"This feels good," I say wrapping my arms around Oliver. We're lying on the garden lawns looking up at the sky. I'm straddling him and his lips are placed softly on my neck. "I love this so much," I add and he kisses me softly. I close my eyes enjoying the feeling.
"I love this too." He says and I can feel his hand go up the inside of my thigh. I gasp softly and hold on tighter to him. I almost didn't wear a dress this morning but sitting here right now, I think I made the right decision. I love that he has easy access to everything.
"I don't think that's a good idea," I say my breath getting heavy. He is lightly brushing my thighs, causing a ripple of desire to shoot through my veins. I'm saying one thing with my mouth but my body is saying something else.
"Why not?" He says whispering
"I can't remember the last time we did this," Kelly says getting into my bed. I scooch over making more room for her even though I don't need to. I have a big bed and the two of us can fit comfortably. I'm moving over because I know she loves to have a lot of space. She's what I like to call a start-fish sleeper. She spreads her limbs as wide as possible for her to be comfortable."I know, life has kind of taken over," I say and she smiles lying on her side so she can look at me, '"You mean Oliver took over." She says wiggling her brows at me. "You don't have any time for me since he's come into the picture." She says frowning at me."I know I know I have more time for us," I say feeling guilty. She's right, this relationship has taken a lot of my time. I live with my mother in the same house and I barely see her."Oh Ry, I'm kidding. I love that you have Oliver keeping you busy. I love that you finally have a guy that
"Marlene just walked in," Kelly says looking toward the entrance behind me. "She's looking at me, she's walking towards us." She adds and I take a sip of my coffee. I close my eyes annoyed at this Maelene dynamic. Can't I take my best friend out to breakfast without catching drama from her?I woke up this morning determined to have a great day with Kelly. I planned out today perfectly. Have an amazing sleepover, that's done. Follow up with an epic breakfast, that's in progress. Maybe catch a movie and end the day with a late lunch. Nowhere in my plan was Marlene and her obsession with Oliver included.I hear her shoes approach me and let out a long breath as I put my cup down. Kelly raises her brow at me in question as Marlene gets closer. She takes a sip of her coffee and she sits back."Ryo, we need to stop bumping into each other like this." She says coming to stand in front of me. I sit back in my chair so I can look her in her eyes.
"Thank you for today," Kelly says smiling next to me. She stares at the magnificent sunset in front of us as the Ferris wheel slowly turns around. "Thank you for coming," I say smiling too. This feels so calming. I couldn't imagine a better way to end our Saturday. "I'm glad I did. Or else I wouldn't have seen that epic stare-down with Marlene." She says looking at me. She winks and then she starts laughing. "Stop, it's not that funny," I say nudging her with my elbow. She continues laughing and I stare at her. She's enjoying this disaster of a situation I'm in a little too much. I need her to take this seriously. "Yes, it is that funny. She was shaken. She couldn't believe you shut her down like that. I couldn't believe it too. That was iconic." She says her voice getting louder. "I wish I saw it the way you see it. I just see my doom at the end of the road." I say and she rolls her eyes at me. Finally, she stopped laughing. " If you let her bully you, you'll have a hard time
Monday at school:Ryo is hiding in a bathroom stall."Where in the hell did she find that picture of me," I say staring at the screen on my phone. I screen in my head trying not to cry. I stare at the screenshot and tears fill up my eyes. I stare at my 10-year-old face staring back at me and I want to die.The picture was taken a long time ago at a kid's camp. I was young, uncoordinated and a little dirty. But who cares I was a kid. I was still trying to figure out what works for me, what looks good and what doesn't.Who wasn't at that time?I look at the picture again and I start to cry. The whole school has been passing this picture of me around. They started laughing when I walked onto the school grounds. They were pointing and whispering who knows what. And then Kelly sent it to me. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.I thought this picture didn't exist anymore. I thought it was erased from the face of the earth. But here it is today haunting me.My hair in the picture is a mess
"Hey," Oliver says when I step out of the bathroom. I look down the hallway ready to see a million pairs of staring at me but there's no one there. There's only him and Kelly. "Hey?" I say looking at him. He smiles and I feel my eyes welling up. I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. I am panicking. Is this where he breaks up with me? Is this where he breaks my heart? I can't imagine how hurt I am going to be if he tells me it's over. "Do you want to get out of here?" He asks smiling. I look around us wondering if he means me. And not forgetting the fact that we have to go to class. We can't just skip school. "We can't just disappear," I say and he nods. "Yes, we are." He says and he turns to look at Kelly. "She'll call you later." He says and Kelly nods looking at me. Oliver takes my hand and leads me towards the back of the school, toward the school hall. We walk past a few classes, and I half close my eyes terrified. I've never skipped school before. I feel like we are
Oliver guides me to the top of the hill and when I look down my heart beats faster. I look at him and then I look back at the view in front of us. I didn't know that this existed here. All I can see in front of me is yellow daisies. A carpet of amazing flowers."This is amazing," I say walking down the hill. I open my palms wide when I get to the first flower. I smile feeling so happy. "Why didn't I know this was here?" I ask looking back at him."You haven't been skipping school so..." He says playfully. I smile turning back around."Well, I'm glad I did today," I say sitting down in a less dense area. Oliver comes and sits in front of me. He stretches his legs out and he leans back on his elbows looking at me."It feels good to see you happy again." He says staring at me. I frown thinking about the disaster he walked me out of. I wish that was a dream and not the truth. Trust my life to get messed up just as everything was
End of the school dayI'm glad this day is over. What Marlene pulled on Ryo was terrible. Thkis is bullying on another level. Why are highschool girls so mean? I breathe in the fresh air happy to be out of this oppresive building. I'm going home and going to take a long bath and fall asleep on my comforatable bed. I don't have time for all this drama.As a matter of fact Ryo is also not into all this drama.My phone pings and I take t out of my bag and smile. I'm glad to see Ryo's name pop up on the scren.HeyThank you for todayI know I freaked out when I saw that pictureI'll forever be thankful to you for being there for meI'm fine nowI'll see you tomorrowRy "How is your little friend doing?" Marlene says behind me and I amost scream.
"Ry." I hear my mother call out to me as she walks up the stairs and towards my bedroom door. "Honey," She says and she opens my door. I listen to the sound of her feet walk towards my bed and I hold my breath as she places he hand on my back."Are you coming down for dinner?" She says her voice soft. I let the breath I'm holding go and the tears start falling. "What's going on honey?" She asks when sees my body shake from the held-in cries."I..." I say and choke up. I try to calm my nerves but the tears keep falling. I can't get the words out."Baby you're scaring me. Talk to mommy." She says and I can hear the fear in her voice. She's probably thinking the worst happened to me right now. Since I can't say what's going on, I choose to show her. I take my phone and hand it to her. "Oh, honey." She says when she sees the picture. She knows how insecure about the picture I am. I begged them to throw it away when I was younger. They tried to convince me th