You Made Me Fall, But That's Okay

Chapter Seven - I'll Take It From Here

‘Come on, Laura, I think it’s time for you to go home now. I can’t keep you forever, can I? Even though I’d love to ...’ Ryan said suddenly, pushing me up off his lap. Surprised by his sudden movement and overly attractive voice in my ear, I tumbled down onto the floor, screaming as usual. Ryan chuckled, pulling me back up. Blushing, I tried to glare at him. It only caused him to laugh even more. Why was I falling so much lately? It was so bloody annoying!

‘Awh, Ryan, I don’t want to go home yet,’ I said, crossing my arms over my chest stubbornly. I didn’t care one bit if I looked childish, although I wasn’t normally this immature. Maybe I sounded a bit too attached, so I decided to try cover up my eagerness. ‘Sinead’s probably not even up yet. She sleeps until the afternoon, the lazy piece of –’

‘Well, she must be up by now, since it’s already the afternoon,’ he smirked, checking his watch.

I gasped. ‘Are you joking? It couldn’t be!’ I grabbed his wrist, bringing the watch closer to me. Much to my annoyance, he actually wasn’t lying. It was half past twelve in the afternoon. How did the time fly by so quickly? My shoulders sagged. I had to go home already! Home meant probably not seeing Ryan, and getting interrogated by my sister and Travis. Maybe if I started on the cleaning they’d stay away from me. That was usually the case, since they didn’t like to chance getting a job off me.

‘Don’t be so disappointed, Laura. It’s not like I’m going to leave you there forever. I’ve got a little thing or two to do today, so I’m afraid I can’t spend as much time as I’d like to with you. Don’t worry – as soon as I’m free I’ll be with you, okay? It’ll only take maybe two hours at the most, I reckon. Anyways, you need to spend some time with your family! I can’t have them thinking I’ve kidnapped you, can I? You know, I’ve never known a girl so eager to be with me … It’s really cute.’

I shook my head, staring down at the floor. ‘I just need to put on some makeup. It’ll only take me a minute, well maybe more than a minute … Just bear with me. Ugh! I didn’t bring anything with me! I’m going to look dreadful! Do you have a paper bag that I can put over my head, or something? I can’t go out in public with a face like this! I can’t believe you’re going to see me without ma-’

‘Laura Gallagher, will you calm down?’ he laughed, wrapping his arms around me. ‘You don’t need makeup so stop fussing, okay?’

‘Of course I need makeup,’ I mumbled into his chest. I really, really needed to get taller. Maybe if I at least grew a foot taller, I’d be able to look into his eyes without straining my neck. ‘Everyday I need makeup. I can’t go out without it. If anyone sees me, I’ll just probably die or something –’

‘You know, for such a beautiful girl, you really have zero confidence ... Don’t even deny how gorgeous you are. You’re absolutely stunning,’ Ryan said, leaning down to kiss me. The more he said, the more I blushed. ‘You’re going out without makeup today, okay? Oh, and you’re never to wear makeup around me again, right? I’ll snap you out of that bad habit.’

‘Who do you think you are, my father?’ I snapped, scowling up at him. ‘Anyways, you can’t stop me from putting on makeup. I’ll put it on if I want to, because I actually need to. You’re just saying I’m nice-looking because you’re my boyfriend. It’s something that always happens –’

‘Of course I can stop you, Laura. Trust me, I have many ways of stopping you. I’ll make sure that you start believing putting on makeup is a waste of time, well, especially on your face,’ he winked, causing my heart to skip a beat. Wow, it sounded so cheesy, but it was so true. It wasn’t fair, either. He was too good-looking for his own good.

‘How, then?’ I challenged, narrowing my eyes up at him.

Ryan smirked, ruffling my hair. ‘There’s a hairbrush in one of the cabinets in the bathroom. Go get it.’