Page 71 of Love Bleeds Red
We finish and file out of the pub into the gray afternoon. I catch Jasper looking through the window with longing.
“Missing it already?” I ask.
“Best fish and chips I’ve ever had.”
I shake my head and pat his back. “Don’t worry buddy, you’ll be sick of pub food by the time we find Bailey.”
He grins and I realize that’s the first time in a while where I’m not second-guessing myself. Not one bit.
BAILEY - AUGUST 10TH
I can’t believe summer’s almost over. Just two more weeks until move in. Two more weeks until Leon and the guys head back for their senior year. I’m not ready!
We’ve been talking a lot about everything the past few days. What’ll happen when we’re not under the same roof, when we can’t sneak little moments whenever we want. I think Damon is starting to suspect something… Makes sense, he’s always been super observant. A few days ago, he asked where I’d disappeared to for three hours, and when I said I was at the library, he just gave me this knowing look and said “Right… the library.”
Leon and I were actually walking around the waterfront, sightseeing.
Or this morning when he pointed out the mark Leon left on my neck, asking if that happened at the library too, with thatsame smirk on his face. I just hurried to my room, knowing if I answered him with some random lie my face would be beet red.
So far he’s kept whatever he suspects to himself, so at least there’s that.
But back to the important stuff. Leon and I have been making plans. Our schools are only an hour apart, which isn’t that far but it feels like it is. He’s already figured out the fastest way to get to me and promised he’ll come see me every weekend. “Maybe even during the week if my schedule allows,” he said last night while we were lying in the hammock, watching the stars after everyone else was asleep.
I want to believe it’ll be that easy. That we can just pick up where we left off every time we see each other. But I’ve watched friends try long distance before, and it never seems to work out the way they plan.
He keeps telling me to stop overthinking, that what we have is special and as long as we’re both willing to keep it up, everything will be great.
I love how he talks about the future, like he’s completely sure of us. “Next summer we’ll get our own place,” he said yesterday, completely serious. “Where would you want to live after you finish school? We can look for jobs in the same city.”
It’s all happening so fast, but I love how there’s no question in his mind that we’ll end up together.
Two more weeks in our almost-perfect bubble. Then we’ll find out if love really can survive classes, dorm rooms, final exams and all the distance between us.
I’m choosing to believe it can. We’re too good together for it not to work.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
BAILEY - BEFORE
Over the past three months,I’ve done exactly what Polly told me to do—observe. Reading Sir’s moods has become my full-time job, picking up on the smallest details like it’s my new superpower.
Today, all those skills are screaming at me that something is about to change. The signs are everywhere.
It started this morning when Ms. Harrington delivered a gift, a knee-length navy dress with pearl buttons down the bust. The moment I saw it laid out on the bed, I wanted to gag. The color matches Sir’s suits perfectly, like he’d chosen it for that very reason.
Then Polly showed up at breakfast after disappearing for over a week. I could only offer a polite nod while being watched, but something’s wrong with her. She’s walking with her shoulders hunched, her eyes red and swollen like she’s been crying.
But it’s Sir himself who confirms my worst fears. He’s pacing the main floor of the house with that manic energy I only seeonce in a while. It puts me on edge every time. Understandably, since it usually follows some kind of news.
He skips breakfast entirely, then appears in the study hours later. I flinch at the sound of his voice cutting through the quiet room.
“We’re taking a little trip today, my dear.” He sits beside me and directs his attention to Ms. Harrington. “Send Polly up with some tea. I’d like to speak with Bailey alone.”
Ms. Harrington doesn’t miss a beat, obeying immediately.
I fidget with the spine of my book, hoping that’ll help soothe the dread running through my veins.
“You look lovely in the dress I picked. The color suits you.” I thank him, with my plastered-on smile and he continues. “Don’t you agree that a change of scenery will do you some good?”
