For Rylie

Chapter 16

I stirred to the feeling of light pressure on my stomach, almost as if it were the wind blowing gently over my skin. 

But then I remembered where I was; Max's attic. I was pretty sure the windows had been closed last night before we went to sleep. 

When I opened my eyes I found out why. 

I was lying on my back as I rarely did when I was asleep and unfortunately somehow during the night my shirt had scrunched up underneath my bra, leaving my pale stomach exposed. I looked to where the pressure was coming from and saw a hand on my stomach, tracing a line that I knew all too well. 

My scar. 

It ran from my right hipbone all the way up to just underneath my rib on the same side. I got it when they operated on me after my car accident.

I hated that scar.

My eyes followed the person from the fingers, up their arm and neck and finally rested on Max's face, surprised with a tinge of worry.

I flinched away from his hand - trying to ignore my amazement of how he wakes up looking perfect - and yanked my t-shirt back down. 

Ever since the bullies and my mother saying that it wouldn't hurt for me to lose a bit of weight, I have been undeniably self concious about stomach; and one thing I hated more than anything was people touching it. 

"What time is it?" I asked, trying to appear normal and not as if I had woken up to the guy I like running his fingers along my stomach while I slept.

The thought alone let butterflys loose in my stomach, fluttering their wings. 

I always thought butterflys where such a strange thing, both the physical creatures and the movement that occured in your stomach. 

The imaginary ones in your stomach I found were bizzare. They take up all the room in your stomach and flutter their wings, making you feel, well, how they make you feel is indescribable, however it only happens with someone you have feelings towards, which I think is amazing. 

Usually, your body knows you like someone before you do, thanks to those butterflys. 

Shaking the brainwave away, I looked at Max with a smile, trying to say that I'm sorry for reacting that way and making things awkward. 

Yeah, you really couldn't say that in one smile, could you?

"We need to be leave in like," he looked at the watch that was strangely on his right hand. "5 minutes."

And we were back to normal, with Max smirking at me tiredly while making innuendos while I changed in his bathroom. We rushed around the house, Max grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl and when we opened the door I realized we had to take the bike. 

"Wait, what about Hazel?" I asked curiously. 

Max got on his bike after putting his things in the compartment and looked back at me expectantly. "Mum goes to work at the same time as we leave so she takes Hazel so that I can take my bike. Sometimes I drive the car if Mum's not working or if Hazel doesn't want Mum to take her, but usually it works out this way," he explained while I got on, wrapping my arms around his middle as we took off, out the driveway and down the street.

In only a few minutes we were at my house. I jumped off the bike and was thankful that my car had already gone, meaning Kye had left for school.

He got his license a month or so ago but because he didn't have a car yet, I always drove him to school.

I quickly jogged into my house as Max informed me that we only had fifteen minutes until school started, and we lived twenty minutes away. 

I pushed open the unlocked door and ran straight to my room past the kitchen, happy to see tht no one was there. I retrieved my school bag from my desk then ran to the bathroom, taking out my contacts - which I had slept in again, ooops - and putting on some concealer.