Ivy #3
Feeling the ripples of water dance along my toes is almost calming as it lures me in and my breathing slows.
One step after another, I move deeper into the water.
A few people are off in the distance already playing some kind of water game, but I keep to the side, minding my own business as the noise drifts away, and I let my body take over again.
Before I can think, I plunge under the water, sinking to the shallow bottom as I tilt my head back, staring up at the moon through the ripples, and I feel like I could fall asleep.
I don’t get to bask in the serenity for long before a shadow appears over me and I'm yanked from the water, feet dangling as I splutter. Dragging my hands down my face, water seeps into my bones as Baron gapes at me.
“What the hell?” I blurt, and his eyebrows pinch as his gaze searches every inch of me.
“You're okay,” he croaks back, deepening my frown.
“Why wouldn't I be?” I grumble, irritated that my moment of peace is broken, but I'm caught off guard by the way his eyes almost bug out of his head.
“Because you're a Fire Protector,” he states, like that's supposed to make enough sense on its own.
“And?”
“It's water.”
“Is that supposed to mean something?” I hiss back, and he sighs, shaking his head.
“Fire Protectors and water don't usually bode well together,” he mutters.
“Does that explain Inky Lake and the cliff that day?” I ask, and he sighs.
“With you, who knows?” he mumbles, and I grin.
“Can you put me down now?” I mutter as silence extends between us.
“Sure,” he says, quickly lowering me, and the second my feet hit the ground, I slip beneath the surface of the water, so my shoulders are covered again, but I opt to keep my face out this time so the beast beside me doesn’t go insane again.
The moon has my attention tonight.
I expect Baron to stalk back off, but to my surprise, he plants himself beside me, head tilted back.
His proximity doesn't cause me the level of irritation I expect, and as I grow calmer, he clears his throat.
“Teddy said Odesa gave you trouble again today.”
I sigh, hoping to forget about her and the drama that seems to follow me everywhere. “It was fine,” I grumble, and he clears his throat again.
“He said she said some things.”
“What did he say?” I retort, snappier than necessary, bringing all of my attention to him, the moon long forgotten, and he shrugs.
“Why don't you tell me?”
I shake my head, waving him off. “There's nothing worth worrying about,” I insist.
“Ivy.” My name's a threat on his tongue.
“It was fine,” I repeat.
“If she hurt you—” he starts, and I lift my hand.
“She wasn't talking about me.”
“She was talking about me,” he confirms, and the silence that stretches between us is all the confirmation he needs. “It was probably true,” he states, and I scoff.
“You don't know what she said,” I grumble, and he shrugs, his eyes staring deep into mine.
“I don't need to.”
My lips twist as I try to silence myself, but the words still slip through. “I don't understand,” I breathe, my heart rate quickening as silence bleeds between us once again, but it sinks deep into my bones, leaving me caught off guard, and I can't stand to sit with the feeling any longer.
Standing, I go to move, but before I can edge away, he grabs my wrist, pulling me back to him.
It throws me off, looking down at him.
He's not the big giant I'm used to seeing.
He's just a guy sitting in the water, with me towering over him, and it’s completely unsettling.
“I thought I knew what I felt, I thought I understood, but I didn’t.
” He rubs his lips together, his eyes crinkling as his jaw grinds.
“I liked having someone to care about.” My pulse rings in my ears, confused by what he wants me to say to that, but thankfully, he's not done.
“She was familiar, she was someone not a part of my family, she was someone just for me, not for the others; not my mom, my dads, my sisters, my brother, just mine.
But even then, I didn't really know what to do with her. I think I just wanted to control somebody, have something in my possession, but I understand now that I never cared.”
“I’m sure you did,” I insist, despite how awful the words taste on my tongue, and he scoffs.
“The second I knew she had done something to hurt you, I wanted to kill her. You could kill me with your bare hands, and I would still care.”
“Baron,” I try to interject, but he shakes his head.
“Ivy, I couldn't live if you died, and with her, I couldn't even think about a kiss, never mind my next breath, my very being, my existence.”
“This is pretty heavy for a Saturday night,” I mutter, overwhelmed by the truth in his words.
“Story of my life, Ivy. Everything is too heavy, until you can't carry it anymore, and then you wind up like me.” Pain is etched in every word.
“Baron,” I whisper, moving to crouch back down into the water beside him, but he rises up before I get a chance, forcing me to stay on my feet.
“Go,” he commands, and I shake my head. “Ivy, go,” he repeats, nodding toward the shore.
"If I don’t?” I push, and he shakes his head.
“Then all you're doing is waiting to be broken because all I can think about when I look at you is what your lips might taste like.”