How to get him to fall in love | ✔

Chapter Fifty Two

Amber where are you? Elias said you knocked your head pretty badly, and you're out and about and he can't reach you. he is worried about you reads Maggie's text

He said what?

I'm good. No need to worry. I respond back

Okay I'll tell him, unless you did already she says

I did I lie

She sends me a thumbs up emoji

How dare he message my friends and say shit like that?

I apply the foundation that I had just purchased to my jaw in the car rearview mirror. Foundation that might be a tad too light for me, but I hadn't really been focused on color matching when I bought the foundation, so there's no one really to blame but me.

I double check my appearance in the mirror before going to the remaining classes of the day

Fran catches me as I'm on my way to my fist class

''Hey'' she greets, falling in step next to me ''Maggie messaged saying that – '' Fran stops mid-sentence to give me a once over ''wait, what kind of look are we going for today? Natural drag queen?'' she asks, I look down not out of embarrassment, but because I don't want her to have a better look

she laughs, and thankfully drops the subject

''Yeah she messaged me'' I answer, continuing to look down, counting my footsteps as I walk

Fran nods her head in response to this, we have reached the hall, and Fran pulls the door open for me to step through first

''Well I can't say this makeup look of yours is my favorite'' she begins, and I hear her voice cracking like she can't contain her laughter

Surely my makeup job can't be that bad. And if so I'd rather have people look at bad makeup than a bruise and assume the worst

''Thanks'' I say sarcastically, and this time she does laugh

''But just a little heads up, you need to work on your application because your chin is streaky'' Fran says winking at me

I know she means this all as a joke, but I don't really find the humor in this

''yeah I'll fix it'' I say, my voice void of laughter

Fran is not smiling or laughing anymore

''Hey, I'm sorry, you know I'm just teasing you right?'' she says earnestly, stopping dead in her tracks and facing me fully. she has taken my dismissiveness as a sign of me being offended

''Yeah, I know'' I say. Looking down at my feet as Fran is looking directly at my face

''Amber are you okay? you are acting strange'' she asks worriedly

I look to her for the first time

''Yes I'm fine'' I say a bit too enthusiastically

She touches my eye and I hiss out a breath from the pain, which I then stifle into a cough

She doesn't notice

''Your eye is puffy'' she says

''Allergies'' I respond and then walk away fast

Why is everyone so worried about my appearance today it's just I bruise easily

.....

Later when I get home Elias is there, along with all our other friends

Does he ever go to his own place anymore?

Our friends being there surprises me. But I don't say anything, my eyes fleet around the room taking in all of their faces

The moment Elias sees me walk through the door, he gets up and hugs me

''You had me worried'' He says

''Why?'' I ask, my eyes squinted at him

He gives me this eerie smile

''Because you took a hard fall last night, and refused to stay and let me take care of you and clean you up'' he says

I look to him with a questioning look on my face, whatever he is playing at right now I do not have energy for. I am tired and I will speak to him when I have rested

''I'm going to bed'' I announce, nodding my greetings at everyone else

Elias kisses me before I walk past him and I go into my room and hide my car key in my shoe. As a safety measure

My journal I have now decided needs to stay in my car. I have also locked my car and will from now on always hide my key in my shoe

I know I could of just let him read it and have the knowledge to these parts of me. But I don't want him to, so I'll have to stick to this elaborate journal-hiding plan.

I decide to run a bath before bed, my body hurts and my muscle need to relax . and I honestly enjoy taking baths

I turn the faucet on, and throw in all of my favorite scents, even lighting some candles to set the mood. bath time has always been my favorite me time. I climb in when the waters temperature is just fine, and feel my muscles instantly relax

I hear laughing outside the door, I don't know why they are all here, maybe I'm being rude for not hanging out with them, but I really don't feel up to it. I also think that having taken three pain tablets today might be having its effects on me which is why I feel so sleepy

I lift my knees up in the bath, and slowly begin to submerge my head into the water

My eyes are closed obviously.

The water is warm, I can't hear anything as water has now filled up my earlobes

I'm counting the seconds under the water, and then I wonder what Kate was doing or what she was thinking when she had been like this underwater

Already I feel my lungs start to grow hungry for oxygen

how had she stayed so long underwater?

I come up for a breath, and inhale a deep breath before repeating the process, I count my breaths underwater seeing how long my lungs can hold until they can't anymore, and then I do it again

And again

Pushing myself to stay a little longer under water every time I submerge my head

Maybe Kate didn't even try to fight the water, maybe she just let the water in

I don't know how many times I repeat this process, or how long I'm underwater anymore as I've stopped counting

Hands have entered the bathtub and are yanking me out

I gasp for air the moment I'm out of the water, the water I notice is no longer warm around my body

Elias is staring back at me

''What the hell are you doing?'' he asks

I'm breathing hard and fast, practically panting

''Taking a bath, what does it look like?'' I say, reaching for the loofa trying to play this off, to make it all look all normal

How do you tell someone you were just seeing how long you could last underwater?

I'm sure you could say that as a child, but when you're an adult and you say stuff like that, people might think you are suicidal or that you have some mental problems

He continues to watch me

''Can I get some privacy'' I ask

Elias doesn't say anything, he just gets up and walks out. The moment he is outside I lock the bathroom door and a run a new bath with warm water

And then I repeat the whole dunking my head and seeing how long I can make it underwater all over again