Don't lose HOPE [COMPLETED]

Chapter 16

HOPE

Evelyn and I go upstairs to the media room and sit down on the big pillows on the floor, in front of the couches.

"Spill," she says eagerly.

"What?" I say confused.

"Something has changed between you and Zeke. I can feel it."

I blush and look down. "H-he said that he likes me."

"Of course he does."

I look up surprised. "Did you know?"

"We all do," she says, smiling.

"Oh."

"So, how do you feel about that?"

"I-I don't know."

"Do you like him?"

I nod shyly. "But I don't understand why he likes me even if he said why. I mean, look at me, then look at him."

Evelyn looks at me with sad eyes. "You really can't see how beautiful you are? I envy your big, blue eyes and beautiful hair. Do you know why the mean girls treat you the way they do?"

I shake my head

"Because they see you as competition. Did they pick on you more before you hid away from everyone?"

I nod.

"And now they don't even notice you. Just once in a while they give you a push, just to let you know your place. They haven't seen you as a threat for a while since you've kept to yourself and pushed everyone away, especially guys."

It sounds logical, but that can't be. I always thought that it was because I was a nobody, shy and easy to push around, until they didn't notice me anymore. Until I got invisible.

I got called cute and beautiful by other adults once in a while when I was a little girl, but since no one really cared about me and it just got worse, my self-confidence ceased to exist. I didn't even bother to look at myself in the mirror anymore. No one cared what I looked like anyway. I knew that I wasn't ugly, but no one saw me. The few boys that tried to talk to me over the years, I didn't think was serious about wanting to go out with me. Why would they care when no one else did? I'm sure that they just wanted to draw me in, then humiliate me. I didn't show them an ounce of interest, and they left me alone. It was for the best.

It feels like I'm in some kind of parallel world, a mirror world of some sort, where everything is the other way around. Everyone in this house sees me, cares and thinks that I'm beautiful. Or did my superpower of invisibility finally drive me crazy and this is all just a dream?

"Hey, where did you go?" Evelyn says, smiling and waving her hand in front of my eyes.

I snap out of my thoughts. "Sorry, it's just hard to take everything in. I'm not used to all this," I say, fiddling with my fingers.

"Well, get used to it, because it will get even better," she says with a big smile.

I don't know what she means by that, and I don't have time to ask her before Zeke and Chris steps into the room. Zeke smiles at me and walks over to me. I get shy and blush a little. It was better when I didn't know that he liked me. Now, I don't know how to act around him. I'm soon to be 18 and I have no experience with boys...at all. I'm sure that he's been with multiple girls.

He grabs my hand and helps me up. "Bedtime. You need to rest," he says and leads me toward his room.

I turn my head back to Evelyn with pleading eyes, like she's going to help me out of my awkward situation, but she just smiles and wiggle her eyebrows.

It's only 8 pm, but Zeke is right, I need to rest. I'm drained from this day and it's just Monday yet. It wasn't as bad as I thought, though, since I have my personal bodyguards to take care of me. I like Evelyn. She doesn't seem to care what anyone else thinks. No one of them does. She speaks her mind and is happy and carefree.

I walk into the closet and change into one of Zeke's t-shirts while he's in the bathroom. I hurry and lie down in bed before he comes out. Maybe I can pretend to be asleep when he gets out. No, that would be stupid. This is a new kind of problem for me and I don't really know how to act. I can't avoid him and hide, like I usually do. I live in his room and he wouldn't let me anyway. He keeps an eye on me all the time and makes sure that I'm okay.

He walks out of the bathroom in just his boxers, and I freeze. I have the cover over me as high up as I can without getting suffocated by it. I have it tucked in under me as a burrito. I lie as far out on the edge as I can with my back against his side and focus on the window.

The bed dips and he lies down next to me.

He chuckles. "What are you doing over there?"

I'm to freaked out to answer.

"Come here. I won't bite you," he says and wraps his big arms around me and pulls me to his side, still wrapped up in the cover. "I'm going to watch some TV. You can sleep if you want."

I still don't answer him. I'm frozen. I wasn't this scared when we laid like this before dinner, but talking about it with Evelyn and finding out that everyone here knows that he likes me, kind of made it real. My stupid brain won't stop thinking and I can't sleep.

***

ZEKE

What the hell happened between dinner and now? Hope seems to be freaking out and is frozen, wrapped up in the cover. She was a bit uncomfortable at first when I held her before dinner too, but she relaxed pretty quickly.

Of course, Evelyn.

I mind-link her, "What did you say to Hope? She's freaking out and is lying like a cocoon wrapped up in the cover."

She chuckles. "I just told her that everyone here knows that you liked her. She was a little surprised, though, since she didn't notice. She just has no self-confidence and I don't think she's got any experience with boys, so of course, she's freaking out a bit. She's staying with you in your room, in your bed."

"She better the hell not have any 'experience' with other boys," I say, growling.

"Calm down, she definitely hasn't. She just doesn't know how to act, so go easy on her."

I sigh. "That's what I've been doing."

"Just keep showing her how much you care about her and she will come around eventually."

I end the mind-link and look at Hope, and she still doesn't seem to relax. "Hey, relax. I know that this is new for you. It kind of is for me too."

She looks up at me a little surprised.

"I'm not going to do anything else but hold you, I promise."

She nods and seems to relax a little.

"I would never hurt you or make you do something you're not comfortable with. I just want to be with you."

She lets out a breath. "O-okay."

"Good. Now relax and sleep."

She eventually does, and while she sleeps heavily, I pull up the cover from under her so I can snuggle in beside her and hold her properly. I can feel her smiling in her sleep and I fall asleep smiling too.