Assurance

Five | Her

FIVE

" L E W I S "

I hear the back door open and close. To my surprise, when I turn I see Bailey. My t-shirt sits on her small frame. Her hair is a little frizzy, and slightly wavy. She is looking at her hands as they fiddle with the hem of the shirt. Her cheeks are kind of red. She looks adorable.

"I- I had to borrow one of your shirts. I hope it's okay." Bailey says looking up to me for the first time.

"It's more than okay. You should wear them more often." I say with a smirk.

"Oh." She blushes even harder. "Is the water warm?" She asks, walking over to the edge of the pool.

"Uh yea- It's nice." I break away from my stare.

She sits down, putting her toes in the water. "Yea, it's nice." She says looking over to me. Our eyes lock. Hers are grey, with long eyelashes.

As she lowers her body into the water, our eyes never leave each other. Once she is in, she breaks eye contact and looks up to the surrounding trees. Her face shows no emotion. I wish I knew what she was thinking. While she isn't looking I take the chance to look at her.

Her eyes sparkle in the moonlight, rounder cheeks, full lips. She is so beautiful. And the fact she is wearing my shirt makes my knees weak. How has this girl made a mark on me, that I don't think will ever go away. And I'm not complaining. She catches me staring and splashes water on me.

"Oh it's on." I challenge.

She shrieks when I splash her, and her laughter fills my ears. She splashes water on me, but I dodge it by going under the water. When I come up I open my eyes to see she isn't in front of me anymore. But then water sprays my back. I turn around and see her giggling. I spray her with water and she lunches forward and wraps her legs around my torso. It catches us both off guard and she immediately turns around. But I grab her hips and pull her closer to me.

Her glossy eyes look up to me. I pull her close to a point where our bodies are touching. Bailey puts her arms on my forearms, not pushing them away, but holding them in place. I pull one of my hands from her hip to her cheek. Then I dip my head down and place my lips on hers. After a few moments she backs away.

"B-but." She shudders.

"But what?" I say, missing the feeling of her in my arms.

She touches her lips and frowns. "No, no. No."

"'No' what?" I ask again.

"I can't. I don't even know you- I don't know why I am here." She rambles. I'm not sure if she is asking me questions, or just talking to herself.

"You're safe here. For your protection." I explain.

"Right. Because my father is a mob leader, who runs his mouth, and it has put my life in danger." She scoffs.

"Yea! Just listen. That's all you can know. And you will be here for a while, so we can be friends. Or enemies. Your choice." I say.

She thinks for a minute. "We'll be friends. But not at this current moment." She sneers, then storms into the house.

Did I do something wrong? I should have asked before. Goodness. I messed up. I should have just kept my distance. That would have been so much easier. Maybe she would warm up to me if I just told her who I really am. But I can't. Bailey was always sassy, but will soon come around. She always has.

After a couple minutes I get out of the pool and to my room. I get changed and walk to Bailey's room. I open the door to see her on the floor at the end of the bed, knees to her chest, head on her knees. She is silent. But just as I'm about to close the door, I hear a little sniffle. Great, I made her cry.