The Bad Boys Saw Me Naked

(14)

Procrastination.

We all do it. I happy to be especially good at it. I'm going to wait until the very last minute to get out of bed. Therefore, when I get up, I have to rush out the door, therefore avoiding any chit chat with Alex and his one night stand. I look at the clock, to see it's seven o'clock. School starts in twenty minutes. Perfect. I get up, and get dressed slowly. I pack my bag, and then brush my teeth, luckily with no one in sight. I look at the time. 

Oh no. I'm late. 

I run down the stairs and into the kitchen, seeing all the boys. I grab an apple, and open the door.

"Sorry I'm late." I yell. "Let's go!" I'm halfway out the door, when I realise no one is following me. I turn around, to see all of them sitting in the kitchen. None of them look hurried. They're all eating, taking their time. 

"Burst water pipe at school." Jake explained. "It's cancelled for today."

"But-" I stutter. "What about school?"

"They've uploaded all lessons online." Cole says. "And that is what all of you will do." The boys all groan, and Cole chuckles.

"It's so hot!" Hayden grumbles. "We were going to go swimming."

"Think of it as a challenge." Cole says. "The quicker you get your work done, the sooner you can swim." I slowly drop my bag, mentally cursing.

"Well." I say. "I may as well visit my Mom today then." I'm nearly out the door again, until Cole stops me.

"I don't think so." He says. "I'm in charge of you, so you're going to stay here and do your school work too."

"Cole, without being rude." I say. "But you aren't in charge of me. I can leave when I want to leave." He walks towards me, smiling.

"Harper." He says taking my bag from me. "Your mother told me to watch out for you. She doesn't want you going back there alone until Friday. And yes. I am in charge of you. So do your work." He pushes me down into the only empty chair, in between Will and Alex. Great.

<><><><>

Cole really holds this dis-functional family together. For the whole morning, he's been helping them with their homework, feeding them, and cleaning the house. Every time I ask if he needs help, he bluntly declines.

"You know I'm seven chapters ahead in my textbooks." I say. "I can afford to miss one day of work."

"Education is key." He says, folding Will's washing. "You want to get somewhere in life? You have to graduate." Zane left earlier, to go to work. Apparently he works at a garage, about twenty minutes away.

All the boys actually listened to Cole. Even Alex. He's had his headphones in next to me, working all morning. I never thought I would see the day Alex took orders from somebody other than himself. He hasn't spoken a word to me. Not even looked towards me. 

"Are you guys finished?" Cole asks. "Zane's down at the pool, if you want to-" Before he can finish, everybody disappears, leaving only Alex, me, and a flurry of papers behind. Alex slowly gets up, heading up the stairs instead of out the door. He obviously isn't in the swimming mood. 

"You coming?" Cole asks me, stacking up towels to take with him.

"I really need to go visit my Mom." I tell him. He sighs.

"Tell you what." He says. "I'll take you to see your Mom tomorrow. But now, you're going to chill out and go swimming with us." I roll my eyes, and grin.

"The last time I swam in your pool it didn't end so well." I joke, as I head out the kitchen.

"Well at least you'll be dressed this time!" He calls out. I laugh, walking up the stairs. Thankfully, Alex is nowhere in sight. I quickly get changed into an old shirt and shorts, as Mom didn't pack my swimsuit. I grab my towel, and walk back to the kitchen, and follow Cole down the path to the water. It's still as beautiful as before. Now that I see it in full daylight, I can see that it's a bright blue. All the boys have already jumped in. Cole gracefully dives in, and I sit on the edge, getting used to the chilly water.

"You coming in?" Jake asks, swimming up to me.

"Yeah." I smile. "Slowly." 

"That's no way to get in." He grins. Before I can say anything, he grabs me by the waist, and throws me in. I hit the water, and can feel the goosebumps rising up. I surface, to see everybody laughing at me.

"Oh." I laugh. "That was funny?" I quickly jump on Jake, pushing him underwater. We mess around for a bit, splashing, and pushing each other. I must say, it's really nice just messing around, forgetting about everyone for awhile.

Eventually, we calm down, exhausted. I swim on my back, enjoying the sunshine.

"Harper I forgot to tell you." Vincent says. "I finished my book report." 

"That's great." I smile. "Do you want me to read it before you hand it in tomorrow?"

"Yeah." He sniggers. "I may be brilliant, but I still mistake my D's with B's." I laugh, nodding at his quirky humour. 

"Enjoying yourself?" Zane chuckles, looking at me.

"Yep." I grin. "I don't usually get moments like this."

"Moments like what?" Jake asks.

"Peaceful. "I smile, moving my hands with the water.

"Why not?" Hayden asks. I pause, not really knowing how to answer.

"I don't know." I finally say. "I guess I just.. never really thought about it." I can see Cole was going to question me more, but he's interrupted by Will. Will had sat out awhile ago, because he was tired. Now, he's coughing, hard. Zane quickly swims up, and joins him. 

"Hey buddy." He says, picking him up. "You ok?" Will shakes his head, and Cole swears. 

"We haven't got any left." Cole tells Zane. "We were going to pick some more up tonight, Trent was being difficult." 

"Charlie would be your best bet." Jake says. "He just got a new shipment." 

"Right." Cole says, jumping out and taking charge. "Zane, take the twins and Hayden to Charlie's with Will. Asher and Vince go get Scarlett. I'm going to go kill Trent." They all start leaving, and I look around, not sure what to do.

"Harper, I'll text Alex and tell him to come and get you!" Cole yells, as everybody disappears down the path. "He'll explain!" 

"Ok!" I shout back, before he completely disappears, leaving me alone in the water.

This seems familiar.