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Dirty
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Chapter 7: Dirty (London's POV)
I put my hair up in a high ponytail, looking at my reflection in the mirror. I brushed my hair one more time and then put on some lip gloss, blush, and mascara. I couldn't be bothered to put on anything more.
The whole time I got ready, I kept thinking:
Why, dad? Why? You never want to leave the house and the one time you do it's only to go to their house for dinner?
But then I thought I shouldn't complain. Dad already has a tough time with things and if once in a long time he has something to look forward to, I shouldn't taint it.
So, I got it together, pulled on a smile with a pretty red dress, and got ready. I glanced down at the dress, adjusting the straps, freezing in place when I realized where I had worn this last time.
God, how come I didn't realize? I stared at the dress in the mirror, letting out a soft, humorless, and bitter chuckle. "How ironic," I mumbled to myself.
It was the first summer night. This fall, we'd be senior year students and then graduate. And then... we'd have the rest of our lives to spend together.
I walked up to the porch, ringing the doorbell, waiting for Ronan to answer. Our parents were out for dinner today and we were using it as an excuse to go on a date ourselves. In their house. I looked down at the red dress he bought for me earlier this week. An early summer present, apparently.
He answered the door, leaning against it and grinning while his eyes went up and down my body. "Hi, gorgeous," he smirked.
I stared at his clothes. "You're in sweatpants and a t-shirt," I frowned, "why?"
He grabbed my waist and kissed me right away while pulling me inside, closing the door and pushing me against it, deepening the kiss. He pulled away after a while and left me smiling.
I traced his jaw and asked, "Why aren't you ready?"
"Because we're not having a grand dinner. Just movies."
"Then why did you ask me to dress up?" I laughed.
"Because I wanted to see you in the dress. And I love it when you dress up for me," he winked, taking me up to his room.
When I got up there, he had the whole room set up. With the fairy lights I like, bowls of popcorn and gummy bears and all my other favorite candies, and my favorite movie ready to be played on TV. I stared at him while he walked to the bed, patting the spot beside him. "Ronan..."
He grabbed my hands and pulled me over. "I know you lead with the heart, but I set this up because, with school and family trips, we haven't had time to go on a date recently. I don't want you to start crying. So lay down with me and watch the movie and eat all your favorite snacks." He pecked my lips quickly before I lay down with him, both of us on our stomachs.
We were barely a few minutes into the movie when I felt his eyes on me. I turned to look at him, smiling softly. "What?"
His eyes fell to my lips and he leaned in quickly, kissing me once again. When he pulled away, he whispered against my lips, "I love you." He tucked my hair behind my ear. "I know you know because we say it all the time. But I mean it. You're my whole world, London."
I blinked out of my thoughts when Dad called from downstairs, "Let's go, honey!"
I guess I wasn't his whole world after all.
I dusted off the dress with a sigh. It's not the same one I wore in high school, I doubt that would fit me anymore, but a few months after he left, I went and bought the same dress in my size, thinking I could wear it and meet him whenever he visited. Only he never did.
"Coming!" I screamed before putting some perfume on, my red heels that matched the dress, and then rushing downstairs. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looking at my dad. I grinned, skipping over. "You look great!" I sang, fixing the collar to his baby blue button-up.
He waved me off and replied with, "It's you that looks great."
I smiled softly, happy to see him up and running for the first time in a while.
"Is it for a specific black-haired, green-eyed boy?" he asked while fixing his sleeve.
"No," I said quietly. "I don't know that boy anymore," I sighed. He looked up at me with the same pity that everyone else does but I laughed it off, "Let's go, we shouldn't keep them waiting."
He didn't say anything and headed out while I locked up the house and followed. We walked over to their house and Dad rang the bell. "You'll be okay around him?" Dad asked quickly, looking at me over his shoulder.
"Of course, don't worry. Everything's sorted," I lied right as Mrs. Eleonora opened the door and let us in with her heartwarming smile.
We got to their dining room that was separated from the kitchen. While Dad and Mr. Jim sat down, I offered to help her with serving the dinner, so I followed her into the kitchen. She grabbed most of it and said, "When the oven dings, just bring the chicken out, yeah, honey?"
I nodded with a smile. "Sure, no problem." She left and I leaned against the counter, holding onto the edge, my heart thundering beneath my ribcage. I'd have to sit there and face him tonight, act like everything was all right between us, like I didn't hate him for breaking my heart and he didn't do it in the first place.
The oven dinged and I reached for the oven mitts, stopping when I heard footsteps and looked up as Ronan walked in. He looked up after fixing his sleeve and froze when he saw me. He didn't say anything even though it looked like he wanted to.
"Your mom's in the dining room," I said, pulling the mitts on and taking out the tray, setting it on the counter.
"Okay," he said without making any move to leave.
I waited for the food to cool down a bit so I could serve it on a plate and take it in. My entire body tensed up when he took steps closer and around the counter, nearing me.
He stopped right in front of me while I leaned against the counter next to the sink. He opened the cabinet behind me and grabbed a plate while staring at me. I held his gaze as he put the plate down beside me before finally taking a few steps back. He leaned on the counter across from me and stared at me. He recognized the dress, judging from the look in his eyes.
"Why aren't you leaving?" I asked.
His eyes flicked up to mine. "Well, I thought I could go wherever I wanted in my house, as I pleased. Am I wrong?" He lifted a brow sharply.
"Of course not," I sighed heavily, "then you can bring in the food." I moved to walk past him but he grabbed my elbow, holding me back.
"You said earlier today," he paused, waiting for me to look at him, only continuing when I did. "That you were a game to me. Is that really what you thought? What do you think?" His eyes searched mine for an honest answer.
"Yes," I replied.
"Do you want to see what a real game looks like, London?"
I blinked in confusion while he let go of my arm.
"Do you want to play?"
This seems like a game in itself.
"Are you game or are you tapping out?"
"How old are we? Five?" I scoffed.
"Sure," he shrugged, "are you in or out?"
I folded my arms across my chest, anger slowly bubbling up inside of me. "I'll bite. I'm in. What do you want?"
"To play." He took a step closer and I instinctively took one back, my lower back digging into the countertop.
"I don't know this game," I whispered.
"All you need to know," he answered, "is that you can't tap out."
"Fine," I said through gritted teeth.
"And remember, you said you wanted to play. I'll be dirty then," he smirked.
"Dirty?" I laughed dryly. "Do your worst, Ronan. And I'll do mine," I bit back.
He nodded with a pleased and satisfied look on his face before he nodded to the food. "It's getting cold."
I glared at the back of his head as he left. I mumbled curses under my breath while serving the food onto the plate and then leaving the tray near the sink. I grabbed the plate to leave when he came back in, sticking only his head in near the wall. "What now?" I huffed.
"Nothing. I like the dress," he glanced at it, sending me a wink before disappearing.
I stood there dumbfounded for a second before gathering myself and walking to the dining room. I put the plate down and sat beside my dad, directly across from Ronan.
I just can't figure him out. Why can't he leave me alone? What more does he want from me? I stared at him while our parents chatted, too busy to sense or see the hatred radiating off of both of us. Why would he hate me, what did I ever do to him anyway?
"You're my whole world, London." His eyes remained locked with mine. "And I'm never letting you go. Whether you like it or not," he whispered.
How very foolish of me. To handpick his words and only remember the ones I like. He said it then. He's never letting me go. Whether I like it or not. Well then, let's see if he meant it or if it was just a bluff.
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Chapter 7
The little toxicity they have <3
lmao i have issues, i know
next chapter: fire