Started With a Lie

Chapter Nine

            “What is it?” I ask.

            The only sound is the fire crackling. It’s a peaceful, cozy night—not counting the blizzard outside.

            “Why are you helping me after all the rude things I’ve said and done to you?” Lee says quietly. I watch him—his blue eyes, blonde hair—the typical hot guy. But I also see his walls—his walls that are so high, nobody can get through them. Something really bad must’ve happened to get him this protective of himself. He shuts everyone out.

            “A wise man told me that even if you hate someone, you can never let them drown in sorrow while you’re okay because that just means you’re as low as them,” I say silently, my eyes on the fire burning in the fireplace.

            “Who told you that?” Lee asks.

            “My father,” I whisper, my voice cracking at the end.

            “He is a smart man,” Lee says. Tears well up in my eyes. It’s not Lee’s fault. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know my father’s… dead. He’s not from this town where everyone knows everyone.

            “He was a smart man,” I say. Lee realizes what I’m trying to say. Sympathy and pity are in his eyes—the same look everyone else gave me when they found out. Everybody’s the same. The tears fall down my cheek without me even noticing.

            But one thing is different about Lee.

            Instead of speaking, he just pulls me in a hug. I’m so surprised that I think I stop breathing. My face is up against his shoulder and the fire reflects light on his body. My eyes are blurry from tears but my mouth is wide open. I can’t believe Lee’s hugging me.

            “It’s okay,” Lee finally says. “I know how you feel. I lost my father, too.” He strokes my hair. I didn’t know that. His father died, too. Here I am, whining and crying while he’s been through more shit that I ever had. I remember how Candy told me he had to take over the company because of his father passing away. I hug him back and sob into his shoulder.

            I cry for the both of us.

            Never did I ever think that this would ever happen. Lee hugging me—not a fake hug either—a real hug. I feel so perfect in his arms. Everything would be all right if I stayed in his arms. Reality would mean nothing.

            “My father used to hug me and stroke my hair like this when I was unhappy,” I whisper. “He would always be there for me. He would be the one that attended all my school meetings, my soccer games, and he’s the one who made my lunch. My mom used to be a normal mother, too. She used to read me stories and everything. Everything changed when my father died. After he passed away, all she ever did was lock herself up in her studio to avoid the pain. She was strong. Never once did she cry in front of me. We both miss him so much.”

            The pain gnaws at my heart. I miss my father. After he died, I’ve never talked about him. I’ve never told anyone about him. I didn’t go to therapy or counseling to talk about him. I kept my feelings bottled up and here I am, spilling them to Lee—out of all the people.

            “It’s all right,” Lee says. He soothes my back until I stop sobbing. We pull away from each other and I notice that his eyes are red, too. Had he been crying? I’ve never seen a man cry—not even my own father.

            “Sorry for rambling about my father,” I say, laughing light-heartedly as I wipe my eyes. I must look like hell right now. Lee doesn’t seem to mind, though.

            “It’s fine.” Lee cups my face in his hands. “If you ever need someone to cry to, I’ll be here.” He grins. “Wow, that sounded so corny.”

            “Yeah, it did,” I grin. Leave it to Lee to make me cry, smile, and laugh within an hour.

            “Now, enough crying,” he orders. “Do you have a radio?” I nod, pointing to the radio up on top of the fireplace. He takes it and turns it on. The only thing I can hear is static. Lee moves the dial until he finds the local radio. At first, I think he’s looking for the news, but he just skips past the weather and news. He finally stops at a slow song—Kiss Me by Ed Sheeran.

            What’s he up to?

            Lee grins and sets the radio back on top of the fire place, the slow song on full blast. He takes off his warm blankets and wraps them around me. He bows down on one knee with a hand extended. “Would you care for a dance, my lady?”

            My eyes widen. He wants to dance with me? I nod anyways and suddenly we’re up in the middle of my living room. Candlelight is the only light guiding me to his face. He looks beautiful. I take his arm, placing my other hand on his shoulder. The blankets are still wrapped around me. The song is instrumental so far, but I hear lyrics come on:

            Settle down with me, cover me up, and cuddle me in.

            Lie down with me, yeah. Hold me in your arms.

            Your heart’s against my chest, lips pressed to my neck, I’ve fallen for your eyes but they don’t know me yet.

            And then something strange happens. This weird, tingling feeling—I can feel it inside my chest, around my fingers—on my entire body. What’s going on? Am I getting dizzy? No, it’s not that. I realize I’m smiling as Lee dances with me. And then it hits me. Do I like Lee?

            No, I think. I push away the stupid thoughts and feeling. I can’t be… Can I? No way. Just because he listened to me does not automatically make me like him. That’s right. I continue dancing and following the lyrics:

            I’m cold as the wind blows, so hold me in your arms.

            This song is really nice. It sets the mood. I feel so hazy. Lee is smiling at me, his blue eyes twinkling and his grin as big as it can go. The song keeps going on:

            … With this feeling I forget, I’m in love now

            Kiss me, like you want to be loved, like you want to be loved, like you want to be loved. This feels like I’ve fallen in love…

            Suddenly, Lee’s moving closer and closer. The lyrics are setting in with his actions. He’s going to kiss me. He’s going to kiss me! Our noses touch, and his breath is on my face. He smells like hot chocolate.

            Our lips are just about to touch.

            I pull away abruptly, realizing what I’m doing. Lee looks confused. “I-I have to f-feed my cat,” I say before disappearing into the kitchen. I can hear the song coming to an end in the living room, as Lee stands there alone.

            I sit on the floor of the kitchen. I’m scared. It’s not Lee that’s scaring me. The kiss isn’t what I’m scared of either. Being with a boy isn’t the thing that’s scaring me either.

            It’s the fact that I actually wanted him to kiss me.

I love this chapter. I wish I could have a romance like this one day, hehe. Anyways, Ivory is in deep trouble. Is she falling in love? 

My laptop's fixed. Yay! I love Ed Sheeran. His voice and lyrics are magic. Pure magic. Just like you. Thank you people so much for all the love you've given me! The votes, comments, fans, and reads are shocking me! Please keep it up! 

For the next chapter, let's try to get it up to at least 8,000 reads and 500 votes on this chapter!  Not to mention some comments! Thank you. 

xoxo,

Writer Girl. (Yeah, I should just stop being so corny.) 

P.S = LISTEN TO THE SONG, GUYS.