INFINITE (Eminem Fan Fiction)

Chapter 19: Drips

She tried to hold back her blush, but felt like she failed. “That sounds great.”

He looked surprised by her response, but only for a second. “Okay, well-”

There was a loud shout and the sounds of footsteps racing towards them. As Riley looked up she spotted Hailie, skidding around the corner. They jumped away from each other, quickly. Feeling stupid, she tried to look like she was minding her own business.

Luckily, Hailie suspected nothing. She just stared up at him, with big round eyes.  “Daddy! I can’t find my lunchbox… Can you help me look?”

Marshall nodded, lifting her up. She clung onto his side, beaming. “Did you check the kitchen?” Hailie shook her head as he carried her off down the hall, glancing back at Riley over his shoulder with a smile.

“Marshall, where are we going?”

He kept his smile and his answer to himself as Riley followed him through the short grass, dodging and weaving through the leafy trees. He readjusted the backpack that was slung over his shoulder and continued through the tiny park, right on the edge of Lake Saint Clair. Despite the weather usually being cold, they’d lucked out with a heat wave this summer, making the park pleasant and almost hot.

Riley finally caught his side, “You’re crazy.” She was shaking her head.

He shrugged. This wasn’t the first time he’d taken her out without telling her. He just prayed that it would work out better than Santa Monica. Glancing around, he couldn’t see anybody in the park, let along some snobby paparazzi. They were still crawling around the school after he’d dropped the girls off this morning. Disgust flowed through him. He could handle the media bugging him but they were ruining his kids’ lives…

“Now that’s a bad face,” Riley muttered, staring at him. He realized he must have let his emotions slip. As he glanced over, she had a deep look in her eyes and they walked. “What’s on your mind?”

Drawing in a deep breath, he just shook his head. “Nothing.” Riley just pinned him with a hard, disbelieving stare. He rolled his eyes, “I was worried about the media.”

Riley laughed and pulled his baseball cap straight over his eyes, “Now they won’t know it’s you.” She laughed, the sound so beautiful it was like honey: sweet to the taste and so irresistible.

As he lifted the hat back up, he saw her take the lead as they stepped down the small slope that ended harshly with the stone wall dropped off to the lake. The water looked absolutely serene in the crisp light of midday.

He couldn’t help but watch the way she walked, the way her hips moved so fluently. His head started spinning, almost like he was tripping. There was something about the way she moved… every little single thing she did. With her glowing face, the way she lit up every room she walked into just made him want to scream. She was making him loose his mind.

Setting down the backpack on the grass, carefully, Marshall joined Riley right on the edge of the stone, staring out at the wide vast of water. For a moment, they were silent. The calm of the lake and the soft wind was the definition of serenity and he felt his nerves instantly wind down as relaxation overtook him. Riley sighed, “It’s beautiful.”

Without so much as thinking, Marshall spoke, “Not as beautiful as you.”  

Surprise crossed Riley’s face as she whipped her head and stared at him. That beautiful rosiness returned to her cheeks as she became embarrassed beyond the point of talking. She looked down to her feet. “I… ah…”

He had to smile a little. You’d think for a model, she’d be used to hearing she was beautiful… but every time she acted like it was new information, like she didn’t believe something as simple as the truth. “It’s true.”

She cleared her throat and looked back up at him, turning away, as if she wanted to run. “Marshall, I-” She cut off and took a step away. That’s when he saw the fear spread across her face. Confusion overwhelmed him. Why was she so afraid?

She took another small step away but he grabbed her arm. However, his sudden grip on her threw her off balance, and she took a step forwards to try and steady herself. All too quickly, she slipped and began to fall, straight off the edge of the stone wall. Horrified, but with no power to stop himself, Riley pulled him with her.

Toppling backwards, he felt his body fall, almost in slow motion, as they both crashed into the freezing lake below. Releasing Riley’s hand, he made it up to the surface, coughing for air, in complete shock over what had just happened. Riley arose from the surface, jaw dropped, shaking from the cold. Unable to even comprehend how the fall happened, they swam back to the stone edge.

Marshall hauled himself back up and helped Riley. Breathing heavily, they sat on the edge of the stone wall, feet touching the water below, both shaking and absolutely soaked. He was about to say something when Riley started to laugh. It started small, but grew louder and more hysterical. As he watched her, he couldn’t help but start chuckling too. Until they were both sitting on the edge of the goddam lake, laughing so hard they were crying.

“This is all your fault,” Riley finally managed to squeeze out, as she pulled herself together.

“My fault?” He snickered. They were both absolutely beaming, despite being drenched. “You were the one that lost your balance! And you pulled me over with you!” He gave her a little push. “This is your fault!”

Her jaw dropped, “I can’t believe you’re blaming me.” She pushed him back, so roughly that he felt himself slide back off the edge. He almost caught himself but found to be back in the water before he knew what happened. Resurfacing, he shook his head, reaching out for her dangling feet.

“Oh it is on!” He snatched a grip on her left ankle and pulled her down with her.

The next thing he knew they were floating in the damn lake, splashing water at each other like a bunch of school kids. In the end, he forgot whose fault it originally was. By the time they gave in and drip dried in the sun, they were both freezing, huddling around his damn backpack.

“I’ll have you know,” Marshall insisted, pulling out a plastic container. “I made some a nice lunch for us.” He snapped it open and handed her a plain looking ham and cheese sandwich.

She smiled and bit into it. “This would be much better if I wasn’t soaking wet.”

He smirked and grabbed his own sandwich. “Staying dry was my plan. You clearly had other ideas.”

She grinned but suddenly turned serious. Glancing up at him, it was easy to get lost in her deep blue eyes. “Thank you, Marshall… for everything.”

He nodded, shrugging off her appreciation like he always did. But his curiosity was burning. “Why’d you freak out, earlier?” Riley looked down at her feet, as if to consider how she was going to answer the question. “You act like nobody has ever told you you’re beautiful.”

Swallowing, she finally said, “Nobody does really…” He gave her a confused look. Sighing, she sat down on the grass. He joined her, interested in her elaboration. “People think that… because I’m a model, I have a sense of entitlement. They think that nobody needs to compliment me because I should already know it. But honestly…” She paused, but as she looked back up at him, he gave her an assuring look. He wanted her to trust him. “The first person to tell me I was beautiful was Mark. It was the first thing he ever said to me.” She sighed again. “I didn’t have many friends or any family growing up… they’re the people that tell you you’re special and wonderful. And I guess I’m not used to hearing it…”

Marshall nodded, thinking about his own childhood and the experiences he’d been dealt with. “I get it.” She gave him another surprised expression. “You don’t have to be embarrassed about it. People tell you these things because they’re true. You are special and beautiful and funny and smart. And you should believe it.”

And for the first time, she didn’t blush.