forum Treble Clef IPA // Roleplay With Eris

Started December 16, 2019 by Deleted user

tune

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Baylee's rush of happy emotion was gone with the wind the moment he understood what was going on. Jin never liked him from the moment she met him. He would often make light-hearted jokes to her sister about her sexuality when he was younger, but Jin took it as full on homophobia and has held on to that belief ever since. It was one of the reasons why Avi and him never talk anymore. There was no way in hell that he was going to let Mila fall in the middle of this shit.

"Actually," Christ, he'd never had a faker smile in his life, "we're both pretty tired and were 'bout to go to our room for the night. Maybe get some room service for dinner. But you two have fun."

Avi appeared relieved as Jin grabbed her hand and lead the young woman to the elevator again, mumbling something about a shirt. Fuck her. Fuck both of them, in fact, for ruining one of the most special moments in his life.

"You have the keycard in your shorts, right?" Baylee asked, turning back to his girlfriend and giving her an apologetic smile. He wanted to kiss her again, but the expression on her face made him thing that it wasn't the best time.

"Uh–yea." Mila muttered, blinking back into the present to fumble with her drawstring backpack. She had shoved her shorts in there after deciding that she'd rather just walk around in her giant cactus shirt.

The young woman couldn't blame Avi for casually bringing up her name–her status as a blue-blood–but it was still a jarring shock to have it brought up twice in the same day. After so many years of just pushing all of that back in her mind so far that it was practically forgotten, remembering that Mila could be just as snippy and stuck up as Jin because of the money behind her name was really, really uncomfortable. Mila forcefully shook her head, waves tossing all around her shoulders, and firmly put all those memories back in their box.

"Got it!" She cheered, smiling as a black card flashed between her fingertips. Like her mini-shock had never happened. Baylee was looking at her, concern setting his features in a frown. Mila stretched up on her tip toes, to give him a gentle kiss. "Let's go. I think we've had enough of people for today." She laughed lightly against his lips, intertwining their hands.

How was she able to do this to him? A smile and a kiss was all it took for his heart to go fucking hammer time. She drove him absolutely wild by just being around. No one was ever able to do this to him and he never wanted it to stop.

"Yeah…" Baylee said with a matching grin, taking the key card from her hand and reading the room number on the black card. B334. Only one deck above the bottom. He didn't know whether to feel safer or more concerned. Mila didn't really seem to care though, so he pushed any concerns out of his head.

The room was a lot smaller than he expected. It was dominated by a single full-sized bed resting right in the fucking middle of the floor, almost blocking the door from opening up. A TV remote rested on one of the pillows, next to a TV channel guide. A single door was at the far end of the room, slightly ajar to expose a sink. The bathroom. Their bags rested right next to the door, clean and untouched.

"I'm gonna change," Mila said lightly, placing a kiss on his jaw before grabbing her suitcase ans walking into the bathroom.

Baylee was bummed out by the news. She looked so damn good in the bikini, even if it was fairly plain. It showed off more curves than he ever knew she had, just like the onesie did, and Baylee would be lying if he didn't find it incredibly sexy. He attempted to ease his disappointment by laying on the bed and turning on the TV, the memory of her legs wrapped around his body almost teasing him.

Mila came out of the bathroom a few minutes later in her 'pajamas', which consisted of one of Baylee's tshirts that she had stolen and a pair of soft shorts so tiny it was like she hadn't even bothered to put on bottoms. Her waves were freshly brushed and Mila was pulling the thick mass over a single shoulder when she paused, blinking at Baylee in slight confusion.

She had noticed something off about the room when they had first walked in, but couldn't put her finger on what was bothering her at the time. Too focused on getting out of her bikini which had been ice cold against her skin. But now Mila could tell exactly what was wrong. Well wrong seemed to be the incorrect word because Baylee hadn't noticed…or maybe he was distracted by something??

"There's only one bed." She deadpanned into the air between them. Baylee looked up at her curiously, then down to the blankets he was lounging on, then back up at her, then back down again.

"Yeah…..?" Baylee had been so distracted by his thoughts of Mila in that bikini that he hardly noticed the missing part of the room: a second bed.

For a moment, he was absolutely terrified. Night terrors still plagued his sleep, causing him to lash out at his surroundings, yelp, and wake up in complete panics. It was one of the only reason why Mila and him never purposefully slept in the same bed. They had one time after getting so drunk they could hardly breathe, but that ended the moment Baylee swung a wild punch that collided with her shoulder in his sleep. The yelp she let out woke him up and looking at the nasty bruise he left on her nearly made him cry

But things were different now.

"Well…." Baylee made uncertain eye contact with his girlfriend, processing the thoughts he wanted to put out. "We…I haven't had a nightmare in a while now. You haven't heard anything from my room for the past month, so I won't hurt you again. Besides…." His eyes left her's and landed on her lips. "it's a cruise. No time better than now to try something new, right?"

Try something new. Mila wasn't scared of getting accidentally punched again. She was one hundred percent certain that Baylee would never hurt her, not even in his sleep again, he would rather cut off his own hands than do that. She shifted on her feet, the only sign of her slight discomfort. What was Mila worried about now? The cold tingle of something not right moved down her spine, the indecision causing her to frown slightly. It was going too fast, wasn't it?

But things were different now.

They both had just confessed their feelings for one another. Their true feelings. Love. Baylee had said it first, kissed her first, held her tightly against him in front of a crowd of people. Mila had been able to say the word 'love' without her chest caving in….Yes. Things were certainly different between them now. And to say that Mila didn't want more was a complete and utter lie.

Smiling, she plopped onto the bed, scooting close enough to slide her fingers into Baylee's. The grin that he gave her was heartbreaking in its boyish excitement. Like Mila had just given him the greatest gift. "Something new." She agreed with a quick kiss to the back of the hand that she held.

"So–" Mila had to look away from his gaze for a moment, he was just being too cute, her gaze landing on the tv. "What are we—Are you watching a telenovela?" What the fuck? Mila started to giggle, which quickly descended into the uncontrollable kind.

A relieved smile slipped on to his lips as she continued to giggle into the pillow on her side. Baylee took the opportunity to scoot closer to her. The delayed answer to his question made him worried that he had taken a step too far, but Mila's laughing eased his worries. He could honestly hear that sound forever. She snuggled into his side as he slipped an arms underneath her shoulders and gently pulled her closer to him.

"I've just been trying to decipher what the fuck is going on," Baylee explained, the beginnings of a chuckle in the back of his chest. "That guy right there has already slapped, like, three women, there's been two fistfights, a make out sesh, and a car crash. In 15 minutes. It's like the writers were on crack or something." A hint of a blush was on his face, though.

"Sounds like our first week together." Mila intoned with false seriousness. She and Baylee exchanged a loaded look before they both burst into laughter. Despite the fact that they were all about making fun of the show they could not understand, neither of them made a move to change it. Instead, they made up their own elaborate story for each character, each scenario getting more and more ridiculous until Mila couldn't breathe she was laughing so hard.

Mila was tucked tightly into Baylee's side, one leg thrown over his and her hand gently splayed of his bare chest. As the show ended and her giggles faded, she tilted her head up to look up at her boyfriend. "We are such dweebs." Mila let out a final giggle, a hand reaching up to gently trace the smile that Baylee was giving her.

Baylee rolled his eyes, his grin growing slightly when her hand touched his face and stayed there. For once in the entirety of the time he had known her, his heart wasn't pounding out of his chest while they were touching. Hell, she was practically straddling him and he didn't even feel weird about it. Everything felt so…normal for once. So clear, without his brain getting in the way of his own happiness. Like the way his meds made him feel, but 20 times better.

"Hm……maybe," he eventually answered, leaning into her hand slightly. "But I wouldn't have it any other way." The arm that was underneath her shifted slightly as his hand came up and gently slipped into her hair, playing with the soft locks. He didn't often play with her hair, for reasons even he know, but the sleepy smile that came on to her face made him make a mental note to do it all the fucking time.

Mila hummed low in her throat, her eyes drifting shut. She rested her chin on his chest, soft smile remaining on her full lips. It felt good whenever Baylee touched her, but the soft attention he gave her when it was just the two of them was an entirely different matter. He was just so warm, even his fingers radiated heat buried within her tresses. Mila leaned more into the touch and Baylee's fingers moved from her hair to the skin of her neck, lightly massaging the tight muscles there. A happy sigh eased its way out of her nose, her body relaxing more fully against his.

Baylee shifted after a moment, but Mila's eyes remained shut as he was still gently working out kinks she didn't even realize that she had. But when his lips came down on her's in a passionate kiss, those blues snapped open in surprise for a brief second before Mila surrendered entirely. Baylee's massaging hands only pulled her tighter against him, deepening their kiss. Her heart was beginning to pound as a once quiet need was making itself incredibly known. If he pulled her any closer she would be entirely straddling him.

That line of thinking had a blush working it's way all through Mila's body and she had to pull away gently. She didn't go to far though, just enough that she could look into Baylee's eyes. The look he was giving her was almost unbearably soft, happy but with something burning deep inside him.

"Whatcha looking at?" She whispered, just as one of his hands brushed a wayward strand of hair out of her face.

Baylee didn't answer the question immediately. He knew exactly what he was looking at: the love of his life. The one person stubborn enough to force her way through the walls he had thrown up. Most would've given up by the second or third hour but she never did. For three months she patiently waited for him, never once complaining about how weird he would act around her. Even now, it was obvious she wanted more. To take it all the way.

And he was ready for that.

"I'm lookin' at you," he said, feeling his heart begin to beat out of his chest. Were his hands shaking? Slightly, but he didn't really care. He refused to let his brain hold him back. Slowly, he rolled both of them over, putting his hands down on either side of her head to hold himself up. Her hands came up to gently cup his face, her gaze softening slightly, but that's not what Baylee wanted. He brought his lips to her's in a deep, passionate kiss, slowly easing his body down onto her's.

Mila awoke slowly from a deep dreamless sleep. Sunlight was streaming through the window of the room, clear and almost annoyingly bright. Very different from the Charleston sun that she was used to nowadays. But it wasn't the sunlight that woke Mila, it was the warm hand stroking her with feather softness. Baylee was awake already it seemed.

Snuggling deeper into Baylee's embrace, Mila pressed a kiss into his bare chest. Her eyes remained closed, but she smiled as his hand kept up it's soothing movement. It trailed from her temple to her hip, following the long waves of her hair, before sliding effortlessly up over each of her exposed curves. A slight blush tinted Mila's cheeks as the memory of what they had done the night before, and the realization that they were still thoroughly entwined, came to the forefront of her mind.

Baylee had loved her so passionately that she had wanted to cry from the exhilaration. She hadn't, instead opting to return the favor, showing him how much she loved him with everything she was. And now, laying withing her Baylee's embrace, listening to his quiet breathing and sure beat of his heart, there was no place Mila would rather be.

"Good morning, Bay…" The words were whispered, as if speaking too loud would break the bubble of post-love making relaxation.

Baylee, once again, didn't answer immediately. He had only woken up 12 minutes ago and hand't moved an inch, choosing instead to gently caress the girl in his arms and try his best to not think about the fact they were both naked. Last night's memories were a blur of exhilaration, excitement, and passion that he wished he could remember more clearly. He wanted to memorize every second of it but was too caught up in the heat of the moment to remember more than the way it made him feel. But damn. The things that he did remember made his heart beat hard as hell.

"G'morning," he mumbled, pulling away slightly to study Mila's face. She had a sleepy smile on her lips as her blue eyes opened lightly. Christ, how did she manage to look that good all the time. "How did you sleep?"

Mila stretched slightly, not wanting to move from Baylee's warm embrace. Parts of her body felt pleasantly sore, which made her sleepy smile and minor blush grow. Wow. They had really done that… And it had felt good.

Baylee's hand came to a stop in the dip of her waist, thumb massaging circles into the skin there. Mila hummed softly, the tune sweet and lovely as she puckered her lips for a kiss before answering. His lips came to her's immediately, the kiss only slightly bordering on intense.

"Mmm. Perfectly." She finally murmured against Baylee's lips. "How about you?"

"'Bout the same," he mumbled, closing his eyes for a moment before pulling away just enough for him to slip his arms out from underneath the covers and reaching for his phone on the coffee table. The light blinded him for a moment, making a small noise slip out from the back of his throat. He blindly swiped up on the iPhone and tapped the area where the brightness slider typically was to turn it down. The clock said 10:42 A.M.

"We were supposed to meet Avi almost two hours ago for breakfast," Baylee said, turning the phone's screen off and setting it back on the table. His body settling back into position showed that he didn't much care. "What do you want to do today?"

Mila made a 'oop' sound as she snuggled back into Baylee's arms, a sound that convinced neither of them that she actually felt bad about missing breakfast. She made a few halfhearted attempts to tell him that maybe they should make it up to Avi by inviting her to dinner or something, but Mila couldn't find the energy to push the subject further. The words died on her lips and she made a mental note to talk to Baylee about it later. They were here for his sister's wedding after all–they should try to at least spend some time with her.

"Hmmm–Get some sun for sure. We're both looking pale as hell." Mila said with a soft chuckle, poking the smooth skin of Baylee's chest as she did so. "I'm not sure what activities they have today though. Is there a schedule book–thingamajig that we could look at? I hear they have fun classes on these big ships. Maybe something like that…?"

Mila's voice trailed of as she looked around their room as much as she could from her position pressed against her boyfriend's chest. It was safe to say that she couldn't see a damn thing, much less a booklet-o-fun.

"Very pale," Baylee agreed, giving her a wide grin and a kiss on the lips. "We should probably get up, though. Apologize to Avi, then go do somethin' with 'em. Even with how horrible her fiancee is." The rude attitude that she gave his girlfriend didn't go unnoticed, it seemed.

Mila made a small 'oop' noise as she planted a kiss on his lips, holding back a small giggle as she pulled away from Baylee. She wrapped a blanket around her naked body as she stood up and shuffled over to her bag, only using one hand to unzip it as the other kept the blanket from falling off of her body. Baylee sat up and ran a hand through his hair as she walked into the bathroom and shut the door with her foot.

About 20 minutes later, the couple left their little room, both showered and fully awake. Mila was wearing a long, lowing sundress that she had bought the day before the cruise. As usual, Baylee thought she looked absolutely stunning. He wore a pair of black swim trunks and a Philadelphia 76ers T-shirt, topping everything off with a pair of black sandals. Both still had that slight blush on their face, the events of the night before still on their minds.

"Oh. You two finally made it." Avi did not look happy as they approached the breakfast bar, which was now closed. "Y'all have a late night?"

"Somethin' like that," Baylee said, looking down at his feet to hide a small grin. Even with how mad Avi was, Baylee didn't regret at all.

"We lost track of the time this morning." Mila said extending an apologetic smile to both Avi and Jin. "Sorry we missed breakfast."

Damn. She could have at least tried to sound more apologetic, instead Mila's words fell just short of flat, which was entirely unintentional. The singer just couldn't find it in her to be sorry that she woke up as she did. An awkward silence stretched between the two couples and Mila had to resist the urge to just walk away. She did shift on her feet though, her long blue dress swishing in the morning breeze. That seemed to do the trick as everyone took a collective breath and relaxed. Even Jin.

"Well–I guess you'll just have to make it up to us." Avi plastered a grin on her face that looked a little painful. It was obvious that she was still pissed about the whole thing, but was trying to put it past her.

Mila arched a dark brow, her hand unintentionally tightening around Baylee's. She's never been uncomfortable around other people before but something about Avi and Jin together put her slightly on edge. "What did you have in mind?"

"Uh, actually," Avi said, her jaw clenching slightly. "I just wanna talk with Baylee for a little bit." The way she grabbed her brother by the wrist and pulled him out of earshot made it clear that it wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation.

"So. Was she good?" Avi's arms crossed across her chest and her fake smile fell immediately, revealing the deepest scowl known to mankind.

"Huh?" Baylee said brilliantly, raising his eyebrows in surprise. Definitely not what he thought she'd open with.

His reaction only seemed to make her madder. "Don't act stupid. You two had sex and overslept. I can see it on your face."

Realization began to pass across his face, making his eyebrows furrow and his lips turn downward. "I don't think that's any of your business."

"None of my business?" She hissed, face turning a deep red. "I brought you on this trip to spend time with me, not for you to fuck some skank you found at your bar on a vacation. This is my wedding."

"Don't you dare call her a skank again," Baylee snapped back, pointing a finger in her face. People were starting to turn and look at the siblings, but Baylee didn't really care right now. "Shit just happened last night. It wasn't my plan, nor was it her's. But how the hell was I supposed to know that you'd care this much when you hand't talked to me in two years, huh?"

The slap that came across his face hardly hurt at all and he completely expected it, but it was still just as shocking. The two spouses had been slowly creeping towards them for the entirety of the conversation, so they were in between the two siblings the moment the blow struck.

"Tôi không bao giờ muốn gặp lại bạn! Tránh xa cuộc sống của tôi!" Baylee shouted, allowing Mila to pull him away but still refusing to let Avi get the last word.

Mila was already reaching for Baylee by the time the crack of Avi's hand on his face echoed around the breakfast bar, having turned away from whatever piss poor conversation Jin had tried to start with her without a second thought. Her hand enclosed tightly around the hand Baylee was using to point angrily at his sister, using it to tug him away. The young woman's face was set in a hard line as they walked away, but her eyes betrayed the tumultuous feelings brewing deep inside her chest.

She didn't dare look over her shoulder, knowing that meeting the angry faces of Jin and Avi would only put Mila more on edge. Which is the exact opposite of how she and Baylee should be spending the day.

Avi shouted something at their retreat, but Mila was too focused on getting them out of this godforsaken food nook to hear. Baylee did though, his already red face going a deeper shade faster than anything Mila had ever seen before. Mouth a hard line, he moved to turn right back around, but a soft, wobbly "Baylee…" had his face whipping right back around to Mila and his gaze softened just the tiniest bit.

He allowed her to drag him through doors, hallways, stairs seemingly at random–Mila was totally hopeless when it came to directions–until they had somehow made it back to the top deck again, where they had watched the sunset the night before.

It was empty of people now, the gleaming yellow morning sun making the ocean water glimmer like jewels as far as the eye could see around them. Mila's stomach gave a mighty lurch, but she lead them over to a bench, pushing gently on Baylee's shoulders until he sat down.

He was almost as tall as her when he sat down, so it was easy to meet his gaze–even when he was trying to avoid it like how he was in this exact moment. Mila's hands came up to gently cup Baylee's cheeks. "Want to tell me what happened?" She said so, so softly that the breeze threatened to snatch the words away.

"She's pissed," he grumbled, choosing to keep his eyes on Mila's chin rather than her eyes. It was easier to talk to her chin. "She saw it on my face, I guess. What we did last night. I don't know why she's so damn mad, but she is. She said she brought us on the boat to spend time with her, not for us to……" he trailed off, finally looking up at her eyes. She looked…..devastated. Like she had done something wrong. Shit.

"But I don't regret anything. I'm not going to let her bitchy attitude get in the way of me being happy." His voice was firm and serious, not an ounce of uncertainty in his tone. His eyes finally trailed up to her's and there was a spark in his eyes. "You are the absolute best thing to ever happen to me. I couldn't give a fuck if she thinks your a skank. She doesn't even know you."

Mila's concerned frown went from slight and soft to deep and dark as Baylee spoke. Hurt flashed through her blue eyes as her hands dropped from his face. Oh. It was like that. Sure, she hadn't really been 100% open to having a relationship with Baylee's estranged sister, but Mila hadn't been mean. For Avi to think so awfully of her already was…well shit it hurt a lot more than Mila thought it would.

Baylee's eyes were trained on her face, worry flickering through them despite the affirmation that tumbled out of his mouth. He gently scooped up her hands, massaging the fingers until she looked at him again. "You're the best thing to happen to me too, you know…" Mila said weakly, a storm of emotion raging through her.

Damn she wanted to hug Baylee until the world ended, scream at Avi for being such an unfair bitch, cry a little, laugh at the absurdity of what just happened, but mostly she wanted to put it behind them. Just forget it ever happened and continue their vacation as the happy couple that they were.

And yet…

"I can't get in the way of your family, Baylee…She's all you have. Bitch or no bitch." Mila's frown vanished into a small half smile.

"All I have?" Baylee looked flabbergasted, shaking his head so aggressively that it might've popped off if he did it more than once. "No. I don't have her. I haven't since high school. She threw me into a mental institute after Mom died and disappeared. It took her three years. Three. To even contact me. Even then, it was one "happy birthday, hope you're doing well" Facebook message, then didn't respond to anything I sent here for another two years. I don't even know why she invited to this. Maybe she wanted to show off or something, but that's beside the point."

Baylee stood up and wrapped his arms around her shoulders in a death grip. Like if he let go, his world was going to end. Which, right now, it felt like it would. "You're not getting in the way of anything, Mila. She's been done with me forever. I couldn't give a shit about what she thinks. I love you. You've helped me more than she ever could."

It wasn't very often that Mila was speechless, she was just the kind of person that always had a snappy remark at the ready. Even in situations where she should have just kept her mouth shut Mila's mouth ran free. But now…in this moment with Baylee crushing her in a hug so tight it felt like she would fall apart without it, Mila couldn't think of a goddamn thing to say.

His life had not been easy. Terrifyingly sad and harsh to be completely honest, and yet here Baylee was holding her, comforting her, as if there was nothing else he would rather do. He was a lot stronger than he realized, and capable of a love deep enough to pull himself out of the shell he had been hiding in for so long. Mila's arms wrapped themselves tightly around Baylee's waist, burying her face into his chest. The sound of his heart beating under her ear was more comforting than anything else.

"I love you too." She mumbled, voice barely audible through the cloth of his shirt. Goddamn it felt so good to finally say it.

After a long, long moment Mila shifted just enough so that she could look up at Baylee. She gave him a soft smile, her eyes still betraying the sorrow she was still feeling about the doomed siblings. "Let's just mmph–" Baylee interrupted her statement with a kiss.

One of those kisses Mila could feel in her damn toes and made her body feel like it was on fire.

So when he pulled away, she laughed lightly, eye's now burning with something that bordered on inappropriate. "Let's put that shit behind us." Mila said, trying again. When Baylee didn't interrupt with another kiss, she kept going. "Whether she likes it or not, we are here and we're going to make the best of this vacation. Yeah?"

"Sounds like a plan," Baylee said, giving Mila a grin wide enough that his face looked broken. He'd never felt this happy in his life and he couldn't help but marvel at it for a few moments. One person was all it took to drag him out of the hole he had dug in his head. One very special, once in a lifetime person. Baylee had never been one for words but right now he felt like he could write a book on how much he loved the feisty bar singer in his arms.

The rest of the day was similar to the day before; whole bunch of swimming, eating, ocean-gazing, and casual flirting. Baylee seemed to have shrugged off the argument pretty well, but there was a light hint of a bruise on his left cheek the size of Avi's hand. Mila's eyes locked into it from time to time and it always seemed to dampen her mood, but Baylee shrugged it off every time. He didn't want to think about his sister right now. All of his attention was on Mila.

"So why are you so……weird about water?" Baylee asked as they slowly made their way around the pool.

Mila's hand tightened momentarily on Baylee's as she slipped on a puddle of water, her balance threatening to toss her directly into the deep end. He steadied her carefully and Mila hoped that was enough of a distraction for him to forget his question, but he was still giving her a curious look.

"I'm not! I don't really have any issue with it." She lied and she would have had sound believable if she had made eye contact with her boyfriend, but she was carefully focused on keeping her long sundress from dragging in the puddles left by the swimmers.

Mila's lie wouldn't have even come close to believable since she had been clinging to Baylee like a barnacle since they'd step foot on this ship. Not to mention any time they went swimming in one of the ships numerous pools, Mila made sure to keep ample distance between herself and anyone else, and made sure that her toes could always touch. Whenever Baylee decided to go into the deep end, Mila wrapped herself around him like a piece of clothing, her grip always threatening to cut of the poor man's circulation.

"Mila, you nearly suffocate me every time we go into the deep end," Baylee said, giving her a doubtful look. She finally looked up at him after a few more moments and Baylee was taken aback slightly.

Sure, he'd seen her basically every day since they first started talking, but there were moments when he couldn't help but gawk at her beauty. The Caribbean sun danced off of her pale features with joy, deepening the color of her eyes so much that they seemed almost bottomless. Her long hair was practically glowing in the sunlight as well. Jesus fucking Christ, how did he manage to snag a girl like her?

He shooking his head slightly to snap himself out of the mini-trance and continued. "For real, what's wrong?"

Jezz–he really was persistent sometimes. Especially when it came to talking about her past. Usually Mila could shrug it off as not important, or distract Baylee with something else. But lately, the closer they'd gotten, the more he'd asked about her Aunt and her life before Charleston and it was getting harder and harder to doge the questions. He'd almost gotten her on a roll about where she was from a couple nights before the trip, but Mila had frozen up, terror and pain shooting through her body until she was able to distract him with her broken amp that needed fixing. God knew that fucking last name drop wasn't going to unnoticed by him. Thanks Jin.

That all was behind her. So why did it matter?

Mila made the mistake of looking up at Baylee. His soft green gaze providing her that comfort and love that she had spent years trying to find. And so the words tumbled out, pulled from the singer's core, where she kept all her pain locked away.

"When I was small–and still living with my parents–there was a time that we lived in a really, really bad area. During the winter our pipes would freeze and the frost cracked our windows–the summers were worse. You couldn't even breathe in the heat, felt like you were suffocating in fire. Anyway–" She waved her free hand, dropping the skirt of her dress as they walked to a more quiet area of the deck.

"There was a community pool that everyone in the neighborhoods would congregate to during the summer months. Naturally, my parents would take me to get me out of their hair for a day. I always tried to make friends with the other kids of the area, but they were always bigger than me, older than me, and so….so mean. One day they let me play a game with them in the water and it got me really excited. I thought they were finally accepting me, you know?" Mila's gaze was cast off over the side of the ship, staring down the ocean as if it had personally offended her. The usual lightness of her voice darkened and strained.

"The boys took turns holding me under water while the girls pulled my hair and hit me. I almost drowned… I remember screaming for my dad to help me, but he was too drunk to realize it was me and just sat there laughing. God knows where my mom was–" High as a fucking kite. But Baylee didn't need to know that. "Finally one of the other dad's–a local gang member ironically–got the kids to leave me alone and took me back home. It was the first time CPS was called on my parents…" Mila trailed off finally, coming to a stop at the end of the deck, unsure of what to say or do next. She couldn't look at Baylee, could barely touch him while the turbulence of the long buried memories wrecked havoc on her emotional state.

Baylee's frown deepened, his hands clutching the fabric of his pants to keep from wrapping her up in a soul-crushing hug. She didn't look like she wanted a hug and the bartender had no clue how else to help her.

And here he was, thinking that he had the sob story in the relationship. Everything he went through was internal other than the death of his parents. The depression, the suicide attempt, and the years of loneliness: that was all stuff that he was, in one way or another, in control of. With her, though…..

Physical bullying was never something he experience. Baylee's reputation of a bruiser followed him all throughout his life, so no one ever tried to touch him. Hell, even the verbal bullying stopped when he got his hands on them. But with Mila…..she was so small as an adult. He couldn't imagine what it was like for her as a kid, living in a rough side of town.

"Mila…." he finally reached out a hand and gently set it on her shoulder. "I'm…..I didn't know. If I did, I would've never made you get into the pool or anything like that. I'm so sorry."

It was too much. The memories just kept coming and coming–her father's harsh slaps across her face, her mother's screaming abuse, the many nights without food or comfort, the numerous bottles thrown against walls, shouting, beating, Mila's face being pushed into the ground as her father cursed and cursed–Mila was shaking. Her breathing taking on a weird pitch. Usually, all this stayed deep in a hidden box in her mind. Carefully forgotten. Ignored. But the story she had told had brought it all up to the surface and now Mila was fighting for a way out.

Baylee's hand that came down on her shoulder was warm, his grip tight. She hadn't really heard what he said, but that hand…it brought her right back down to Earth. He had given her something to cling to, and hell if Mila wasn't going to take it. With a heavy sigh, the singer shoved everything right back into it's box, deep deep in her chest.

When Mila turned back to her boyfriend, she was smiling–like nothing ever happened. There wasn't even a tiny shred of the emotional distress caused by her confession. No sign of her mental tailspin. A lightly tanned hand came up to gently grip Baylee's on her shoulder.

"Are you kidding? That was fun! I enjoy going in the water with you, silly. I know I'm safe." She smiled, the edges of her eyes crinkling a bit as Mila took a big step into Baylee's embrace. "Don't worry about me okay? It's just a little thing. Not important."

Mila's free hand came up to gently brush against Baylee's furrowed features, coaxing them into relaxation. "It's okay. The past is behind me."