Speak To a Girl

Chapter 3

Tim POV:

We're on date number three of the week. We're hitting that point where we are growing comfortable together, which is great. Our first date was dinner, our second was a movie, and now our third is going to be the county fair. I'm trying to find ways to be romantic, but its never really been my strong suit. I've never liked a girl this much before...

She's bright, and funny... god, she's hilarious... She's deep, and smart, and just flat out gorgeous. From the little bit I know about her so far, I can tell that she's incredible. I'm falling hard...

She's complex, to say the least, and although I've let her know a lot about me, she's remaining pretty closed off from talking about her past, which I find bothersome. I don't know, maybe it's because I've grown up in an abusive household, but I just worry that she's hiding something that is a pretty big piece of who she is.

The sounds of cheap rollercoasters and game chimes fill the grounds, as she grips my hand. She looks around, the lights of the booths shining off her eyes. Her denim miniskirt shows a lot of leg, distracting me a bit. She's just a sight...

"There's a ferris wheel, you wanna go get--" She starts, before looking over at me and seeing my expression. "What?" She says, stopping and turning toward me.

"I just... I don't know... I..." I ramble, trying to find the least lame way to put it.

"You're scared of heights?" She calls out. I stare up at the ferris wheel before nodding, letting out a laugh. She smiles, before grabbing my hand and starting to walk. "I am too." She confesses.

"Then why were you trying to go on it?" I laugh, pulling her in so I can wrap my arm around her waist.

"Figured it'd be an excuse to get closer to you." She says, looking up at me with a different look than I've seen before. I walk over toward the beverage stand and grab us two bottles of coke and a small fry, before leading her over to the edge of the fairgrounds where a river runs. We sit side by side, watching the moon on the rippling water. She sips a bit from her soda, before taking a fry and biting it in half. She looks over at me, and holds up the other half. I open my mouth and she feeds it to me, letting out a laugh before sighing comfortably. "Tim, I really like you." She lets out, making me blush helplessly.

"I really like you too." I respond, making her smile. Her smile fades slowly, before she hugs herself.

"I just..." She starts, making my stomach sink. My gut says she's about to shoot this down. "There's a lot about me that you don't know... and I'm afraid that if I tell you that I'm going to scare you away." She releases, actually making me feel better. I shake my head, sparing her a smile.

"It'd take a lot to scare me away." I reassure her, causing the smallest smile to crack through, before falling again. She takes a deep breath, before looking out at the running water.

"I'm currently a foster-kid." She confesses, shocking me a bit. "My parents were really good to me, but they were really young. My dad messed up, and was sent to prison and my mom was too young to take care of me so the state took me away." She explains, her breathing a little uneasy. I watch her in a bit of awe. It makes sense... I've only seen her father peek his head out the window, but even from that brief moment I could tell they look nothing alike.

"How long was your dad in for?" I ask, rubbing her back slowly to soothe her a bit. I can tell the discussion is already making her tense.

"He's in for fifteen years. He has a year left until he's finished." She informs me, making my heart stop. What the hell did he do to get fifteen years? She spots my clear disbelief. "He uh..." She starts, before running blank on words. "He beat his father nearly to death. His father was in a coma for a few months before he woke up, but he had some pretty severe health issues as a result." She answers, scratching her elbow. There's more there, but she doesn't seem to want to talk too much about that event.

"Do you still talk to your grandfather?" I question. She looks at me, her mouth hanging open as her eyes well up. She tries to force out something.

"Uh...I..." is all she manages to get out.

"He was bad to you." I collect. She nods, a tear slipping as she blinks quickly. "Physically, verbally, or..." I stop as she winces. She rocks slowly as she hugs herself even tighter. She looks over at me and mouths sexually, as the tears begin to flow faster, unable to bring herself to say it aloud. My stomach churns. "How old were you?"

"Three." She answers.

"Was that why your dad...." I start, before she nods. My heart aches as this flood of information about her leaves me a little stunned. I try to think of something to say, but I'm too caught up to come up with much. "I'd love to meet your dad sometime." I say, making her crumble. I rub her back even more, before wrapping my arms around her. She wipes her tears and nods, before letting out an exhausted laugh. "When was the last time you saw him?" I ask. She takes a few deep breaths.

"I was eight... which was right before they moved me out of Mississippi." She lets out, before looking into my eyes. "He looked so tired... but it was like he'd light up the second his eye landed on me... I've never had someone look at me like they did..." She thinks out loud. Her words are heartbreaking.

"Maybe we could make the trip someday." I offer. She smiles and nods, swallowing hard.

"That'd be amazing." She replies, leaning her head on my shoulder. "You're not scared yet?" She asks, making me laugh.

"Not one bit." I answer, kissing her forehead.