Lea
After greeting everyone in the room, he then looks towards me. Almonst instantly, his smile weakens a little as a look of slight confusion surfaces on his curious face.
It looks like he’s trying to work something out. After a moment of contemplation, I get it, as if a light bulb has suddenly been switched on in my brain.
He’s probably trying to put a name to your face and can’t remember, even though he shares the same English class as you.
I know I’m not popular, but I didn’t realise that I’m literally that invisible.
As he eyes me for a few seconds too long, I can feel the warming of my cheeks under his gaze. It’s a bad reflex of mine, it doesn’t take much to make me blush the shade of a tomato and I’m so peeved because I can’t help it. Thankfully, his eyes turn away to my parents.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he nods respectfully towards them.
“But I’m kind of tired, so I’m going to bed, have a lovely night,” He says, to my relief. At least if he isn’t in the room, I won’t be so tense.
River pushes himself off of the cream couch, which bounces back to its original shape. As he walks towards the living room door, he pushes a few stray strands of hair back from his forehead to rejoin his thick head of hair, the shade of which can only be described as a dark melted gold.
Part of me is glad that he’s leaving, the other part is pretty bummed. I can’t come to terms with how one person could be as gorgeous as he is.
“River, could you please take Lea to the guestroom on your way?” Brenda calls after him, halting him in his steps.
Oh, crap.
My eyes quickly find Brenda, hoping that she can read through them how much I really don’t want him to take me to the guestroom. But, instead of catching the sight my pleading eyes, she’s expectantly looking at River for his response.
“Sure,” he says, to my dismay, averting his gaze to meet mine.
Okay, Lea, think of him naked.
Wait, what moron came up with the idea that believing someone is naked will calm your nerves? I shake the thought from my head – I definitely do not want to see River naked.
With an anxious laugh, I push myself off of the sofa too.
With a ‘goodnight’ aimed at my parents and the Parker’s, I walk towards River.
Yet, of course, you should know, that it’s not me if something stupid doesn’t happen. The poor, typical Lea trips over the edge of the rug and dives forward in a way that may be mistaken as a
Superman act.
One arm outstretched in front of me, and one behind, in a weak hope of steadying myself. Luckily, I manage to stop myself just in time from crashing into River’s chest; our bodies now only separated by a few centimeters.
I can’t breathe.
What the hell, Lea?
I glance at River with an apologetic expression, yet all he does in return is flash his self-esteem-crushing smirk.
“Are you okay, love?” Brenda says, almost getting up from her seat to try to catch me.
Can this be anymore embarrassing?
“Yes, sorry, lost my balance…” I say, turning to face River, giving him a cold glare in return to his smirk.
It doesn’t phase him though since he turns on his heel and strides out of the room with an amused expression. Rude. I scrunch my face in embarrassment at his back.
“Are you going, honey?” Mum says.
“Yes, have a good night everyone,” I say again, speaking as confidently as possible in an attempt to conceal the fact that I’m an idiot who always manages to embarrass herself.
I make my way out of the room, kicking myself internally for being such a pathetic loser and notice that River is halfway up the spiral staircase, not bothering to wait for me. So, I pace hurriedly towards the stairs, taking a huge lunge to miss a step as I climb and catch up to him.
I place my hand on the glistening banister of the staircase, letting it glide across the cool material beneath. Glancing up in River’s direction, I think back to the times I’ve seen him wondering around school. Obviously, he’s always with Ky and Jake, with a desperate-looking Georgia trailing after him.
Everyone knows that he comes from a wealthy family. From the conversation that my father and Malcolm had only a few minutes ago, it’s evident where their riches come from. Malcolm is the founder and CEO of Parker Designs, England’s biggest architectural firm.
Their services are specialised for elite celebrities and personalities, nationwide and internationally. No wonder their house looks like it’s fit for a royal family to live in.
After I admire his broad back for a few moments, he turns his head in my direction.
“You’re so clumsy, try not to trip again.” He snickers, stepping onto the second-floor landing.
If it weren’t for his irritating statement, I would be admiring the beauty that is the second floor. Instead, I glare at the back of his head, wishing I could disperse into thin air.
“Ha-ha, so funny.” I reply sarcastically. “I’m sorry if I was too close to breaking one of your precious nails.”
He swiftly spins to face me, a daring stare present in his chocolate eyes. I notice the subtle clenching of his teeth, which sharpens his jaw line, making the contours of his face even more defined, his expression is entirely amused.
“Oh, don’t worry, I get my manicure done tomorrow, so it shouldn’t have been a problem if you did break them.” He speaks so seriously that if it wasn’t for his crooked smile to give his joking away, I would consider his words true.
“I won’t be surprised if you do have a manicure, I’ve always thought there would be a feminine side to you.” I cross my arms over my chest, proud of my comeback.
Lea, what are you doing? Dig yourself a bigger hole why don’t you.
“Are you calling me a girl?” He inquires.
“Yes.”
Oh god, Lea, you’re officially awarded the prize of the craziest muhflecker.
“Have you seen these muscles?” He asks, looking down to each of his biceps in turn.
And now is the perfect moment for me to roll my eyes. “Wow, your ego is huge, and girls have muscles too you know.”
He takes a few steps closer to me until his six-foot-tall body is hovering over my five-foot-two figure. I’m pretty sure I look like an elf compared to him.
His hand rises to rub at the light stubble on his jaw.
“My ego is huge?”
“Yep,” I say, shuffling slightly backwards, trying to keep my cool about his close proximity.
“You’re not as quiet as I thought you would be,” he smirks.
“And you’re as vain, if not more than I thought you were.” A smile tugs up at my lips.
I take another step backward, realising that he’s coming slightly closer and closer. But, there’s a problem, my shuffling feet are stopped by the bannister behind me.
“You’re a little too confident for your own good.”
“Says the arrogant one.”
You better say goodbye, Lea, because you’re sheesh kabab.
River takes one more step towards me, trapping me against the banister of the stairs.
Our faces so close together that his warm breath tickles the tip of my nose, which makes nuclear bombs explode inside of me. My palms are sweaty, my robe feels extremely tight and my pulse rate soars. He peels his eyes from mine, only to let them wander slowly down my body and then back up to lock with my gaze again.
How f-cking rude and indecent.
Suddenly, I feel extremely self-conscious of my very revealing crop top that isn’t covered by my robe. I try to straighten my posture, hoping to prove that his ‘look’ hasn’t affected me.
That’s it! He should learn what the phrase ‘personal space’ means.
Inhaling deeply, I smirk venomously at him before pushing my hands against his chest and attempting to shove him away, however, the only person who gets pushed is me. My spine arcs way too far backwards as it hits the bannister behind me.
If it bent any further, I’m afraid I could’ve tumbled ten meters to the ground floor to meet my bleak ending. At the sudden pain stabbing at my back, my jaw drops and I try not to wince from the pain.
Unbelievable! He doesn’t move an inch.
In a matter of seconds, the second floor is trafficked with River’s fits of laughter. He hobbles backward, away from me, to give himself enough room to bend forwards and clutch his stomach as he laughs even louder.
You made the jerk laugh at you, Lea. You deserve a massive round of applause.
“I tell you what, clumsy…” He breathes between his hysterics. “I needed that laugh.”
And when I think he’s finished, he laughs more. This time, he brings himself up to his full towering height and throws his head backward. I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone downstairs heard him.
“Are we on nickname terms now?” I snap, trying not to pay attention to his laugh as best I can. And trying not to laugh myself.
“Oh, you mean ‘clumsy’?” He straightens himself a little but doesn’t quit with the laughing. “I think it suits you, don’t you?”
“Don’t you think ‘dickhead’ suits you?” I bite back.
“Ooh, the girl swears.” He finishes laughing, staring me right in the eye with a mocking grin that never disappears from his lips.
“Where’s the guestroom?” I inquire, frustrated.
The sooner I can get away from this douche, the better.
“Down there, first door to the right.” He points down the mesmerising hallway, still with the amused look glued to his face.
Once I spot the door that he’s pointing at, I dart away from him, pleading for my legs to pick up their pace and walk faster.
“You might want to slow down, otherwise you can trip and fall.” He calls after me, just a few seconds before I can shut the guestroom door and block out his laughter.
Eugh, that was nasty. Everything about today has been nasty.
My house is ruined, I think I’ve lost all of my possessions, yet for a while I was happy, knowing that we were to stay at Malcolm’s house tonight.
Unfortunately, little did I know that I’m an idiot and am able to make a fool out of myself and that they have a son who will happily embarrass me further. I sigh exasperatedly, leaning against the sturdy door while my eyes seel shut.
.
It’s funny how your life can change so instantly in only a matter of hours.
Everyone’s going to find out that I live with River Parker.
Everyone is going to be talking about what happened to my house.
Great, this is fantastic – this is totally how I planned my first year of sixth-form*.
After hearing a nearby door close, which I assume is River’s, I open my eyes. Once I’ve taken in the elegance of my surroundings, undoubtedly I have an eyegasm.
With my mouth slightly open, I stare unblinkingly at the room displayed in front of my eyes.
Well, shit. It’s pretty fucking amazing.
The guestroom is around the same size as the living room, with cream curtains and bed covers to match. There’s a great chandelier hanging from the ceiling with glistening crystals dangling like daggers, threatening to pierce the loveseat at the foot of the bed that they hover over.
I smile stupidly at the California king bed ahead of me and compare it to my tiny single bed at home. To my right is the brightly lit bathroom, with the same colour scheme as the bedroom; gold, cream and black. Everything that my eyes scroll across seems to be expensive, and I feel too clumsy to touch anything.
Just as I want to leap onto the lengthy bed, I’m stopped in my tracks by a series of three knocks on the door. Anxiously, I pause, and I pray.
Please don’t be him, please don’t be him, please don’t be him.
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