treacherous || Leonardo DiCaprio

Chapter 8: If You Jump, I Jump

Leo walked me home that treacherous evening, us seeing various signs of damage from the recent earthquake on the way. I couldn't enter my house fast enough, since I was scared to be outside. It just seemed quiet and eerie. I instantly went to flip on the switch in the main entrance, but frowned when nothing happened. Our power must have went out, which made me feel lonely and scared, since the mansion I resided in was so spacious. I could hear my gold heels echoing across the hard floor as I went straight for the kitchen, dialing my aunt's number on our turquoise cord phone attached to the wall. I found out that my mom was stuck at her sister's house, since there was quite a bit of damage on their street. She promised that she would be home first thing in the morning, and even talked with me for at least half an hour. I felt a tiny bit better after conversing with her, but as soon as I hung up the line the quiet got to me again. It felt odd not even hearing the steady hum of the fridge, or the air system kicking on or off. I cautiously made my way to the basement, able to light a scented, pumpkin autumn candle with a big, red lighter once I was down there. I pulled my soaked hair to the side as I fumbled with the zipper on the back of my dress, almost screaming when all of a sudden the room was flooded with light. I forced myself to turn after my limbs had become paralyzed from fear, seeing Leo standing there, still in his drenched suit.

"Leo?" I was confused why he was there, assuming he would be at his apartment with his mom.

"My mom won't be home until tomorrow. The airlines are closed, and she's out of town," he explained. "Do you mind if I crash here?"

I barely shook my head as I kept staring at him. "No, not at all. The electricity must be working again. It wasn't when I got home," I observed, since Leo had flipped the light switch when entering.

"Yeah, my whole street didn't have power," he shared, walking over to where I stood.

"Um, Leo?"

"Yeah?"

My skin was already becoming warm as I asked, "Could you help me with my dress? I wanted to take a shower, and um, I'm having trouble with the zipper."

"Sure," he replied, caressing my shoulder gently as he used his other hand to fight with the zipper. It effortlessly glided down, me bating my breath as it kept going, him stopping before it went below my waist.

"Thanks," I whispered, too embarrassed to speak much louder.

"No problem. Do you mind if I brush my teeth while you're in the shower?" How could he be so casual and normal about everything?

"No, I'll let you know when I'm in," I told him, bunching up the skirt of my dress before going into my decent sized bathroom. I gently clicked the door shut before shedding my clothes, stepping into the tub as I only closed the frosted glass doors enough so that I could stick my head out. "You can come in now!" I went ahead and shut them all the way before turning on the tap, leaning my head back as the hot water cascaded over me, rippling off my shoulders. I held my breath when I saw the blur of the door opening, knowing Leo was now in the same room with me. Even though he couldn't see anything I still felt awkward, my heart rate speeding up as I added the vanilla scented shampoo to my hair. I rinsed that out before adding the conditioner, glancing through my side vision to see if Leo was still at the sink. I felt self-conscious as I shut the water off to conserve, using that time to use my Marshmallow Pumpkin Latte body soap from the store, Bath & Body Works. Even though it wasn't the most expensive formula I owned, I thought it was the most heavenly. I used my light purple loofa as I washed myself, eventually turning on the steaming water again. I couldn't figure out what the sound was at first when I heard something, realizing it was the toilet flushing.

"Sorry, Ava, I wasn't thinking," shouted Leo, causing me to smile faintly.

"It's okay! It doesn't make my water cold, just affects the water pressure a bit," I called back, finding his reaction cute.