Faith Outside, Heartache Beneath

written by Angel

~*~ Chapter Two ~*~

I stood from my bed, stretching. Tipsy awoke from a deep sleep when he realized I was awake. What? Did you actually think I'd leave my baby back in California? No way. I couldn't live without Tipsy. Anyway, it was still early so I hopped into the shower. There was something very homely about Kentucky. Or, maybe it was just the house. It was comfortable. Back in L.A. it was like I couldn't touch anything, because it might brake. I lived in fear.

The water felt refreshing as it beat down on my body. I ran my fingers through my mid-back length, dark blonde hair. I felt as though I was doing a good job at moving on. Deep down, I was only ignoring everything. I wanted to be happy, though.

"Knock, knock." I heard Brian say outside my bedroom door. I stood in my closet, wrapped in a towel searching for an outfit to wear.

"Come in." I called to him. Brian entered the room.

"Maybe I should come back later." He said when he saw I was half-naked.

"Oh, sorry." I blushed.

"I was just going to say that me and the guys are fixing to go for a swim outback. Do you wanna come?" I thought for a moment.

"Sure." Brian smiled before leaving. I went to my chester drawers in search for the perfect bathing suit to wear. I layed four different ones out on my bed. Finally, I decided on a dark purple bikini with a sports bra type top. It was my favorite one. I slipped into it and grabbed my towel. Tipsy followed me out of the room.

The guys were already in the pool. I slowly stepped down the stairs into the shallow end as Tipsy took a seat near the pool. He layed his head on his paws and shut his eyes. I walked farther into the pool. When I couldn't touch anymore, I submerged my entire body in the water, letting it soak my wet hair. I came up and was face to face with Brian.

"Hey." He said cheerfully.

"Hi, Brian." I smiled wiping the water from my eyes.

"You got a dog?"

"Yeah, his name is Tipsy." I told him.

"Does Tipsy swim?" Brian asked.

"No, he doesn't."

"AJ's dogs swim."

"What about me?" AJ overheard his name.

"He said you're a dog, man." Nick told him. AJ swam over to Brian and dunked him under the water. I slowly moved away from them. Brian and AJ continued to wrestle in the water. I pulled myself up onto the side of the pool and let my feet dangle in the water.

"They’re always like this." Kevin warned me. He took a seat next to me. I laughed at his comment. "You'll get used to it." Kevin rose and went inside.

"I'm here." Someone said from behind me. I turned to see a girl in her early twenties. She had long auburn hair and a nice figure. She removed her sunglasses to reveal a pair of green eyes.

"Hey, baby." Brian jumped from the pool and pulled her into his arms. "I missed you." He kissed her neck.

"Bri, I missed you too." She said. The rest of the guys went to greet her. I maintained my seat.

"I love you." Brian told her.

"I love you, too." Nick sighed. They all laughed.

"Oh!" Brian exclaimed. "Carlon, come here." I dreaded anything that was fixing to happen but I went to him anyway. "Carlon, this is my girlfriend, Layla. Layla, this is my cousin, Carlon."

"I've never heard you talk about her before." Layla said.

"Well, actually, baby, I just met her yesterday." Layla was confused for a moment.

"It's so great meeting you." She finally said. Layla seemed nice. She and Brian were cute together. Everyone started piling back in the pool. I grabbed my towel and picked up Tipsy. I started to walk back inside.

"Um, Carlon." AJ said running up to me.

"Yeah, AJ?" I turned to face him. I sat Tipsy at my feet.

"You like it here?" AJ asked.

"So far? Yeah, it's nice." I smiled.

"Why did you move?" He questioned. Uh-oh. The big question.

"I don't wanna talk about it. Maybe some other time."

"Sorry." AJ apologized. "Well, would you like to...maybe do something tonight. I mean, we will be seeing each other for a month."

"I don't know, AJ. There's a lot about me you don't know." I told him.

"I'd like to find out." AJ slyly said.

"I doubt it." I said under my breath.

"Okay, forget about that. How about, just me and you do something...as friends?" I saw the fear of rejection in his eyes.

"Fine." I agreed.