I woke up to the sound of voices.
"So you brought her here?" a female voice said in a hushed tone.
"Yes, is that a problem?" I heard Reece reply a bit annoyed.
"Well, no, but what will her parents think?"
"They don't know what happened yet. They think she's at her friend's house," he paused. "Which isn't exactly a lie..."
"Reece!"
"What?"
"They don't know what happened? It's their daughter!"
"Keep your voice down!" Reece hushed.
"Well?" the female voice said again.
"I couldn't just take her home. Her brother went out, and who knows where her parents were at the time."
The woman sighed. "She must be really important to you, if you brought her here. You could've left her with her friends you know."
"I know," I heard Reece grumble, as if embarrassed.
"Well, I'm excited to meet her," the woman, who I am assuming was his mom, said excitedly.
"Mom, do not be freaky alright? She's had a rough night," he reminded her.
Hearing Reece talk the way he did, especially to his mother, made me almost forget that the 'she' they were referring to was me.
"I'm not freaky!" she said as she gasped. "I'm just outgoing. Now why don't you go check on her while I start breakfast," she said.
My eyes widened. I turned back over and closed my eyes. I focused on making my breathing sound even. I didn't want it to look like I was eavesdropping on them, even if the conversation was about me. When I heard the door opened I tensed and decided there was no way I would be able to keep up with this sleeping act while he was in here.
So I sat up slowly and stretched as if I just woke up.
"Hey," he greeted me softly as he sat down at the edge of the bed.
"Hey," I replied a bit groggily.
"How are you feeling?" he asked almost tentatively.
I shrugged. "Fine," I told him. In all honesty I was feeling a bit embarrassed about what happened. I mean everyone knows that you're not supposed to let your drink out of sight. And being the idiot I was I turned my back on it completely. He must have slipped me whatever it was when he was leaning on the counter.
I always hated the damsels in distress in movies or books because they are just a big burden who can't look after themselves. And it was just more degrading knowing that I had turned into one.
"Now I don't know what you are thinking or feeling, but don't you dare think that this was your fault," Reece spoke up. "Ok?" he said as he gently tugged on a strand of my hair.
"Ok," I said.
He smirked. "The bed head suits you little Lilah."
I bit my tongue to prevent the heat from rising to my cheeks. "S-shut up!" I said as I looked away. He chuckled quietly to himself and I took the time to finally look around his room.
The walls were red with a poster here and there, nothing much. There was a large punching bag in the corner next to a closet that was a complete mess. Up against the wall closest to me was a small desk with a laptop on top of it. Next to the door there was a laundry basket filled with clothes with a dresser beside it. The room wasn't too messy, but it wasn't neat either. A typical boy's room.
A picture frame sat on top of the dresser. A man and a boy stood on a baseball field. The little boy beamed at the camera while the man had his hands placed on the boy's shoulders as he smiled down at him. He looked like an older version of Reece. They had much of the same features. They looked so happy in the picture. It made me wonder how he died.
"You ready for breakfast?" Reece asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.
"Can I have a brush or something first?"
He chuckled softly and exited the room. In a few moments he entered and handed me a comb.
I combed out the tangles the best I could, feeling very awkward as Reece watched me.
"Ok," I said as I put the comb down and stood up.
Reece stood up with me and watched me closely. "Still doing ok? No nausea or dizziness?"
I shook my head but smiled at him gratefully. "No. I'm fine."
As I walked over to the door, I felt Reece's hand at the small of my back, sending shivers through my entire body. I hope he didn't notice.
"Just a warning," he whispered in my ear as I reached for the door handle. "My mom's a bit strange."
I snorted. "Aren't we all?"
He rose an eyebrow. "You haven't met my mother yet," was the last thing he said before we walked out of the room.
The smell of bacon hit my nose and my stomach growled, realizing just how hungry it was. We wandered into the kitchen and Reece cleared his throat.
"Mom, this is Lilah," he said, still standing so close to me that are arms brushed.
The woman turned around with a big smile on her face. "Hi! It's so nice to meet you!" she said as she came forward and wrapped her arms around me, practically shoving Reece away from me in the process.
I was a bit shocked at how up front she was. I lightly wrapped my arms around her too. "Um, it's nice to meet you too Mrs. Matthews."
She pulled away slightly so I could see her features better. She had straight, dirty blond hair with rosy cheeks and a wide, welcoming smile. If it weren't for the same, golden brown color of her eyes I wouldn't have even thought that they were related.
"You know, Reece never lets me meet any of the girls he brings home," she said in a not-so-quiet whisper.
"Mom!" Reece groaned as he face palmed his forehead.
"What? It's true!" I covered my mouth to prevent from laughing. Wonder why that is. "But don't worry, I can already tell that you're one of the good ones around here," she winked at me before turning back to the stove.
I rose an eyebrow in Reece's direction but he just crossed his arms and had a sour look on his face.
I sat down at the breakfast bar attached to their counter and Reece took a seat beside me.
"It's also good that you are looking out for my baby," she said as she turned around to slide some eggs onto a plate. "He thinks he's so tough, and that he can do it all," she said with an eye roll.
"I do not," Reece protested. "And I'm not a baby, Mom."
She just ignored him and leaned in closer as she put her hand up to block him out. "All men are like that. It's utterly ridiculous," she said as she handed me a plate full of eggs and bacon. "And you'll always be my baby," she said as she pointed at him. I grinned as he shook his head. "Speaking of babies, are you two sexually active?"
And that is when my coughing fit ensued. Reece clapped me on the back and finally I was able to swallow that peace of bacon. His mom handed me a glass of water and I took it gratefully.
"Geez Mom, are you trying to kill her?" Reece demanded.
She just ignored him again as she turned to me. "Oh, I'm sorry honey, did I startle you?"
I held up my fingers as if to say, 'a little bit' as I chugged down water.
"I'm sorry. But just imagine how startled you would be if you saw that little pink plus sign," she said as she chuckled. "Now, I just want to let you know that I'm not one of those parents who are under the illusion that they can stop their children from doing the deed. So if you need birth control or anyth-"
"Mom!" Reece interrupted. "We are not...involved or anything!"
My cheeks were warm and Reece's face was tinted a light red. That escalated quickly.
The big smile returned on her face. "Well good, I like you already," she told me before walking over to the fridge.
I looked over at Reece with an incredulous look on my face. He just shook his head as he twirled a finger next to his head, as if saying 'I told you she was crazy'.
We ate breakfast in silence after that. Well, at least Reece and I did. His mom went on and on about something that happened at work.
After breakfast, I felt my phone buzz.
New Text Message From: Carter
Hey, r we rehearsing 2day?
Ah crap, I totally forgot.
Um, yeah. Give me about 10 minutes. I typed back.
"Thank you so much for the breakfast and letting me stay here, Mrs. Matthews," I said as I got up and took my plate to the sink. "But I just realized that I am late for something and have to go," I told her as I gave her a quick hug.
"Alright, come back back any time!" she called as I walked back into Reece's room to find my shoes.
"Hey, take it easy there," Reece said as he placed a hand on my shoulder to slow me down. "Was that your parents?" he asked.
I shook my head. "No, that was Carter. We were going to rehearse today," I said as slipped on my shoes.
"Oh," he said with an odd tone. "I'll drive you," he said just before I was able to ask him what was up. "I drove you here with your car and left my motorcycle there, so yeah," he explained. "Plus, I don't think it would be safe for you to drive just yet," he said as he grabbed my keys off of his dresser.
I stood up and followed him towards the front door.
"Reece, I'm ok. I can drive. I don't feel sick, or dizzy, or anything," I told him as we walked out to my car.
He sighed. "No. You're not driving. Not yet," he said stubbornly. "I'm not taking any chances."
"Thank you again," I said once we were in the car. "For everything."
He turned to face me completely. "It makes me really angry to think of what could've happened if I hadn't come down those stairs in time," he said as he ran his thumb over a lock of my hair. "Promise me that you won't ever go back there again," he said as looked straight into my eyes.
I was silent. "You know, if I hadn't been drugged I totally could've fought him off," I said confidently.
Reece smirked. "Yeah, you're welcome," he said before turning serious again. "Now promise."
I groaned. "I promise."
*************************
Thank goodness I had extra dance clothes in my car because Carter sure could be impatient. We found him sitting on the steps in front of the studio.
"It's about time," he said as he stood up. Reece smacked him on the back of the head. "Oh yeah, sorry, forgot about last night," he said apologetically.
"It's fine," I replied as I unlocked the door and went to get changed. It was a bit weird having Reece be so protective of me. But I smiled anyway. I liked the feeling of it. I would have to repay him somehow.
*****************
*Reece's POV*
"So how's she doing?" Carter asked.
"Fine. She doesn't really remember anything, which I guess is a good thing."
"How about you?" he asked.
"The guy will be in the hospital for a very long time, and when he gets out he'll be rotting in jail where he belongs."
"I didn't ask about that lousy piece of shit that drugged her. I asked about you."
I shrugged. "I'm doing ok. My mom's been doing pretty good for a while now. She's actually been able to keep a steady job for over a month."
"That's good," he said as he plugged his ipod up to those speakers. "So what's the deal with you and Lilah?" he asked now. "Because I know you're done reading their little diary or whatever it is."
"Ok, you ready?" Lilah came in before I could form a decent response.
"Yeah," Carter said as he walked to the center of the floor. "You wanna watch? Help point out mistakes and stuff?" Carter asked me.
I nodded. "Sure," I said as I took a seat on the floor against the wall.
The song that came on was 'Wicked Game'. I had never seen Carter dance to such a slow song before. And when they started dancing together, a weird feeling started in the pit of my stomach, and I felt like I had to control my breathing more. The feeling was like, anger and longing swirled together.
It was not jealousy. No, it couldn't be.
He spun her, and lifted her, and at one point they were even on the floor. They flowed together with the music and the whole time I had to keep telling myself 'It's just a dance, it's just a dance, it's just a dance'.
Then, for a split moment, they stood there, totally into character, and Carter reached out to touch her face before they went on to the next move.
And in that moment, I realized how badly I wanted to be in his position right now. Being able to hold her, and lift her effortlessly into the air. Knowing that I would catch her and that she would trust me to.
And just listening to the lyrics of the song made me realize that maybe I do have more feelings for her than I realized.
Maybe I do want to fall in love with her.
And maybe keeping the notebook, just to keep her around was a wicked thing to do.
But I guess my interest in her made me too selfish to want to give it back, even if I knew I wasn't good for her.
"So what did you think?" Lilah asked me, bringing me out of my thoughts.
I cleared my throat. "I thought it was great. You guys will definitely win," I said as I stood up. "I'm gonna go. You take it easy, ok?" I said to Lilah on my way out.
Maybe I just really needed to clear my head. I wasn't thinking straight.
"Hey Reece," Carter called. I looked over my shoulder, my hand still on the door. "We will talk later," he said giving me a pointed look.
Ah crap, he's so on to me.
**********************************
Ok, I planned this chapter to be longer, but I didn't want to add anything after Reece's POV. I was going to do Renee's and Aria's POV when they were at the club, but idk. Do you think I should do them? Because if you guys want them I'll put them in the next chapter, but if you don't then I might just not bother. Idk, I haven't decided. SO HELP ME OUT HERE.
And I know I said I was going to try to add more humor but that didn't really happen either. Basically the entire author's note in the last chapter is wrong. SORRY. I had some ideas and I am still going to use them, I just decided not yet. I mean, she did just get drugged and all.
ANYWAYS I'm really trying to keep updating under the two week mark. And your comments are really encouraging. :) Thanks! What do you guys think? Things are getting real. :P
OH! By the way, Lilah's and Carter's dance is to the right. (You'll see why Reece got so jealous ;P ) Check it out! ----------->
If you can't see it, then here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khvcCpoFszM&list=RDkhvcCpoFszM