I Love You (Eu amo você) {MJ FANFICTION}

Chapter 8

She jumped out of her nap the moment she heard her uncle screaming.

Lia quickly sprung up out of bed and ran the short distance to the front door in time to see partially over her uncle's meaty shoulder, Michael holding a plastic ball in his hands, looking guilty yet confused as her uncle yelled relentlessly at him.

She speedily wedge herself in between them.

"Está bem!" she'd assured her uncle in his rage and pushed him back from the door. As her uncle took his shouting further into the house Lia face Michael in the doorway, dressed in a long shirt that just about covered her panties. Michael's eyes seems to struggle to stay upon her face when she finally addressed him.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped.

"I-I came to find you." He said looking guilty when she looked at him.

"Why?" she interrogated him, on edge now and hearing her uncle in a rage behind her. Michael looked stunned and at a loss for words.

"I hadn't seen you in a couple days, I was starting to worry." He said with concern and they both jumped when they heard a crash behind her. "I'm sorry I...I can go." He said and stepped nervously back from the door.

"Wait. Give me 5 minutes." She said and nodded toward the steps down to the beach. "I'm coming." She said.

20 minutes later she was storming out of the house, a thin blanket and roll of paper in hand, angered by the argument she'd just engaged in with her uncle.

When she approached, Michael was sitting on the steps gazing out at the ocean.

"Is everything okay?" he asked her when she finally nudged him by his shoulders and led the way down the steps. She was silent mostly. "Lia I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to upset anybody-"

"Did Ramel tell you to come here?" she asked.

"No. I just walked along the beach, the same way you always come and found you by myself." He said. She calmed a little now focused on their feet moving along the beach.

"Listen...you can't come here...to my house." she said. Michael nodded slowly, drinking in her words with compassionate eyes. "My uncle doesn't like visitors." She said.

"Okay...I understand, it won't happen again." They continued walking slowly in silence and then Michael turned to her. "How come you haven't been around lately?" he asked.

"I've been busy..." she shrugged vaguely. He looked down at his sandals, walking slowly.

"With your cousin?" he finally asked. She looked out at the ocean.

"No. Just busy." She said. They made it all the way out to the usual cabin, and she threw both the doors open. It was noon and the sun was blazing overhead. She quickly filled the space inside the cabin with her blanket, spreading it out gingerly on the floor. The whole time feeling Michael's eyes burning holes in her skin. Finally she stood up from her crouch, turning to face him.

"Lia. Come here." He extended a hand to her. She slowly descended the steps to meet with him again. He took her hand in his and squeezed it lightly, gazing into her eyes. "If you were in any kind of trouble, you'd tell me wouldn't you?" he asked. She chewed her lip turning her eyes over to the horizon. "Wouldn't you." He nudged her.

"I'm not in any trouble." She said simply.

"Even still, I want you know you can talk to me." He said. "You can always tell me if anything's going on at home...anything at all that you don't like I don't care what it is." he said, his eyes trained on her. "And I promise you, I won't judge you. You can think of me as your confidant." her brows knitted then.