Eli
The weekend came and went and it was nice catching up with Natalie, seeing her smile and continuing to be her usual cheerful self. But right now I'm on a mission. After following Bailey's roommate Liliana for hours, she finally pulls up to a house and my eyes narrow in disbelief.
You've got to be shitting me.
There's no way in hell Bailey is staying with Joey but the evidence is clear as day when Liliana walks through the front door without so much as a knock. It's obvious that she's been here a lot and what other reason would she have other than Bailey being here? I grab my phone and almost text Maya out of reflex but I catch myself just in time before shoving my phone back in my pocket. I tap my fingers on the steering wheel as I think of a plan, Joey Hilary is not my biggest fan and honestly the feeling is mutual but I can be decent and respectful to him if Bailey's here. I glance at the house again and my mind goes blank when I see Bailey through one of the second floor windows and suddenly I no longer give a fuck about being respectful.
I hop out of the car before making my way around the back where I know a big tree is before climbing it until I reach the second floor and I stare at her through the window like an absolute creep as she brushes her long hair before putting on some perfume then leaving the room. I wait until she's gone before climbing through the window and I almost get dizzy when her familiar smell of perfume hits my nose, I take a deep breath trapping the smell in my lungs because I want Bailey Harper to consume me. I know I should be quiet because Liliana could probably hear a pin drop so I take a seat on the bed as I wait for Bailey to come back.
Three hours. That's how long I wait for her to come back but when she eventually does, I hide under the bed as she walks into the room and close the door behind her. I can vividly hear the sound of a car pulling out of the driveway and I'm going to assume that Liliana finally left. My eyes follow the movement of her feet as she heads to the drawer and takes something out, I use the opportunity to slide out from under the bed "Angel."
She lets out a shriek as she whips around to stare at me with wide eyes before shoving something into her pocket "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I needed to see you, Bailey."
Before she can reply, there's a knock on her door and Joey asks through the door "I heard yelling, are you okay in there?"
She stares at me and I don't think she's even breathing and I mouth "I'll explain everything to you."
She bites her bottom lip as she debates before nodding and saying "I'm okay, Joe. I thought I saw a spider but it was a false alarm."
He chuckles "Alright then."
I wait until I hear his footsteps leave before taking a step closer to her but stop short when she takes one step back "Don't get any closer."
"I'm not here to hurt you, Bailey."
She scoffs "Could've fooled me. What do you want?"
"I just want to explain everything to you from my side." I gesture to the bed "Please."
She stares at me through narrowed eyes before sitting down and I take a seat next to her, making sure to keep a respectful distance between us. I clear my throat before meeting her eyes "Firstly I need you to know that this is not me trying to make excuses okay?"
"I'll be the judge of that."
"Fair enough" I nod "So I know I mentioned my father stealing not only my powers but other kids as well and Maya is one of them. I feel that you should know the full extent of what happened and I'm willing to open up myself to you." I swallow before letting her see my vulnerability "He locked us in this anti-magic cage so that we couldn't use our powers to get out and we went days without food or water, which made us feel absolutely powerless." I look away from her to stare at the wall "Everyone else hated me because I share blood with this man who caused them pain but Maya didn't see me like that at all."
"She saw you as one of them." Bailey says softly
I nod in agreement "And for a short time she filled this void in me and I felt like I owed it to her to give her powers back." I glance at Bailey to find her listening patiently "But then I started spending time with you and I found myself…liking you."
"Perhaps you don't actually like me and instead I was the one filling the void now instead of her"
I shake my head in disagreement "It's you. It's always been you for me, angel. Why can't you see that?"
She lets out a sigh "Probably because you were willing to take my magic and give it her, Eli."
"I know that was wrong of me and I apologise for it because I truly am sorry." I turn my body to fully face her "But I want to make it right between us if you just give me a second chance."
She swallows "This cluster fuck of a relationship was a mistake right?"
My heart sinks as she throws my words that I told her at the waterfall back in my face "No, no it was not a mistake. I never meant that, Bailey. How can it be a mistake when I've never been happier."
"Ironic." She says with a slight laugh that's not one of amusing before reaching into her pocket and holding something out to me "Is this a mistake?"
My heart starts pounding and a lump forms in my throat when I see the pregnancy test in her hand. A positive pregnancy test. My eyes snap up to hers "Are you sure?"
"Positive." She cringes and says "I mean yes, I'm sure."
I nod slowly and I may seem calm but a thousand of thoughts are running through my mind right now, I ask hesitantly "Do you plan to keep it?"
She clears her throat "I've thought long and hard about it and yes, I do plan to keep it."
My shoulders relax slightly at that "Good then we should get married."
Her eyes widen "Excuse me?"
"If the dean finds out I got you pregnant, not only will he fire me but he'll also expel you. But if he finds out you pregnant but you have a husband then there's not much he can do."
She tilts her head slightly "Why not?"
"Well according to Trinity's rules a student can lose their spot at school if they fall pregnant and they are not married."
"But this is different because you're my goddamn professor"
I nod "I know that and I'll be okay with losing my job as long as you keep your spot at Trinity."
She blinks "I don't know, I still haven't forgave you for lying to me. How do I know you won't go behind my back again to steal my powers? And what if Maya comes after me?"
"I won't." I vow to her "I'll take on an army alone before I let anyone take a strand of your hair, angel."
Her eyes search mine, trying to detect a lie that she won't find before glancing away "I'll think about it."
I nod because that's better than a straight no "Of course." I stand up from the bed and tell her "And just so you know, it's very safe for you to come back to campus."
She doesn't say anything and I move back to the window "Eli."
I freeze and glance at her "Yeah?"
"I hate you."
I swallow and tell her the lie she wants to hear "I hate you too."
And with that I climb back out of the window feeling a bit on cloud fucking nine. I'm about to be a father and hopefully a husband.