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Billy's grip loosened from her hair as they pulled away from each other, their lungs finally expanding again as they breathed in fresh air.
"I don't want to go in there," Amanda Wheeler sighed, her grip tightening on Billy's thigh.
"At least you have a hot mom," he shrugged, a sly smirk covering his face.
Amanda rolled her eyes as she leaned away from him, preparing herself for the inevitable lecture. Karen Wheeler had two perfect children- Nancy and Mike. Nancy, with her perfect grades all the way through college and Mike, who was a nerd in his own way. And then there was Amanda, the middle child. While smart, she never measured up to what Karen wanted. Whenever she made a decision, her mom would complain about how Nancy wouldn't have made the decision. Or when she had an outburst, she gets told Mike would've never acted like that. It was insufferable.
"Shut up," she said, grabbing the handle of the door before pushing it open.
"See you tomorrow at 7," he yelled as you shut the door. Nodding to him, she made her way to the front door.
Normally, she didn't hate being home that much. But she had fallen asleep at Billy's the night before without a single call to her house to let them know she was alive. And for that, she actually not be alive by the end of the night.
Sighing to herself, Amanda pushed open the door, half expecting to be slaughtered on the spot. But deadly silence filled the home as she walked up to her room. Creaking her bedroom door open, she saw her mom sitting on the bed.
"Mom," she started but stopped when Karen's head snapped to her.
"Where were you?" her mother seethed, standing up. While small and petite, the woman was terrifying when she was angry.
"I'm sorry. I fell asleep at Billy's. I was helping him study history 101and we both passed out, I promise," she rushed out, trying to save herself from at least a fraction of her mom's wrath.
"Billy Hargrove?" Karen asked, stepping towards her daughter in slow steps.
"Yeah. We've been on a few dates, but nothing too serious. And then he said he was failing history 101 so," Amanda said, an uneasy feeling settling into the pit of her stomach as her mother continued to glare at her.
"You're sleeping with Billy, aren't you?" she asked, standing right in front of her daughter. Amanda quickly shook her head, a look of confusion flooding her face.
"No! I swear," she tried, but Karen heavy sighed in response.
"Don't be a liar," was all she said before bringing her hand up to meet the soft skin of her daughter's cheek.
Reaching her hand up, Amanda cradled her stinging cheek as she looked at her mom in shock. Never had Karen raised a hand to her. She had never even been slapped before.
"Mom?" she sputtered, stepping away from Karen. Instantly, her mom's face dropped as she brought her hands up to cover her mouth.
"Amanda, I don't know what happened," she tried to reason, but didn't understand why she had lashed out on her daughter either.
Turning quickly, Amanda flew down the stairs before heading out of the house. Jogging against the autumn air, the cool air comforted her hot cheek as she ran to the only person who she knew wouldn't hurt her. Knocking on his door, Billy opened the door as his eyes widened looking at the girl in front of him.
"Woah, hey. What happened?" he asked, taking in her appearance.
Her hair was all over the place with sweat slightly dripping off her forehead. But the most concerning fact was the red handprint lingering on her cheek. He reached out, feeling the heat of the hit without even touching her skin.
Pulling her in, Billy's arms wrapped around her as she finally let out everything she was feeling. Anger and sadness washed over Amanda as she thought about her mom and what had just happened. While Karen was hard on her mentally, she never thought she would ever get physical.
Closing the door behind them, Billy pulled her onto his couch as she still buried herself in his shoulder. He didn't say a word as he ran his hand up and down her back in slow motions.
"She hit me," she breathed out, finally catching her breath.
"Your mom?" he asked. Amanda mumbled yes, finding comfort in how secure she felt in his strong arms.
"It wasn't your fault," Billy said, whispering in her ear as he laid his head on her shoulder.
"I should've called her and let her know about last night. I should've told her about you sooner," she rushed out, holding tighter to Billy's torso.
"Probably. But that doesn't mean hitting you was okay," he replied simply, one of his hands moving up to rub the back of her neck. "And it wasn't your fault."
Relaxing into his touch, Amanda felt calm as he continued to rub her back and neck gently. Billy didn't say anything as he continued to comfort her. After all the years of dealing with his dad, he knew what she was going through. And even though he wanted to storm out and yell at Karen how the one person in the entire world who deserved everything good was Amanda, he knew that she needed him there with her.
"Thank you for being here," she said, her voice muffling slightly in his jacket as her face remained smushed into him.
"Always," Billy replied, holding onto her tighter. "Always."
