3-Cheat.

Hazel POV.

After my visit to my brother, I felt like my short skirt might have been too short, I know my boyfriend, Cyrus, he loves the shorter dresses and skirts, he likes being able to touch my thighs, sometimes without my permission, but that's what boyfriends do, right? They touch their girlfriends, he's trying to get me to be okay with intimacy, with being touched, even when I don't feel like it.

I threw the skirt in Alison's clothes piles, she can use it, I don't want to wear it anymore, I was still wearing the hoodie, enjoying the warmth it provided, it also smelled so manly and strong, even though Alexander isn't here, I felt safe just smelling his shirt.

But I had to take it off, Cyrus hates it when I'm dressed in hoodies, he wants me to look girly, and pretty. I liked dressing up too, but sometimes, I enjoy being comfortable, just dressed in some sweats, or my PJ, and go for late-night ice cream runs, like the ones Leo and Alexander used to take me on when I was younger and had nightmares.

I went with a jeans skirt this time, one that fully covered my ass this time, along with a long-sleeved shirt, and my tennis shoes, my hair was done, but my makeup needed some touch-up since I had cried.

Cyrus is coming to pick me up, he doesn't live in the dorms like us, he has his own apartment that he invited me to move into, or just spend the night, but if Leo hears or smells the fact that I might be moving with a boy, only god knows what he would do to him.

I got in the car with a big fake smile, he didn't pick up on the fact that I had been crying earlier, or that I'm still mad at my brother and the way he treats me. He doesn't even know that I have a brother, I mentioned it once, vaguely, and he never asked me any details about my family. Maybe it's because we haven't been dating for long, only a couple of months.

The movie theatre was dark, the kind of dark that made everything feel heavier than it should've been, although the movie was playing, it felt dark and miserable. I barely registered the screen or the movie, I felt him more than I saw him, his arm slipping around me, his mouth brushing too close to my ear, it started slow, a kiss on the cheek making me blush, I liked it, his fingers, laced with mine, he stopped there for a few minutes and I started to relax, trying to enjoy the movie.

Then his hand moved, I stiffened, my breath got stuck in my throat as I felt his cold fingers slid along my thigh, slow and deliberate, going up, closer to my more private part, I couldn't take it anymore. I caught his wrist gently, leaned closer, and whispered, "Not here."

He didn't pull away, the hand inched closer to my core, touching me on top of my underwear, he smiled at me, his fingers kept moving, brushing against my sensitive skin, I should've enjoyed it, melted under his touch, but the effect it had on me was the total opposite. 

"Why don't you like it?" he asks.

"I said stop," I murmured, firmer this time.

He sighed, annoyed, as if I inconvenienced him.

"Relax. No one's watching,"

But it wasn't about people seeing, it's about him crossing my limits when I wasn't ready to have them crossed, I pushed his hand away, crossing my thighs harder, to prevent any future unwanted touches.

"I'm serious," I say in a firm voice, not stepping back.

He leaned back in his seat, arms crossed, jaw clenched, the rest of the movie passed in silence, the space between us suddenly enormous despite the narrow seats. Outside, the night air was cold, typical fall weather in Chicago, I should've worn a jacket, but I wanted to look cute and girly, I missed Alexander's hoodie already, I hugged myself with my arms, as we walked toward his car.

"You embarrassed me in there," he says in a cold tone, unlocking the door.

"I embarrassed you?" I ask him, blinking.

"I'm your boyfriend, not some stranger," he replies, as he starts driving.

"I know Cyrus, but we agreed on taking things slow," I say, feeling defeated.

"I am taking it slow, can't I even touch you!" he yells at me this time.

"I said no, Cyrus, that should've been enough for you to know that was too far for me," I say, speaking in a calm voice still, although I was hurt.

He drove the rest of the way without another word, he dropped me off, he didn't walk her to the door, didn't kiss me goodnight, and he didn't text when he got home.

I went into our room and didn't find Alison inside, she's spending the night out, either with a boyfriend or with some of the other girls. I took my clothes off, washed my face and decided to wear Alexander's hoodie again, and then I went to bed. I felt my tears falling down my face, and I couldn't sleep, I flipped and turned in the bed, until the next morning.

I messaged Cyrus, just saying good morning, the usual morning messages, but he didn't answer, I groaned and threw my phone on the side, feeling so stupid, maybe I should have just let him touch me, pretended to like it, but I wasn't able to.

"You're awake already?" Alison says, coming into our room, to get ready for the day.

"Cyrus and I had a fight," I say.

"Damn, what happened?" she asks me.

"He's mad at me," I just say, not going into details about what happened, or why we fought.

"You tried talking to him?" she asks me.

"I messaged, he didn't answer," I whined.

"Maybe wait until he calms down," Alison says with a shrug, and I just nod, getting up and going to my classes, not wanting to get in any more trouble with Leo. 

The day passed slowly, and Cyrus didn't attend any of the classes we shared so I didn't have a chance to talk to him or even see him, by the end of the day, I felt miserable. I walked toward my car, not wanting to go back to the dorms, I sat behind my steering wheel and sighed, I don't like this fight between us, Cyrus is my first ever boyfriend, and I don't know how to deal with this.

I started driving and decided that I'm going to make up with him, or maybe end things, I'm not sure how things are going to work out between us.

I knew where he lived, he showed it to me a couple of times, and even tried to get me to go up there with him, but I refused each time. I knew the floor and apartment number, so I went right ahead, this whole building has students from our school who didn't qualify for school housing, or didn't want to stay there.

So you could imagine how this building is, buzzing with university students, the screams, the yells, the PlayStation games, along with some books flying around from one apartment to another.

This felt like I'm walking into Cyrus den, this is exactly what he likes, not the dorms with the rules, and the safety, and calm of it. I heard voices coming from everywhere. I went to knock on his door, but the door was open, a high heeled shoes was blocking it from closing, I walked in, calling his name. 

The place smelled wrong, a mixture of alcohol, cheap perfume, and bodily fluid, it's a tiny place, made out of the small bedroom, and an open area that's shared between a living room and the kitchen. The voices got louder near the bedroom. I took steps forward and stopped. I saw him first shirtless, sitting on the edge of the bed, a girl behind him, long red nails tracing his shoulders, smiling, she too had very few clothing items on.

The girl spotted me first, her smile dropping, looking at me intruding their private space, while she was intruding on my life and boyfriend. Cyrus looked up, sensing something was off, and then he saw me. For a moment, no one spoke, no one moved.

"Hazel, what are you doing here?" Cyrus asks, breaking the silence, while my eyes stay locked on the other girl.

"I...I..." I say, my eyes turning to him, he showed no guilt, no shock from me being here, all I saw was annoyance.

I felt something inside her go very still, I didn't scream, I didn't cry, I didn't ask for explanations, all was clear, if I wasn't willing to give him what he wants he's getting it from somewhere else. I turned around and walked out, I heard my name being called, maybe to tell me to properly close the door behind me so they won't be disturbed again, or maybe to tell me to never come back.

I didn't turn, and I didn't answer, I'm getting out of his life and as far away as possible, I got back in my car, and with shaking hands, I started driving.

This time, I didn't have a destination, I was driving, hoping to get away and to get my brain to stop thinking of what I had just seen, but it was all locked into my memory, from the way they looked at me to the way that place smelled.