Outfit^^
River's POV
When I finished drying Cove and I off, I looked down to see her practically falling asleep.
Her arms are tightly wrapped around my neck while I have one arm firmly supporting her butt so she doesn't fall. My other arm is cradling her head on my shoulder.
As much as I'd love to stay like this, we need to get home. The sun is already starting to set and it's been a really long day.
"C'mon baby, we just need to walk to the car, then you can go to sleep," I said, attempting to let her go.
She let out a whine and clung to me, desperately trying to not let me put her down.
"Baby, just 15 minutes and you can go to sleep in the car," I laughed. She still shook her head and wrapped her arms tighter around me.
"What's the matter?" I asked, getting a little worried about her unusual behavior.
"I just don't want to to let me go, don't go," She mumbled into my neck.
"I'm not going anywhere sweetheart, I'm right here. Can you please just let me put you down so we can go back to your house?" I pleaded.
"Noooo."
"Baby the walk isn't even that far. The sooner I can put you down, the sooner we can get going."
She didn't answer, so I took that as a yes. I slowly lowered her to the ground, and this time she didn't resist.
As soon as my arms left her body, she grabbed my hand and pushed herself into my side. I would have found it cute if I didn't find it so concerning.
I quickly packed up all of our stuff and grabbed the bag, then we started walking back.
"Baby please talk to me, what's wrong?" I ask after she sighed and gave me sad eyes for the fifth time in the last 2 minutes.
"It's just, I don't know I'm still shaken up about that and I don't want to be apart from you. The second I left you, I almost drowned. It seems like bad things happen when I'm not with you," she rambled.
"Aww baby, I promise nothing like that will ever happen again. I won't let it." I reassured her. I'm so happy that she sees me a someone safe who she can trust.
She smiled up at me and lightly swung our arms. By the time we got back to my car, she was bouncing around and giggling like she wasn't just struggling to breath less then 20 minutes ago.
Back to the normal Cove I know and love.
I opened the door for her and she got in. As I walked to my side, I got a call. I grabbed it from the bad.
The words "Dad" flashed across the screen.
Weird, he almost never calls. The most I ever get from him is a text every few months telling me that him and my Mom coming home for a week or two.
I picked it up hesitantly. The second my phone went to my ear, I heard the sound of his light Italian accent.
"Hello my boy," he said. Hello? He must be in a very cheery mood.
"Dad?"
"Yes, I was just calling to let you know that your cousin will be coming to our house this Friday. She'll be staying for a few months."
"Azalea?" I asked. I have three cousins on my Dad's side, and two on my Mom's.
"Yes, she does school online and wants to finish this trimester and possibly the next somewhere outside of France. We offered to let her stay at our house as long as she pleases instead of having her rent one somewhere else."
My whole Dad's side of the family is Italian. Most of them live in Italy, but Azalea lives in France with her brothers.
All of my families' last names are Esposito. Mine is different though because I took after my Mom's last name. Esposito holds a lot of power to it, and my mom wanted to protect me by giving me a common last name, her last name.
Back when I was born, my family was in a lot of danger. You'd risk death just for having the last name Esposito. If I were named River Esposito, I probably wouldn't be alive right now.
We're doing much better now though and Esposito is a name you cower away from throughout all parts of Italy. I'm planning on changing my name to River Esposito once I take over my father's business.
The time just hasn't come yet, I still have a good few years to enjoy before taking over that responsibility.
Or so I thought.
ð ð ð
Cove's POV
"River no, please stay!"
Just like the last hundred attempts, my pleas fell upon deaf ears.
When we got back home, I was informed that River has to go by no other then the one and only. Apparently he has some "business" to take care of, and he's left it undone for far too long.
"Baby, as much as I'd love to stay with you, I really have to get this done," he said.
It kind of feels like he's always leaving me to go do whatever "business" he has. Call me selfish, but it makes me sad that something he can't even name is more important then me.
Maybe if he would tell me what it is, I wouldn't feel so sad every time he has to go do it. I wouldn't feel like he's ditching me for something not even important enough to explain.
"I'll see you tomorrow, don't worry," he reassured after looking at my upset face.
"Why do you have to go for so long! Can't you do it later, it's barely the afternoon!"
"Because I have lots of work to do, I would take you with me if I could. Baby, I'm really sorry but I have to go now."
With that, he untangled my arms from around him and pecked my lips before walking out the door.
Just like that, he left me all alone.
I sighed to myself and went upstairs. I'm hurt honestly, why is River keeping so many secrets from me? I mean we've been dating for what, a month and he still hasn't told me anything!
Well what he doesn't realize is that detective Cove Bentley gets to the bottom of everything.
I'm going to put all of the lies and weird thing River has done all together and see what I can find out.
30 minutes later...
So here's what I got:
1. River has a gun
Possible theories: Self defense. Gun license. Hunting.
2. River lied about the guys who tried to kill us being put away.
Possible theories: He didn't want to scare or worry me.
3. River had blood on his shirt.
Possible theories: It's animal blood from hunting. It wasn't blood and I'm just blind. He saved someone's life (I don't know man I'm trying)
4. Everyone is scared of River
Theories: It's because he's strong. It's because he's rich and could probably sue them easily with his fancy lawyers. It's because of his bodyguards.
I looked over the paper that I wrote all of this information on and sighed in defeat. I have nothing.
Welp, it was fun while it lasted. Detective Cove out, tired sad Cove in.
I shook my head and hid the paper under a few random notebooks in my desk. No one will find my super confidential clues in there.
I checked the time on my phone. 6:30. I still have a few hours to kill before I go to bed. Just then, my phone rang.
"In the jungle the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps-" Leah is FaceTiming me. Don't ask why that's the ringtone, I don't know either.
I picked up, but before I could even say a word, Leah started screaming.
"GIRL, WHY WEREN'T YOU ANSWERING MY TEXTS? I HAVE THE BEST NEWS EVER!"
"Woah woah, okay slow down. I was a little busy so can you please lower your voice and tell me what's going on?"
"Yeah okay, sorry. What I was going to say that the boy I liked asked me on a date! We've been snapping back and forth recently, and he just texted me asking if I'm available next weekend!"
"Really? That's great news, I'm so happy for you and... wait what's his name again?"
"Ian! Ian Woods, you know the one on the flag football team? You know, black hair, hazel eyes, ring any bells?"
"Hmm, oh yeah! He seems pretty nice and he's really good at football. I think you two would make a great couple!"
"Yes yes, I know. I can't wait till we start dating, then we can go on double dates! Me, you, River and Ian! They would be good friends! Well now that I think about it, does River even have friends?"
"What! Of course he does Leah. I mean, I've only met one of them but it wasn't very formally. Now that I think about it, I've met him twice! He even drove us home once," I mumbled the last part to myself.
I just realized that the guy River was talking to at the layout, Ryan, was also one of the ones who saved us. Is Ryan one of River's bodyguards? He looks a little young, but you never know. I need to add that to my clue sheet.
"-And we'll name another one Anth- hey, are you even listening?" I snapped my head down to see Leah scolding me through the screen.
"Sorry Lee, I was just thinking. Go on, I'm listening now." I gave her a apologetic smile that she accepted before going on another tangent.
What I got out of all of it in the end is that we are both going to get pregnant at the same time, me with a boy and her with a girl. Then we'll become neighbors and our kids will become best friends who eventually turn into lovers.
"Well, I have to go. It was nice talking to you Cove, see you tomorrow."
"Bye, good luck with Ian." She thanked me before hanging up.
I sighed and plopped down on my bed. What to do, what to d- wait a second! I never showered or changed after the lake! I must look and smell so gross right now.
I practically ran to my bathroom and stripped out of my clothes, sighing in content once I stepped under the warm water.
The water instantly relieved all of the itchiness that I just now noticed on my arms and legs. Although we swam for no more then an hour, with the amount of dirt coming off me it feels like we swam for an eternity.
Once I finished scrubbing my skin until it practically turned red, I got out and wrapped myself in a towel. I went back to my room and slipped on some pink sweats with a white satin tank top.
It's now 8:30 so I ate dinner which consisted of green beans and sausage, then I did some homework.
Afterwards, I set my alarm for 6:15 before finally crawling into my warm bed and falling asleep almost instantly.
ð ð ð
The next day...
I woke up to my alarm blaring a song by One Direction. I tiredly opened my eyes and turned it off, then slowly slid out of bed. I feel absolutely exhausted.
There's no way I can get through the day like this. I headed downstairs to make myself a cup of coffee. I don't drink coffee a lot because it makes me kind of shaky, but I really need it right now.
After putting my favorite morning blend in our Keurig, I grabbed a small black mug with red and green paint splatters. I think it's supposed to be a Christmas cup, but I'm too tired to care.
I slowly sipped my coffee once it finished blending. The hot liquid traveled down my throat and gave my stomach a weird but pleasurable feeling.
It took a few minutes for me to finish, but once I did I felt significantly better. It will take a little bit longer for the full extent to kick in, but this is good enough for now.
I decided to dress cute today because it's Monday. I have the rest of the week to not care about my outfit, so might as well try today.
After putting on a white lacy crop top, some denim boyfriend jeans, and a yellow sweater with a button towards the top, I put my wavy hair into a messy ponytail.
I used a simple black scrunchy to tie my hair up before slipping on my yellow checkered vans. My outfit is kinda stereotypically basic, but I'm not going to let that stop me.
Just as I was about to go down to get breakfast, the doorbell rang. Look who finally decided to show up.
I took my sweet sweet time going downstairs to open the door as punishment.
"Baby what took you so long?" River asked once I finally opened the door. I simply just shrugged and started inspecting my nails.
"Babyyy, what is this about? I'm sorry," he apologized, making me feel kind of bad.
"It's okay River! I'm just joking, see?" I gave him a cheeky smile and bounced back on the balls of my feet.
He laughed and grabbed my shoulders, pushing me backwards into the house.
"You're so cute baby. And you look absolutely adorable today." I blushed at his complement, something I've been doing a lot recently.
"I came kinda early today, have you eaten yet?" River asked once he shut the door and we got closer to the kitchen.
Before I got the chance to answer, the grumbling of my stomach answered for me.
"I take that as a no, why don't you go get something to eat on the way?" I nodded and said okay, then went to the kitchen and grabbed a banana.
I'm not too hungry right now since I just had some coffee and it filled me up quite a bit, so a banana will do. When I walked over to River, he frowned at me.
"Are you sure that's enough? I don't want you to be hungry later on before lunch," River said wearily.
My heart swoll at how much he cares about me. I don't know how to express it in words but I just love it so much. He's the best person ever.
"River I'm okay, really. I had some coffee this morning and I'll go pack an extra big lunch just in case." I gave him a reassuring smile, to which he nodded.
"Okay, whatever you say. Do you want to pack a lunch, or if you want, we can go out for lunch."
"That sounds great! I haven't had McDonalds in so long! Or Burger King, or Chick-fil-A, or..." I continued to name all the places I haven't been to recently as River grabbed my bag in one hand and my hand in the other.
"Okay baby, we can go wherever you want," River laughed once we got to his car and I was still going. I smiled apologetically and got in my seat.
"Okay I'll try to narrow my list down," I giggled. River shook his head playfully as started to drive off towards school.
When we got there, the first thing I saw were dozens of huge signs saying who to vote for various positions in student government.
"Oh look River, there's the one I made for Leah!" I pointed at the familiar sign placed above the main entrance. Lizzy was in charge of hanging up the signs this morning since she wasn't there to help make them.
"Oh wow, that's a little... aggressive," he commented. Of course I just had to point at the one Sydney made saying "Vote Leah Black or don't come back."
"Oh yeah, that one wasn't me. I'll show the one I came up with!" I dragged him inside and searched the hallways.
It took a little while, but finally I spotted the black signs that says "Vote Leah Black for vice president, isn't it evident?"
"See it rhymes! And I made it black because Leah Black, get it?" I rambled as he read the sign.
"Yes I get it, good job." I smiled at his light praise before dragging him along to see the other 2 signs.
"Alright everybody get to class!" I frowned when the hall monitor named Molly interrupted my story.
I was trying to tell River about how the purple tube of glitter used in the poster we're looking at spilled open and got all over my shoes on Saturday, but I didn't even get to the best part before we were interrupted.
"It's okay, you can finish telling me later," River reassured me once he noticed my saddened expression. I nodded carefully and he walked me to class.
Fast forward to lunch...
"Have you decided what you want?"
"Yes! We should get White Castle, if that's okay with you."
"Of course, whatever you want to get is fine with me." We got into his car and took of. The nearest White Castle is only down the street, so it didn't even take 2 minutes to get there.
"Okay, I have something important to tell you, so we should just go through the drive through and eat in the parking lot."
"O-okay," I reply, getting a bit nervous. What does he have to tell me? Is it something bad?
"Don't worry baby, It's good news not bad," he gave me a small reassuring smile while putting his hand above my knee and rubbing comforting circles on it.
We drove right up to the window because there's absolutely no line. I guess we beat the lunch rush. River ordered our stuff and soon enough, we parked under a big shady tree.
"Like I said it's nothing bad, it's good," River started. I nodded for him to continue as I took a bite out of my slider.
"Well, my cousin is going to come stay at my house for a few months, maybe more. She's from Paris but she wanted to take a vacation while finishing this semester of school. She does school online."
"Oh that's cool! How old is she?"
"She older me by a few months, 17. She's in the equivalent of senior year, school is a little different in Europe but it's her last year before college."
"Oh okay, is she coming today?"
"No, she won't be here till Friday. She will get to my house around 1, so I was wondering if you'd want to come over to meet her. You can spend the night too if you want."
"I-I don't know," I replied hesitantly. I've always been bad with meeting new people, River was a different case though because I immediately felt safe with him since he basically saved my life.
"Don't worry baby, she's sweet once you get to know her. I'm sure you two will get along great in no time."
"Okay, I trust you! In that case of course I will go with you."
"Okay great, we'll go right after math class on Friday. Now let's get back to eating." I giggled and nodded in agreement.
I'm glad we both have the same priorities, food.
3253 words
Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter, I promise the next one will be really good.
Also thank you everyone for 7k reads! I didn't even get the chance to say thank you for 5k reads before it went up to 7k! You guys are amazing.