"Pretty Girl"

03 - warm

Baylie's POV:

I follow her into her room and close the door for her. She looks at me, still hyperventilating.

"You need to go, Baylie this isn't normal. This isn't like me. You need to go- Baylie go! Get out!"

"No. I won't leave you like this, Malorie," I say.

"I don't understand! We just met yesterday! You need to go somewhere! You don't fuckin care about me, you just met me!"

"You're my only friend, Malorie. Of course I care about you."

"We met a day ago. I am a terrible person, Baylie you need to go!" I hug her. She pulls away.

"Stop," she whispers.

"I know there's a different side to you, Mal," I say, cupping her cheeks in my hands. I wipe her tears as they fall. Her lip quivers.

"No there's not," she whispers. I take her into her bathroom and start to clean her cuts. I feel her eyes on me. Watching me.

"How come your brother has a phone, but you don't?" She asks.

"He went and got one on his own. He drove my daddy's truck up to town and bought one. But they don't want us to have phones. They say it feeds you propaganda."

"You're the only 16-year-old I know that doesn't have a phone and is happy about it."

"Sometimes I wish I had one. Now I wish I had one."

"Why?" I look up at her. 

"So I can text you," I say. She shakes her head, but a smile creeps at her lips.

"I have an old phone you can use. It's logged into all my stuff, but we can set it up if you'd like."

"Yes, I'd like that." I bandage up her cuts. She walks out, and after I'm done cleaning the stuff we used, I walk out. She's sitting on her bed.

"Can I?" I ask. She looks up at me and nods. I sit next to her and put my head on her shoulder. She looks at me. I look at her.

"Sorry. Is that okay?" I lift my head up. She puts my head back.

"It's fine, Baylie. You're fine." I watch as logs out of everything on her phone. And then she hands it to me.

"Make an Apple ID, love," she says. I look at her. She called me love.

"Love?" I ask. She nods.

"What. You think I like you because I'm gay?"

"No!! No no no!! That's not true! I just- I've never been called love before!" I panic.

"Does it bother you?" She asks.

"No." I look down at the phone and feel my cheeks get hot. She moves my hair out of my face. I know she can see how red my cheek is.

"Has anyone ever told you how pretty you are, Baylie?" I look at her.

"No," I say.

"Why not?" She asks, moving my hair to the side. I shrug.

"I dunno. We don't really do that type of thing in my family. Compliment each other. Say I love you."

"You've never said I love you to your parents?" She shakes her head.

"No. I don't think they do love me. They only had kids to help with the farm. My daddy tells me that all the time." Her face drops. Her expression saddens.

"Baylie, honey, that's not normal." I shrug.

"I don't mind it, really! I know there's gonna be someone out there one day who'll love me!" She nods.