Leah, her palms pressed against the granite tile of the countertop, her ardent hair dripping, and in a tangle. Black-brown eyes were hidden, behind smearing makeup stricken eyelids.
"Leah?" I spoke, causing her to look up. She immediately wiped her eyes, removing the makeup that had disarranged. She looked as if she had just been crying.
"Oh, hi, Olivia."
I stepped around the island counter to stand beside her, placing my hand on her shoulder.
"Are you okay?"
She nudged her shoulder so that my hand fell off her skin, so I stepped back, noticing that she didn't really want to talk to me.
"I'm fine, Olivia. Just go back outside and be with your boyfriend. Go ahead and fuck in the hot tub if you want, I don't even care anymore." she said in a frazzled tone, sounding sassier than ever.
"Okay, first of all, Shawn and I aren't officially boyfriend and girlfriend, but we do love each other. Second, we--"
"Okay I get your fucking point just get out." she yelled, suddenly busting into tears. Her hands lifted up to her eyes as she rubbed away her teardrops, though it wasn't making much a difference. I didn't understand why she was crying. I didn't know how to comfort her due to lack of explanation.
"Leah, can we talk about it?" I asked, feeling a little uncomfortable in the situation.
"I don't want to," she sobbed, and I took the risk and patted her back as she leaned over the counter, shaking her head. She finally took a deep breath and removed her palms from her face, resting her chin on her fist.
"What's the matter?" I said gently, still rubbing her back.
"I'm so sorry Olivia." she sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "I can't help it, and I wish I could. But I can't. I'm sorry, I don't know what to do. I don't like it. Don't like it at all," The words spilled out of her mouth like a waterfall.
"What's all this about?"
"Please don't make me tell you," she cried, pursing her lips as she ran her fingers through her hair.
"C'mon, Leah. What's up?"
She shook her head again, her eyes suddenly staring directly into mine. "I like Shawn." she said blankly, causing me to withdraw my hand from her take a step back. "A lot." she finished.
"Oh god," I said under my breath, shocked. I turned and began to walk outside.
"Olivia, wait! Ugh, this is why I didn't want to tell you!" she shouted as I exited her house through the backdoor, hearing it slam behind me. I ventured out towards the pool, where Shawn was fully engulfed, lapping around the perimeter. I watched as his head lifted out of the water and his hands pushed his soaking hair out of his face.
"Is everything okay? She's been in there for a while." Shawn commented, and then he took a closer look at the expression on my face. "Are you all right?"
"Honestly, no. Not really. I'm want to leave, can you drive me home?" I said quickly, draping a dry towel over my shoulders.
He squinted at me as he clambered out of the pool and over to me where he placed his hands on either shoulder. "What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it, I'm really confused myself." I clarified, and his hands moved up to my cheeks, the dampness of his fingertips cooling my burning cheeks.
"Whenever you're ready to talk about it, I'll be here for you. Got it?" he said sternly, yet sweetly. I nodded in response. His lips met the tip of my nose, and he pulled away, smiling.
"Can we go now?" I asked, as I slipped my feet into my flip-flops.
"Of course, jus' let me grab my shirt." he said, walking around to the porch table. He snatched his dark blue t-shirt and balled it up, sliding his feet into his sandals. "Let's go," As we were heading towards the gate, he paused and turned back in the direction of Leah's house. "I'm gonna go say bye to Leah really quick," he said, so innocent and unaware.
I hesitated to let him say goodbye to Leah, but I had to remind myself that he was just trying to be the sweet boy he was. And it was not my job to control him. I had to calm down and realize that it wasn't that big of a deal, but I still needed time to think on it.
"Olivia and I are leaving, bye Leah!" he called into her house as he cracked open the back door. I couldn't hear if Leah replied, but Shawn pivoted back to me and nodded at the gate, gesturing for me to open. Once I tugged on the latch, I pushed on the wood and it creaked open, and so I began walking to Shawn's car.
It was a new one. Since his recent car had been completely demolished in his recent wreck, his parents agreed to help him financially to get a new vehicle. It took some convincing, and about $2,000 out of his savings, but he had success in the pleading and he got a new car. A black Jeep Wrangler. It seemed to fit him well, a lot better than his old car ever did.
I climbed into the passenger's seat, and he got into the driver's side, yanking his shirt over his head. "You want to come over to my house?" he asked once we got on the road.
"No thanks, I want to be alone right now." I said, and since he respected and understood me, he gladly agreed and dropped me off in front of my home.
"Thank you for the ride, Shawn." I smiled as I began walking to the front door, though I was stopped when Shawn called my name. "Olivia,"
I turned around. "Yea?"
"Tomorrow can I take you out to dinner? I can pick you up at six-ish?" he offered, and I blushed, replying,"Of course." before swiveling back forward, and he interrupted again, calling to me.
"Oh, and, Olivia?"
"What's up?"
"Remember: whenever you are ready to talk about it, I'm here. I'm always here. Okay?"
"Thank you," I said, feeling comforted by his words, and once again I turned, and of course, was stopped by Shawn.
"Oh yea! And wait!"
"Yes, Shawn?" I laughed.
"I love you." he said genuinely, a glowing smile appearing on his face.
"I love you too."
Finally I successfully made it into my home and plopped down on my cozy couch. I needed some sort of a distraction to get my mind off of Leah's confession. What she said seemed to be weighing me down, and I didn't like it, not one bit. Thankfully, though, Quentin showed up and offered to play "Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare" with him, so I agreed and slayed some Call Of Duty ass. That surely got my thoughts off of Leah. But distractions only last so long until your brain is completely drowning in speculation.