The car ride was long and dark. We currently had two hours to make it to dinner, and if not? I don't even want to know what my father would say.

The only thing ahead of us was the road in the dark forest, and the head lights of the car.

Kye gripped the steering wheel with both hands, and I didn't miss how his speed was lowered, and I quietly smiled to myself.

He stopped at a stop sign, making a right turn. But a hiss out of his mouth made me turn to him.

"You're bleeding," I breathed out, looking down at his side where blood soaked through his shirt.

"I'm fine," he snapped.

"No you're not, pull over," I said harshly, rummaging through the glove box.

"No Aliyah-"

"Pull the fuck over."

He didn't argue back, and he pulled the car to the side of the road, silently turning off the engine.

I found a first aid kit, enough to cover the wound until we got back.

He let out a groan when I lifted his shirt, his head throwing back against the head of the seat.

"Fuck Aliyah," he hissed out.

"Stay still," I muttered.

I began to inspect the wound, which had obvious signs of a bullet wound.

"Luckily," I said, breaking the bandage in my mouth, "it went through the other side."

"Mhm," he whispered, his eyes closed as I wrapped the bandage around him.

I reached further over the console, my body leaning against it as I wrapped the bandage around his body.

"Shit," I whispered out, my hand slipping from its place on the drivers door.

My chest landed with a thud against his lap, and I could feel his hand on my back as I fell.

I didn't have to look to see the smirk on his face, but when I did, there wasn't.

Instead, his eyes dropped to mine, gulping as he stared down at me.

"Sorry," I muttered, pushing myself off of him.

I finished wrapping him up, his eyes fully trained on me as I did.

"There," I said, "you're all fixed."

"Thank you," he whispered, watching me as I sat back down on my seat.

"Truly Aliyah, thank you."

I looked back at him, confusion flashing through my mind as I repeated his words in my head.

"I-" I started, "yeah, no problem.""

These were the nicest words we ever said to each other, and we didn't say anything more as we rode the rest of the way home.

✥ ✥ ✥

"Look at the two of you!" My father bellowed, his smile wide as he pushed the two of us up the stairs.

"Get changed quickly," he hissed out quietly to me, turning back to Kye.

"Son, there's a fresh pair of clothes in Aliyah's room for you," he smiled.

"Show him the way honey," he said to me.

I nodded, walking up the stairs with Kye trailing behind me.

He softly closed the door behind me, his eyes wandering around my room.

"So this is where Aliyah Perez sleeps, huh?" He said smiling, walking over to my desk where papers were scattered.

"Hey!" I shouted, "don't touch that."

He put his hands up in surrender, moving on to the next place that caught his attention.

"You really like... plants?" He said to me, trailing his fingers along the leaves.

"Surprising?" I muttered out, going towards my closet and searching through my dresses.

"Very."

I rolled my eyes, moving through the hangers.

"The clothes are on the bed," I said to him, not turning my attention to where he stood, knowing he was probably snooping in my stuff.

"That one," he whispered in my ear, his body directly behind mine as he pointed ahead of me.

I felt his breath in my ear, and then he pulled away, walking back towards the row of plants again.

I let out a deep breath, a breath I didn't know I was holding.

I looked at the red dress he pointed out, and I looked back to him, his attention clearly on the succulents that were on my night stand.

I grabbed the dress and walked back to the door, holding it open.

"I'll meet you out there,"I told him.

He nodded, taking his suit off of the bed, brushing past me as he exited my room.

I sighed, pulling off my clothes and putting on the dress.

I went to mirror, and looked at the dress he picked out for me.

Not bad

I went towards my vanity and applied a bit of makeup, desperate to cover up the small bags that sat underneath my eyes.

Once I was finished, I fluffed my hair and walked out, my shoes clicking against the glass stairs as I walked down them.

When I reached the dining room, I saw a set of new people, whom I assumed was Kye's parents.

They both turned to me, a warm smile on their faces.

"Aliyah darling," my mother said, smiling at me, "have a seat."

I smiled back to the Santiago's, walking towards the table.

When I looked up, Kye's eyes were already trained on me, watching as I walked closer.

I slightly faltered my step when I looked at the seating arrangement.

It seems as though the last spot left, was right next to Kye.