If I Fall In Love

Chapter Three

"Hey, snob" Marley stopped in her tracks hearing the familiar voice. She was on her way home from school.

 "Brian? What are you doing here?" Marley was annoyed at the fact that they had not spoken in over two weeks and now he wants to show up as if nothing happened? Hell no.

"I waited for you at school but you never showed, figured you already left. Why haven't you been answering my messages, princess?" Marley was walking with Brian slowly following in his car beside her.

"I blocked your number. You can't ghost a girl like that. It's not okay... you can't do that" Marley stopped and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Mar... calm down baby. Get inside" Brian patted the passengers side. Marley rolled her eyes, opening the car door and sliding into the seat. 

"Stop being so angry at me, I'm sorry" He reached for her hand and intertwined their fingers together. 

"It's okay... I was just worried" She sighed looking into his eyes. This annoyed her. She had spent the last few weeks worried, constantly sending prayers to God about Brian and his safety. And he probably wasn't even thinking about her, yet she was loosing his mind over him. 

"Baby, stop it. I'm okay. We're okay" He gave her a hug. Marley raised a brow, they had gone no where near giving each other cute nicknames, but ngl she loved the feeling. She wasn't about to complain about it. 

________

Brian dropped Marley home later that night. After her shower she sat in her bed in nothing but a towel and laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She questioned his actions, trying to make sense of what had happened. He had literally dropped off the face of the earth for two weeks and then reappeared like it was nothing, like no time had passed. 

How did he think it was okay. It really wasn't.

Sleep tight, princess

She sighed reading the message and throwing her phone to the other side of the room. How frustrating. Was this normal for couples? Were they even a couple?

_________

The following day at school, Bianca noticed the dark circles around Marley's eyes. She didn't pay much attention to it until Marley started dropping things throughout the day. Clearly something was bothering her. Bianca watched Marley pack up her things as the bell rang, but she had completely missed her bag and her papers smashed into the ground.

"Mar... Are you okay?" Bianca walked over to help Marley pick up the pages of legal work that was scattered across the classroom floor.

"I'm good" Marley smiled back, picking up the last of her papers and shoving them inside her bag. Marley stood up and tailed behind Bianca to their next class.

"Okay tell me what's up because I can't focus with you like this" Bianca stopped Marley in the middle of the school hall.

"It's Brian. I have never felt this way about a guy before in my life and I'm telling you that this boy is spinning with my head way harder than I thought. I can't eat. I can't sleep. I probably sound crazy but Bianca I don't know what it is" - Marley.

"You're in love" Bianca let the words roll out of her mouth. 

Marley hated it. She knew how much love was abused and she was afraid to give her heart to someone else. Because that was ultimately scary. Giving a part of yourself to someone who doesn't know the power they have over you. That's where you become weak. You allow yourself to be controlled by this person and they might not even feel the same. 

Marley denied it and walked back to class. She wasn't doing this. She was not falling in love. She had never found anyone worthy and Brian was no exception. This was not happening.

Meet you at the spot after school. 

Marley took a deep breath and sighed. She didn't want to do this. As soon as the bell rang indicating the end of school, she walked over to the park that they made their spot. A safe place out in nature where they could enjoy the sun and talk about their thoughts. Marley saw Brian's car parked near the entrance and she climbed in to meet him.

"Hey" Marley gave a welcoming smile... sinking her head into the chair and resting.

"How was your day?" Brian raised his brow looking at her as she stared outside into the sky.

"It was okay. It wasn't good. It wasn't great... It was okay" Marley shrugged.

"What's wrong?" Brian reached out to hold her hand.

"What's wrong is that I think that I love you. And I know saying those words to a guy will make him run faster than you've ever seen and trust me this entire day I have been trying to talk myself out of this because there no way that love is real. This just can't be happening-"

"I love you too"

"Brian you don't" Marley began crying as she stared into his eyes. Brian didn't know why Marley was so defensive when it came to love.

"But I do" He argued back. 

"No. Because love takes time. Love takes a lot more than this. Love takes communication and love takes time. It takes time... " Marley was breaking down right in front of him and all he wanted to do was pull his her into his arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay. 

"Mar... Love is a feeling. And I love you" His words only made Marley cry harder. Brian couldn't watch her beak down like this anymore and pulled her in for a hug as she cried into his chest.

"I love you. Whether you're ready to hear it or not changes nothing. I love you Marley" He used his thumb to wipe away her tears.

"Why are you so afraid of love?" Brian asked as Marley began to calm down and regulate her breathing.

"Because I don't understand it. I don't know what love is. I didn't have a good image of love. My parents hate each other. I don't know what it is" Marley confessed as she took a few heavy breathes. 

"We'll be nothing like them, I promise" Brian placed a kiss on Marleys forehead.

"You're my girl now okay. It's just us and no one else" Brian held on tightly to her hand.

****************

That night Marley sat on the window sill in her room and looked to the stars. She ran from love her entire life, only letting in a few girls that she claimed as her sisters but no one else. She avoided love like the plague. Yet she couldn't avoid Brian. He was that constant that she kept trying to fight off. 

Marley lost herself in the night-sky, traveling to a place miles away from where she was. A happy place. Where she embraced love instead of hid from it. But Brian made her so nervous. To the point where Marley could feel her heart pounding out of her chest and he always made her lose her train of thought. Oh the effects this guy had on her and he didn't even know.

Sleep well princess. Call me in you can't sleep but I want you to get some rest okay. I love you

To be honest, Marley hadn't expect to hear those three words from him today. She expected Brian to ignore it and drive off as if something had happened. She didn't expect this. She knew Brian belonged to the streets and was notorious but she didn't know the real stories. Marley needed to know she was the only one because she obviously only had eyes for Brian. But was it recipricated?