Princess and Trouble (girlxgirl)

Chapter Ten - Cross-Country

Dakota's Point of View

When I woke up to the sound of my alarm I still had my arms wrapped around Alex's waist.

"What's that sound?" She mumbled.

"My alarm." I said. "It's time to get up."

She sat up and looked at the clock.

"But it's only six." She complained. "We didn't get to bed until one."

"I know." I said. "But I have a meet this morning."

"A meet?"

"Yeah. For the cross-country team." I explained. "Are you coming?"

"You're on the cross-country team?"

"I'm the captain."

"Well, I guess we better get up." She mumbled. Clearly Alex wasn't a morning person.

I sat up and put my leg on. When I was done I grabbed my cross-country uniform out of my wardrobe along with some underwear and another set of clothes for Alex. I threw her set at her then went into the bathroom for a quick shower. When I came back out she was still lying in bed.

"Hurry up." I said. "I'll meet you downstairs in the dining room."

I went downstairs to the dining room, where Mrs Wilson had breakfast dishes set up in a pie warmer. She always did this with breakfast, because everyone got up at different times. She ducked her head through the doorway from the kitchen.

"Good morning, Dakota." She said. "There's and extra plate and food there for your guest."

"Thank you, Mrs Wilson." I said and she went back into the kitchen.

I took a plate and filled it with my usual breakfast – sausage, egg, bacon and toast. I set it on the table and grabbed a bowl, filling it with cereal and milk. I set my bowl on the table to allow the cereal to go soggy – just the way I liked it – as I started with my hot food. I'd just finished my sausage and was starting on the egg when Alex came into the room.

"Grab a plate. There's hot food in the pie warmer and cereal on the side table." I explained.

As I ate my egg I watched to see what she grabbed. When she sat down across from me with only a bowl of cereal I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Is that all you're eating?" I asked.

"Well, I don't normally eat breakfast." She said. "So, this will be plenty."

I shrugged and returned to eating my breakfast. When I was finished my sausage, egg and bacon, I spread jam across my toast and cut it in half. I held one half out to her.

"Take it." I said. "You need to eat more than just cereal."

She hesitantly took the half from me and set it down beside her bowl, returning to eating her cereal. As I finished my toast and started on my cereal, she finished her cereal and picked up the toast. I watched as she looked at it hesitantly.

"What type of jam is it?" She asked.

"No idea, but it's nice." I said. "Mrs Wilson makes it."

"Who's Mrs Wilson?"

With that, Mrs Wilson ducked her head in from the kitchen.

"Good morning, dear." She said. "I'm Mrs Wilson. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You too." Alex said. "What type of jam is it?"

"Strawberry, raspberry and blueberry." Mrs Wilson said. "I guess you'd call it a mixed berry."

Alex nodded and Mrs Wilson returned to the kitchen.

After breakfast, we cleaned our teeth then climbed into my car.

"Don't your family come?" Alex asked as I pulled out of the driveway.

"No." I said. "Daddy is always too busy, Francis finds cross-country boring and Mummy never leaves the house anymore."

!@#$%^&*

Alex's Point of View

"Mummy never leaves the house anymore."

She said it so casually, but it was like she sent a spear through my heart. It was obvious her mother didn't like being broken, didn't want people to see her that way. She'd spent the entire party sitting in a dining chair at one of the tables, rather than her wheelchair. And it hurt to know it was my father who had done that to her.

"I'm sorry." I said.

"It's not your fault." She turned her head quickly to smile at me then focused on the road again. "You're not your father. Quit blaming yourself."

The way her family accepted me surprised me. I had the feeling they all knew who I was, but not one of them had said a word about it. They'd accepted me with open arms and I had mixed emotions about that. On one hand, I felt loved. But, on the other, I felt guilty. I ruined their family yet they seemed to have already taken me in like one of their own.

"What're you thinking about?" I'd been so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed we'd pulled into a carpark until Dakota drew me from them.

"You." I said, making her smile. "And you're family."

"They like you." She said.

"They shouldn't."

"Why the hell not?"

"My father destroyed your family."

"How many times do I must I tell you, you're not your father." She said. "And, besides, we're not destroyed. Just a little broken."

She was wearing a legwarmer over her metal leg, effectively covering it.

"Why do you wear that?" I asked.

"I don't want people to look at me differently because of my leg." She said. "Most people know about it, but I get fewer sympathetic looks when I keep it covered. I don't want their sympathy."

With that, she climbed out of the car. I climbed out as she grabbed her bag from the backseat. She locked the car and I followed her over to where her team was waiting.

!@#$%^&*

I was never one for watching sports, and I agreed with her brother – cross-country is incredibly boring. You sat there, watched them run into the forest and then waited until they came back out. But there was a part of me, that knew I'd be sitting at the start/finish line for all Dakota's meets. I loved the feeling of being there to support her. I knew I was falling for her, there was no point in denying it. I only hoped she shared some of my feelings.

Dakota finished in second, behind a girl from the opposing team. I noticed the disappointment on her face when she saw the first-place finisher standing there. I ran up to her and wrapped my arms around her, a smile instantly appeared on her face.

"You did great." I told her.

"You think so?" She sounded doubtful. Obviously, she liked winning.

"Well, I couldn't see much." I said. "And I don't know much about cross-country. But it didn't seem to be long between you going in to the forest and you coming out. And the other girl only just crossed the line as you emerged."

"So, I wasn't far behind?" She asked.

"Not at all."

We sat there and waited for the last runner to finish and the meet to wrap up.

"So, you're still coming to Rosie's barbeque tonight?" I asked as we made our way over to Dakota's car.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."