Assurance

Four | Lewis

FOUR

B A I L E Y

- 3:02 pm -

I wake up and immediately feel nauseous. My head is pounding. I start to sit up and bile rises in my throat. As fast as I can I run to the bathroom across the hall and begin to spill my guts into the toilet.

From the smell of it, it's liquor. Suddenly I feel someone pull my hair back off my neck. I continue throwing up and will thank him later. After a few minutes I finish and sit back against the wall.

"Are you okay?" He asks.

When I look up to face him a flood of mixed memories fill my mind: Me drinking, a shower, I got naked?! Got dressed. Lewis? I kissed him...?! What happened last night?

"Oh my goodness." I exclaim looking away so fast.

"What?" He asks, handing me a damp towel. I take the towel quickly, and wipe my mouth, without looking at him. "What?" He repeats.

"Nothing-" I say and go to stand up and storm out, but he takes my arm and stops me. "Nothing, sorry." I say again trying to walk away, but he continues to hold me back.

"What is wrong? Last night?" He questions. I nod slowly. My cheeks get red. "It's okay, it wasn't you." He stands up from his kneeling position and puts his hand on my chin to face him. "You weren't yourself." He looks into my eyes and switches from my left and right eyes.

I suddenly feel myself push closer to him, and I don't know if I did it or he did. But I am okay with it, I think. "I- I'm sorry." I say. I feel my cheeks get really warm.

He laughs. "I got you to blush."

I look away. "You ruined it." I chuckle. He pulls my face toward him again.

"Well I didn't mean to." He replies. I just smile up at him, searching his eyes for a flaw. For a reason to look away. But I can't find one. "Why don't you get in the shower, and meet me downstairs, yea?" He suggests.

"Yea, okay." I say backing up. Even though I liked being close to him, I only just met him. I've barely met him actually.

He leaves, shutting the door behind him. After a few seconds of standing in place, I get into the shower to wash off. About twenty minutes later I get out and brush my teeth and hair. I didn't bring any clothes with me, so I just wrap the towel around me and open the door to walk into my bedroom, but a small stack of clothes sits outside the door for me.

I pick them up with a smile and bring them into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. It's a pair of black leggings, with a blue t-shirt, and undergarments. They don't match, but it's the thought that counts. I dress into the outfit, putting my hair into a side braid, and make my way down stairs.

When I get to the kitchen, I see him grabbing something out of the refrigerator. I take a seat on the island, and try to find some answers to what happened last night. "So, what happened last night?" I ask.

He turns, placing a plate of cut apples and a glass of water in front of me. "Uh. you drank quite a bit." He answers.

"Yea, but what did I do exactly?" I push.

"You decided to make a mess, cut your arm," I look down at the tape. "Pretty badly, but you said you couldn't feel a thing. What else? You decided to name me Lewis, and then you went to bed." He explains.

"Lewis, huh? Hmm, I guess that's what I'll call ya." I say. "Is my arm bad?" I ask.

"I'll check it again when you are done with your snack, but yea, it looked painful." He says.

"Oh, well thanks for patching me up then." I say looking down to my apples.

I snack on my apples and water and I guess Lewis disappeared. I don't know where it went. I thought he was right there, but he wasn't. I just ignore the emptiness and eat my food quietly. As I do, my mind begins to run again.

Why wouldn't my father tell me about his real life? At what benefit was to not tell me? And since he got himself in this issue, I'm in "danger", or whatever. And when I remembered some things from last night, I think I kissed him. Oh my goodness! My first kiss was with a Mafia leader! Lord, forgive me!

A few minutes pass and I finish my snack. I put the dishes in the sink and walk around the cabin. The downstairs is nice. I wander into a hallway, but I hear an angry Lewis, so I just turn right around, and into the living room. The remote finds itself into my hands, and my bottom finds itself on the couch. The TV turns on and the news is on. I don't watch the news usually, but I guess I'll watch some right now.

"Thank you Candis. The weather is continuing to rise in both Lee, and Bay Florida. It's thought to go into the nindies all this week. Candis, back to you at Avery Stays."

I'm in Florida?! He took me across the country?! I live in upstate Nevada, I went down to Las Vegas, but now in Florida! I hear footsteps coming closer, so I turn the channel quickly.

"Hey, I have a lot of work today. I'll be in my office. Holler if you need me." He says to me, I don't look at him, just at the TV.

"Okay." I say quietly.

He stands there for a second before walking away. So he kidnapped me and took me to the other side of the country! Ugh, that's a flaw. A small, yet huge flaw! To distract my mind I watch some TV and just relax. But I eventually get hot in my leggings, so I walk up to my room and put on a pair of grey shorts. Then back down to the couch.

- 8:34 pm -

Lewis hasn't come out of his office, so I just made my own dinner about an hour ago. All I've done today is sit here on this couch. I'm super relaxed, tired, and a little bored. But I have nothing else to do. I continue to channel surf my day way.

- 10:02 pm -

"Bailey. Are you sleeping?" I feel Lewis's hands on either of my shoulders, shaking me gently.

"Hmm?" I groan.

"You fell asleep on the couch." He says. I sit up.

"Yea?" I say with a raspy voice.

"If you're about to pass out you can go to bed, but if you're not, you can come into the pool with me. It's humid, so maybe you can cool off in the pool." He suggests.

I wipe my eyes and look up to him. "I don't have anything to wear. Have fun though." I say with a big yawn.

I see the disappointment in his face. "Okay. Go on up to bed then." He says before walking away.

That makes me feel bad. But I walk upstairs. I hear the backdoor open, then shut. Maybe I can just go swim to make him feel better, he looked kinda sad that I brushed him off. Plus, he was right, it is very humid. But I don't have anything to wear. I begin to search my bag for things to wear, but no shirt is long enough. I could just borrow one of his...

I make my way next store to his bedroom, and to his dresser drawers. I find a black t-shirt, and when I put it over my sports bra, it goes close to my knees. Perfect! I go back into my room and put on a pair of boyshort cut under wear over my bikini cut undies. I take my hair out of it's braid and let it sit on my back and shoulders. I take a quick look at myself in the mirror and try to gain some confidence.

Once I have enough, I walk down stairs and to the back door. With one deep breath I open the door. He is in the pool, wearing some swim trunks, his hair is all wet and his eyes are up in the trees.