Bloom looked around her after reading the note for the third time, she saw her window widely open and it finally dawned on her.

"How...how...did he..." she stuttered staring at the window, words failing to form.

"Is everything okay, honey?" She hid the paper quickly as Aunt Matilda entered the room.

"Yes, all good," Bloom smiled.

"It's okay, I'm right here." Aunt Matilda assured her.

"Aunt Matilda, I just remembered something." She exhaled.

"What is it, dear?" Aunt Matilda asked looking more concerned.

"I was the one that left both doors opened, I was hallucinating. There has been so much on my mind lately, I'm sorry." She said, biting nervously on her lower lip.

"Are you sure?" A look of doubt washed over Aunt Matilda's face.

"Yeah, I just freaked out for nothing." Bloom laughed humorlessly.

"But the handprint..."

"It's mine," She cut in quickly but Aunt Matilda didn't look convinced.

"I'm sorry for the false alarm, I will let Damian know."

"I will tell him myself, go to bed it's getting late." Aunt Matilda stopped her.

"Thanks, I love you." she pouted and gave her a warm hug.

"I love you too, goodnight." Aunt Matilda smiled.

She sighed in relief after she left. "He really did it." She laughed and sat on her bed.

She read it again still finding it hard to believe. How did he do it? She looked outside her window, hoping to see him. She smiled and put on her pajama shorts and a cami top. She quickly went under the covers and turned off the lights. She knew Damian would come to her room to interrogate her after Aunt Matilda informs him.

As if on cue she heard a knock on her door. She pretended to be asleep and hugged her fluffy pillow to her chest.

Damian opened the door and walked to her bed. "Dollface?" he called squatting next to her but got no reply.

"Sleep tight," He pressed a kiss to her head and left the room.

Bloom woke up with a smile, squinting her eyes to the bright sun flooding her room with its warm and golden streaks.

Damian came to get her for breakfast and she tried everything possible to avoid questions about what happened last night.

"Your English teacher is here," he informed her after her Yoga class.

She groaned as she entered the room to take a shower. Her afternoon was occupied with classes and tests from all her tutors. She took a nap after her last class for the day and woke at eight in the evening.

She changed into black yoga pants and a peach hoodie. She packed her hair up and put on her black trainer. It was dinner time for the guards, her chance to sneak out without being interrogated. She grabbed her phone and headed for the door. She was surprised to see Damian at the door when she opened it.

"Going somewhere?" He furrowed his eyebrows in question.

"Aren't you supposed to be having dinner?" She scratched the back of her neck.

"I'm skipping dinner today, I had a feeling you'd sneak out again."

"I won't stay out long, I will be back before ten, I promise." She said.

"No."

"Damie," She whined.

"No, your puppy eyes won't work on me today."

"Please." She begged.

"No."

"Please please please please please please..."

"I can do this all day."
Damian said with a wicked smile.

"I know you've been avoiding what happened yesterday, I also know you're hiding something but I won't pressure you to tell me. I'm concerned about your safety that's why I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"It's a safe neighborhood I swear." She told him but he gave her a skeptical look.

"Fine!" She glared at him and slammed the door.

||
Damian stuck to his words about not letting her out of his sight. He made sure to trail behind her once she was out of her room. There was no escape, he followed her to her classes, he would wait for her while she trains and followed her back to her room. It got unbearable and Bloom started ignoring him like he was invisible.

She felt angrier each day that passed. She tried to find another way to leave the building but it was impossible with Damian on the other side of the door.

"Can you meet me in my room after breakfast?" Bloom asked Anna with a sweet smile during breakfast on Thursday. Damian gave her a suspicious look but she gave him an eye roll.

"Sure," Anna replied sharply.

"What are you up to Dollface?" Damian asked with an amused grin. She pretended not to hear him.

"You're still giving me the silent treatment, I can deal with that. I'm just trying to protect you."
He told her, her hand clenched around the fork. She stabbed the bacon on her plate with her fork.

"I'm sorry but I'm not letting you out." He added with a soft sigh. She dropped her fork noisily and left the dining room.

Anna knocked on her door a few minutes later.

"It's open." She said dryly from where she was sprawled on her bed with a vogue magazine.
Anna walked in with a broad smile.

"Hey, you're here," she sat up with a smile.

"Yeah, do you need something?" Anna asked.

"Yeah but promise me it will be between us?" Bloom queried.

"I promise." She smiled.

Bloom drew closer with her laptop, tapping on the spot next to her for Anna to sit.

"Pick your two best." She showed her a list of Nike shoes online.

"Wow, I really don't know, they are all nice and expensive."

"I have been trying to pick one but it's so hard. I could go with the two though." Bloom said, sounding frustrated.

"Hmm," Anna hummed with a thinking pose rubbing her jaw with her thumb.

"I will go with this and this one," she pointed to the black Nike converse and another white Nike vans.

"Are you sure he is gonna like it?"

"He?" Anna's eyes flashed wide at her.

"I thought it's for you."

"Well, Uhm...Laura's brother's birthday is coming up, so I'm trying to get him something nice."
Bloom lied with a small smile plastered on her face.

"Ohh," Anna smiled.

"I will go with this one then. It's nice, he'll like it." Anna grinned.

"Thanks, help me do the orders and pick it up when it arrives tomorrow."

"Sure."

"If anyone asks, it's mine. Don't say anything else," Bloom warned.

"Got it."

"Thank you," she gave her a hug and let her go.

||
Laura came to see her the next day, they talked about high school drama and celebrities.

"Are you okay? You seem a little off." Laura asked.

"I'm fine just exhausted from my Yoga and Jujitsu training."

"Why do you still do that?" Laura asked.

"It's fun."

"Yeah, right," She scoffed.

"Bloom," Damian called walking into her room, she put on her headphone and turned away from him.

"Ohh looks like I'm not the only one that finds you annoying." Laura grimaced.

"Mind your business, Laury."

"What did you do to her? She's been acting weird."

"Bloom, we need to talk." She turned up the volume to block out his voice.

"I have never felt happier," Laura said laughing.

Damian got frustrated and left.

"What happened between you two? It's so rare for you two to fight."

"It's nothing serious, he has been so annoying lately and it pisses me off."

"Been there," Laura said nodding to her words.

"I'm feeling sleepy," Bloom yawned.

"So I'm boring you?" Laura said with a dramatic gasp.

"I never said that. I'm just tired."

"Just kidding, go to sleep. I will leave when I'm done with this movie."

"Okay."

||
Bloom skipped dinner and stayed in her room drawing random stuff on her drawing pad.

Damian's signature knock disturbed her. She ignored him and continued shading the ball gown she sketched.

He opened the door slightly and peeped. He saw what she was doing and let himself in.
He sat next to her on the bed and watched her as she tried to blend the dark and light shade on her sketch.

"Can we talk?" He asked but she didn't answer.

"Okay you win, but I can only let you out if you let me come with you."
She shot him a glare and continued drawing.

"Fine, I won't come but promise me you'll be back before ten."
He saw a smile slowly form on her face.

"You're a witch."
He told her when she wrapped her arms around him in happiness. She giggled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, Damie." She squealed.

"I can't stand the silence anymore, it's killing me."

"Me too, you have no idea how hard it has been. The temptation to call you a jerk."

"Wow, of all things to be tempted to say?"
She shrugged and he laughed.

"Can I go now?" She asked.

"It's almost nine, you can go tomorrow."

"Are you hungry now?" He asked poking her on the ribs playfully.

"I'm starving." She grunted. He chuckled and dragged her with him out of the room.

||
At 7:35 pm the next day, Bloom was standing in front of the neighborhood.
She was dressed in a pair of boyfriend jeans and cropped top, a shopping bag was in her left hand, and her white satchel handbag around her.

Damian had forced her to take a pepper spray and a taser with her. She took a deep breath and walked into the neighborhood.

She grabbed her taser as she got to the dark alleyway, she kept looking around every second.
She hid the taser when she got to the apartment building. She gulped and knocked, Rosa opened the door and smiled when she saw her.

"Come in." Rosa invited her in.

"Thanks."
She saw Tumika in the dining with crayons scattered in front of her.

"Hi Mika," She waved with a wide smile walking to the dining. She sat next to her in the dining and watched as she colored different Disney princesses.

"No, not that one, use the yellow one." She said to Mika who was about to color Belle's dress pink.

"I made some chicken pie, would you like one?" Rosa asked her.

"Sure."

"I was expecting a 'no', you always reject anything I offer." She said and Bloom chuckled softly.
She ate the pie quietly thinking of how to ask about Zayn without coming off as a burden showing up every time to see him.

"Don't worry about him, he's rarely here. I can't remember the last time he ate in this house."
Rosa suddenly said.

She turned to look at Rosa who was holding a book. She felt embarrassed, knowing Rosa figured why she came.

"If you keep coming here thinking you're gonna see him then stop, he is hardly home, he hasn't been home since the day he took you home."

"Really?"

"Yes, I'm used to it, Mika is too. Don't get too attached to him, he is a troubled kid and has a lot going on. I'm sure you don't wanna get involved with such a person."

"But Mika is his sister, he cares about her right?"

"Yeah but he's hardly here for her."

She took a glance at the little girl, she must miss her brother. She wondered if Rosa knew she was the president's daughter.

"No matter how he treats me I'll always be here for both of them. I know he hasn't gotten over his parent's death..." Rosa paused and took a deep breath, she looked like she was about to cry.

"I know how it feels watching your family being crushed right in front of you but it's in the past now, I miss my sister too." Rosa wiped a tear away.

"I'm really sorry about your sister and mmh...." she didn't know the right words to say.

"It's okay, I shouldn't bother you with my problems. I just thought you should know." Rosa smiled and wiped her tears away with her thumb.

"I'm glad you told me, you weren't bothering me." She said and Rosa smiled.

"Your pie is getting cold." Rosa pointed.

"Ohh," She faked a smile and forced herself to eat the remaining chicken pie.

Bloom waited with little hope expecting Zayn to show up any minute but he didn't. She sat with Mika in the living room and watched Trolls.

"I don't think he's coming home tonight," Rosa told her. "I wish I could give him a call but he never answers my calls, I always contact his friends to check on him."

"I'm sure he's okay," Bloom said waving it off though she was disappointed deep down.

"Do you have his number?" Rosa asked her.

"No."

"Do you have your phone with you?"

"Yeah." She gave Rosa her phone and watched her type something with her manicured nails.

"Here's his phone number, maybe he'll come if you tell him you're here."

"I'm not sure he will come," Bloom said.

"It never hurts to try." Rosa urged her to collect the phone and make the call.

She collected it and stared at the numbers like it was a bottle of poison. On the first dial, the call got rejected. She stared at the screen of her phone like it just bit her on the ear.

"What happened?"

"He rejected the call."

"Try again."
She did but this time around he didn't answer the call. She tried again and it went straight to voice mail.
She decided to send a text.

"Hey, it's Bloom, I've been trying to call you but you're not answering.
I'm at your place and I brought your Nike.
Call me when you get this"

She exhaled and dropped her phone.

||

Zayn was playing pool with Taylor in their apartment. The girls were next to them doing their nails.

His phone rang when he was about to hit the balls, he groaned and rejected the call when he saw it was an unknown number. He leaned to the pool table and hit the red ball in the middle. Four balls went into the pockets, he smirked at Taylor.

He ignored his ringtone and watched Taylor take a shot. A minute later his phone vibrated in his pocket indicating a text but he ignored it.

After playing for a few more minutes, they took a break and grabbed a beer. He decided to check his phone, he sat up in his seat when he saw her text. He gave it thought and decided it was best not to go, he needed to stay away from her. Besides she'd be gone by now since it was sent forty minutes ago.

||

There was no text or call from him for the next forty-five minutes that went by. She kept checking her phone but got nothing.

"Seriously, West?" She whispered in exasperation.

It was past nine already and she needed to go. She gave Mika a hug and a kiss on the head then turned to Rosa.

"I'm leaving." She told her.

"Sorry about..."

"It's okay Rosa, at least I got to spend some time with both of you." She picked the shopping bag. "Help me give this to him when he decides to come home."

"Sure."

"Goodnight. " She said to them.

"Goodnight honey, be careful on your way home."
Bloom walked to the door with Rosa behind her.

She was about to reach for the doorknob when the door was yanked open. She moved back to avoid the door hitting her.

"Bloom?" Zayn sounded surprised. "What are you doing here?" he sounded annoyed.

"I was just leaving," she said hiding the sadness in her voice.
He walked past her into the house.

"Do you need anything?"
Rosa asked him.

"I came to get some clothes."
He walked to his sister and picked her up.

"Hey muffin, miss me?"
He spun her around and put her down as she giggled.

"I will be right back."
He said and left for his room.

"I'll be on my way now, bye," Bloom said with a forced smile.

"You're not gonna wait for him?"

"I don't think he wanna see me."

"Okay, bye." Rosa smiled.

Bloom frowned and left.

Zayn returned a few minutes later and found her gone.

"Where is she?" he asked.

"She left immediately you went in," Rosa told him.

"Time for bed muffin, I will see you tomorrow." He placed a soft kiss on her head and rushed to the door.

"Her therapy is tomorrow." Rosa reminded him. "Dr. Henry said you should come along, it will help Tumika start talking again if you stay with her during the sessions."

"You really think it's that easy for her to forget what she saw?"

"I know it's..."

"You don't know anything!" He told her and left.

||
Bloom walked slowly down the street, it was dark and quiet. She avoided the spooky thoughts in her head and enjoyed the warm summer breeze. She tried not to think about what happened a few minutes ago.

A car headlight from behind made her stop, she looked back and saw him behind the wheels with a small smile. She shook her head and started walking away.

"Get in, I will take you home."

"I love today's weather, so I don't mind walking home." She said not stopping or looking his way.

"Suit yourself."
He said and drove off.

She watched his car disappear into the darkness that swallowed the neighborhood.

She grabbed her AirPods and connected it to her phone. She listened to her playlist as she walked home. She was getting lost in Trust Fund Baby by Why don't We when someone pulled one of the AirPods out of her ear. She was ready to throw hands but stopped when she saw Zayn.

"Are you stalking me now?" She asked him as she put her phone and AirPods back in her bag.

"Since you don't want me to drive you home, I will walk you home."

"Did you perhaps hit your head somewhere?"
He chuckled at her question and started walking away.

"I'm just surprised you're interested in taking me home today." She said as they walked side-by-side.

"I'm bored so don't flatter yourself." She smiled at his excuse.

They were both quiet for a while, he had both hands tucked into his front pockets and he kept kicking any small object he came across on the sidewalk.

"Did you get my text?" she asked.

"Did you send any?"

"Yes."

"Didn't see it, I only got missed calls from an unknown number."

"I brought your Nike."

"What color?"

"Black, you like black right?"
She turned to look at him, he looked back at her then turned away without saying a word but she saw a smile.

"I'm curious, how did you get in with all the security?"

"You know what? Don't tell me." She said quickly.

"I wasn't planning to."

"Right," She mumbled.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked her.

"Do I have an option?" she asked.

"No."

"Then ask."

"Why are you still coming when you know who I am and what I intend to do to your father?"
She gripped the hand of her clutch as she processed his question.

"I came to give you your Nike."

"That's not what I asked." He grabbed her hand, halting her movement.

"Why did you come after that night I told you everything?" He asked with a piercing stare.

"What was I supposed to do, you kissed me and gave me this necklace that means so much to you, I couldn't stop thinking about that night or about you."
She said really fast, she was out of breath by the time she was done talking.

"I know I'm being stupid for hanging out with you and liking the guy that wants my father dead, but I can't help it."
She said and chuckled humourlessly at how stupid she sounded. She looked at him and found his face blank.

"Okay, I just said it, I like you." She said and breathed out in relief.

"That wasn't so hard"
Her subconscious told her.

She looked up at his face again, he was still quiet but he was staring back at her. She was panting softly, waiting for him to say something. It was hard to read his expression or tell what he was feeling.

"Aren't you gonna say something?" She asked trying to break the awkward silence.

"Okay, thank you?" He said plainly.

"Okay? Just okay?" She felt like a bucket of ice-cold water was just thrown on her face.

"Goodnight Bloom."
He said and walked away leaving her on the sidewalk, feeling like an idiot.

"I guess rejection really hurts." She mumbled as she felt a sudden pain growing in her chest.

just an image of the sunflower tattoo.