at Cole who seemed to be focused on the road. 

My eyes ran over his clenched jaw before I looked at his long eyelashes. He has a perfectly pointed nose and the pinkest lips I've ever seen on a boy.

Cole's kinda ho-

"What are you doing?" He suddenly asked me and I sat upright in my seat before staring at the road. 

What am I doing?

"Nothing there's something on your cheek." I lied.

"Can you get it?" He asked me and I gulped nervously.

"Sure," I said before leaning over to gently rub his cheek with my thumb. "There," I said softly and he smiled briefly.

"Thanks." He said before he started tapping the steering wheel along with the song playing on the radio. 

I pried my eyes from his face and placed my head against the car door once more. I continued to stare at the stars for the rest of the ride home and when we parked in our driveway I grabbed my things before climbing out of the car. I fished my keys out of my purse before unlocking the door and entering our house.

I went upstairs to my room and quickly undressed before pulling an oversized t-shirt over my head. I pulled my hair into a messy bun on my head before going to the bathroom.

I heard voices coming from inside so I frowned deeply. I knocked on the door but nobody answered so I pushed the door open in a swift movement and found Cole making out with some blonde girl.

Where did she even come from?

They froze when they saw me and I looked at them in disbelief before I closed the bathroom door.

I went down to the kitchen to grab myself a glass of milk and ignored the footsteps coming down the stairs while taking a sip from my glass.

I silently watched Cole show the girl out before closing the door behind her. I quickly looked down at my glass before placing the milk carton back into the refrigerator. 

"Liv?" Cole called me but I ignored him.

"Liv?" He called again so I looked over at him

"I'm sorry." He said softly and I frowned at him.

"Why do you get to make out with everyone at school but when I do it-"

"Because they're only after one thing." He said in frustration and I frowned deeply.

"Is that the same thing you were after with that girl?" I asked him and he briefly closed his eyes.

"What do you want me to say? I have needs, Liv." He replied and I looked at him as if he was an alien. He looked at my shirt before his eyes stopped on my legs and my cheeks turned red. I scoffed before running a hand through my hair.

"Cause girls don't have needs at all," I said before grabbing my glass of milk and leaving the kitchen.

"That's not what I meant." He yelled after me.

I went back upstairs to my room and closed the door behind me. I climbed under my bedsheets and stared up at the ceiling. 

So, today I realized that most boys are dicks. My crush likes me and my stepbrother is incredibly hot. A little possessive and overprotective but he's still hot.

Is that weird? I mean it's not like I have feelings for him, I just think he's very attractive... 

I sighed before switching my lamp off and lying on my back and falling asleep that way.

~

The next morning I woke up to the sound of my alarm. I slowly got out of bed before grabbing my phone and toiletry bag. I sleepily walked down the hallway and stopped in front of the closed bathroom door.

I lazily knocked on the door but there was silence. I heard the shower running so I sighed tiredly. I remembered that I had forgotten my towel so I quickly went back to my room to grab it. When I was done in my room I went back to the bathroom door and knocked once more. The door swung open and Cole came walking out with a towel wrapped around his waist.

The smell of his body wash hit my nose and I gulped at the drops of water running down his v-line. I looked up to his face and he was already smiling down at me.

"Are you still mad at me?" He asked me and I shrugged before walking past him. I closed the bathroom door behind me before undressing and getting in the shower.

That was intense. 

When I was done in the bathroom I went back to my room. I opened my closet and decided to wear a short black leather skirt paired with a light pink button-up shirt. I pulled on my black high heels before going to stand in front of the mirror and pulling my hair into a neat bun on my head. Then I applied my day cream to my face. I don't like to wear make-up to school.

I briefly looked at my watch before grabbing my phone and backpack. I went downstairs and found Cole eating a slice of toast.

His eyes shot up at me before they roamed my body. He just silently ran a hand through his dark brown hair.

He placed his toast on the countertop before grabbing his keys and heading outside. I frowned before grabbing an apple for myself.

We drove to school in silence. Cole parked the car before jumping out and I followed suit before grabbing my backpack from the backseat.

We walked over to the school building and everyone stared at us. I frowned before looking back down to my phone.

Why are people staring at us like that? I looked over at Cole who seemed perfectly fine with it.

"What's going on?" I asked him and he shrugged.

"I had to clean up your mess last night. Again." He replied blankly.

"What does that mean?" I asked him and he shrugged before he parted ways with me.