Endings Are New Beginnings (Book 1) (Completed)

Part 56

"Bye!" Sophie calls into the phone happily. She brings it down from her ear before looking around to give it to someone. I go to step forwards and take it from her but Storm beats me to it, bringing it up to his own ear.

"Hey mate, how are you doing?" he says as he walks outside, closing the door behind him. I watch him as he talks to Levi, trying to garner some more information from the way he is acting. I see his lips moving, and I try to follow what he is saying but I can't make out anything. I sigh when I realise what I am doing. I told myself that I would wait for them to tell me, but my curiosity is like hunger, it won't go until it's satisfied. I am just turning away when something Storm does has me stopping and watching him again. His head flies up and looks directly at me, as he says something into the phone, looking like he's explaining something. I start to get worried did Levi not tell me everything about how he is? Did something bad happen? Has Levi told Storm what he said? Is Storm angry at him? A million questions fly through my head.

I jump when I feel a hand touch my back, feeling guilty at getting caught being nosy. I turn to find Colton, giving me an easy grin.

"I haven't had my swim this morning yet, want to come with me?" he asks. My eyes flick back to Storm, wanting to stay and see what's wrong, but I turn back to Colton returning the smile.

"Yeah, sure," I agree. I wonder for a moment, if Colton is getting me out of the apartment, but brush it off. If he was he isn't doing it with bad intentions. He said last time he usually swims when he is here. Not all boys have a bad reason for everything.

"You want to come too, little mermaid?" Colton aims to Sophie. She claps her hands excitedly, her eyes wide with glee. I let out a small chuckle.

"Well let's go and get ready sweetie," I say, causing her to jump up from the sofa and run around it. She continues to the stairs and crawls up the steps.

"Come on, mummy," she calls back to me. I chuckle, walking after her.

"I'm coming sweetie," I call after her as I climb the stairs.

*^*^*

Colton pushes the door open to the communal pool in the building, the smell of chlorine the first thing I notice. The blue water of the big rectangular pool, causes a pretty pattern of odd shapes on the ceiling as a result of the light reflecting off the surface. I place the towels down on one of the sun loungers surrounding it, and turn to Sophie. I smile at how cute she looks in her swimming costume and armbands, goggles over her eyes. Colton grins at us.

"Do you want to show your mom how you jump into the pool?" he asks Sophie. She nods enthusiastically.

 "Colton was teaching me yesterday, mummy," she says looking up at me. I smile. Colton running towards the pool catches my eye, and I watch as he does a flip before splashing down into the pool. I'm about to ask Sophie if that's what she meant but she beats me to it. "He said that I can't do that yet," she explains with a pout, sounding disappointed. I let out a sigh of relief. 

Colton emerges from the water, flicking his blonde hair to the side to get it out of his eyes. My eyes travel lower to his exposed chest, before quickly returning to his eyes. I don't want to get caught staring again, but the bigger grin on his face lets me know it's too late.

"Go on then Sophie, show us what you got," Colton calls. Sophie grins at me before she starts to run towards the side of the pool.

"Sweetie, don't run!" I call after her. She slows slightly, before stopping fully at the side of the pool. She looks back over her shoulder at me, to check I'm watching, before she looks back to Colton who is standing nearby. She jumps into the air, her legs bent, before she falls back down and disappears under the water. Seconds later her armbands pull her to the surface, and she kicks her legs to stay afloat. She starts to swim towards Colon who meets her halfway, catching her up in his arms. He extends his hand to her, and she happily returns the high-five.

"Shall we see what your mom's got?" Colton asks her, sending me a grin, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Yeah!" Sophie calls, her voice bouncing off the water, as well as her hand as she splashes them both. I smile, fiddling with the bottom of the dress I pulled on, feeling self conscious about my body. I didn't feel comfortable just wearing my swimming costume down. Anyone could see me!

Colton has seen me in it before, and he didn't say anything, but what if he was just being polite in front of the others? What if they all were? It wouldn't be the first time that someone said something and meant the opposite. 

"Bambi, do I need to tell you, or show you, how beautiful you are? Because I will," he threatens playfully. I sigh, and continue to fiddle with the hem. The people who have told me I'm beautiful in the past have just turned around and told me, or made me feel, that I'm the complete opposite. When Jack and I were together he would always say to his friends, and me, how hot I was, and after Sophie came he told me and everyone else that I was ugly. Now he's just been replaced by Tanner. When he first saw me in the courtyard he called me hot, and he's made me feel the exact opposite.

"Alright that's it," he says, as I hear the sound of the water breaking around them. I look up and see as Colton puts Sophie down on the side before pulling his body out of the water. My mouth goes dry at the sight of the water running down his chest. The thought only buries deeper into my mind - someone like him wouldn't think I was beautiful. I hear feet padding towards me, and then hands cradle my face. He wipes the tears, that I didn't even know were there, off my face as he stares into my eyes.

"Bambi Raye," he starts seriously, "I don't know what is going through your head right now, but stop whatever you are thinking right now, because you are one of the most, no, the most beautiful person I have ever met, both outward appearance and inside. Now, you are going to take that dress off so we can see your amazing body, and we are going to have some fun in the pool, sound good?" he asks, his blue eyes, the colour of the sea, examining my face as he waits for his answer. A small smile comes to my lips, and I bite my lower lip to try and hide it. His eyes travel to them and the sea in his eyes become darker more like a stormy sea.

"Yeah," I finally agree. He nods, clearing his throat, backing up.

"Good, now show us what you've got," he says, his cheekiness and easiness coming back. I push all of my doubts out of my head, as I grab the hem of my dress and pull it over my head. After his little speech, and watching how serious his eyes are, I'm feeling better about being in my swimsuit around him. I walk around him and to the edge of the pool. I take a step back, looking over my shoulder at Colton and Sophie.

"Ready?" I ask them both. Nods tell me they are, Colton's now happy eyes watching me. I step back forwards, jumping up, and clutching my legs to me in a cannonball. I feel the cool water surround me as I enter the pool. I look to the side and see a grinning Colton. I smile back, before swimming to the surface. I turn to see Sophie standing at the edge, waiting, with a grin on her face.

"That was awesome mummy!"

Here you go! 

I am so so sorry for the long wait! I have a lot of things (exciting things) going on at the moment! :) I can't tell you much more, but I will when I can. It may mean then that the updates are longer apart, like this one and the last, so just bare with me and I will get them up when I can! I love to write this book, and don't want to stop, so I hope that the updates aren't that far apart.

I was going to make this a lighthearted update (by having Bambi slip on the poolside (I've done this when I was younger and it wasn't the most graceful of things), ending up unhurt), but it ended up looking more into Bambi's doubts about herself and the relationship with the boys. ;)

What did you think?

What will happen next?

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CC ;)