Bruised

22.

Natalie woke up to her phone ringing, Leon's contact popping up on her screen for the first time.

She stared at it for a moment, as if expecting her eyes to clear and the words on the screen to change.

Three buzzes passed before she snapped out of her daze.

Leon was calling her.

She scrambled out of her bed, clearing her throat before answering.

"Hello?" she said stupidly, as if she didn't already know who was calling.

"Good morning," Leon's voice came through the speaker. "Can I come in?"

"What?" Natalie glanced at her bedroom door, dread filling her stomach at the thought of him meeting her parents, but then her brain caught up to her body. She turned to her window and looked down to find Leon standing outside, phone against his ear.

When he saw her, he waved, smiling widely.

"Oh, my God," she muttered, unlocking the window, and pulling it open. "Of course."

He hung up and, with an easy jump, he climbed onto the roof beneath her window and slid into her bedroom.

"Good morning, girlfriend," he said, pressing a swift kiss to her lips.

Natalie jumped back in surprise, swatting him away. "I just woke up!"

"I know," he said. "I've been waiting outside forever."

"What?" she sputtered. She glanced at her bedroom door, suddenly nervous. "Did my parents see you?"

Last night, after Leon had left, Natalie was forced to face her parents. Somewhat. She didn't see her dad after intentionally avoiding him all night, but her mum had come looking for her to find out what she'd missed.

Natalie didn't feel like talking. Her mum gave her a long hug and a kiss to the forehead before whispering that she'd be there to chat when Natalie was ready.

Her mum had always been the more level-headed one out of the two.

Natalie had been so overwhelmed with emotions, she buried her face into her pillow and let sleep wipe her thoughts away.

Leon shook his head. "Come on, Natalie. You should know I'm good at going unseen."

"Right," she said before pivoting. "Wait, how long were you waiting?"

"Oh, forever." He flopped down dramatically on her bed before leaning up on his elbows and grinning widely. "Fifteen minutes?"

She rolled her eyes. He laughed.

"I just couldn't wait to see you," he said.

"I didn't realise having a boyfriend would be so suffocating," she teased, sighing loudly.

"Get used to it." He winked, reaching his arms out to grab her waist. She dodged his grip and giggled, stepping back.

"Stop, I need to get ready for school!"

"Good," he said, "because I was wondering if I could walk you today."

Natalie looked at him, his expression suddenly serious—almost even nervous.

It hit her then that she'd never seen him in the morning. His uniform was still neat, his tie secured around his neck and shirt neatly ironed. She wondered for a moment if he'd ironed it himself. She could imagine him, standing at the ironing board, slowly running it over the wrinkles of his shirt.

She thought about his question for a moment, imagined them walking through her neighbourhood hand in hand—not metres apart like their previous walks together.