Bailee leaned over, her long auburn hair glistening as she extended a slender finger and delicately poked Isaac’s sleeping figure. He was stretched out on the tiny sofa, his feet extended beyond the boundaries of the armrests. He had crashed on the sofa in Bailee’s room, and she had to make sure he was out of the house before her parents woke up. Before they realized that he had slept over. Before they made assumptions that were far from the truth.

Bailee wished her parents could trust her. She never did anything wrong. She maintained good grades, always did her homework, and never stayed out past her curfew. She just wished she could tell them things… so that they could be real parents and help her with all of her problems instead of hating all teenagers and mocking the world.

Isaac needed a place to get away, his usual friends were too much to handle and wouldn’t listen to him as he complained about his parent’s divorce. Bailee sat perched on the arm of the sofa and ran her fingers through his hair. He loved the feeling and she loved to watch him as he talked. Together they made a team, sharing stories and taking turns to come up with answers and solutions. During his visits- which occurred two or three times a week- Bailee could be her true self… someone she masked in the real world.

“Isaac,” she whispered, her breath on his ear. She tapped his shoulder twice. “Isaac,” she coaxed. “Wake up.” She removed the pillow from his face and caught her breath as the moonlight fell on his smooth skin. She loved this boy. She loved everything about him. He was her best friend, but only by the moonlight.

He turned his head toward her and his eyes fluttered.

“Isaac,” she called firmly, worried her parents might wake earlier than usual.

He opened his eyes and looked right at her, the corners of his lips rising into a beautiful smile. He reached out to her and grabbed her arms, pulling her toward him. He kissed her shoulder, her neck, her cheek, and finally her lips.

“I’ve been longing to do that for awhile now,” he smiled up at her.

She knit her eyebrows and tugged his arm.

“Come,” she called, her voice gentle. “You have to go now.”

He rose slowly, keeping her hand secured in his own. “Thank you Bailee,” he said. His voice was smooth, beautiful as he breathed her name.

“Today is the day,” she stated. As she said every morning she woke him.

He pulled her into him, pressing her close as he kissed her hair. “You know it isn’t. It never is.”

She frowned as she looked at him. He tucked a stray hair behind her ear, and smiled at her. “When the time comes, you’ll know.”

He pulled away from her and glided toward the window. “I love you,” he breathed as he jumped.

“Bailee,” her father called.

Bailee sighed as she woke from a beautiful dream. In the dream, Isaac was confessing his love to her. She knew this couldn’t be true… it couldn’t. Isaac would never do that. He wouldn’t. It was a dream, she told herself. A beautiful dream.
She got ready quickly, throwing her long hair into a messy ponytail and tossing her bag over her shoulder. Maybe today would be better. Maybe she could get through just one day without hiding in the bathroom. She had taken to eating lunch in the bathroom since Veronica had abandoned her by moving to Illinois. That was about the time that Isaac’s parents started filing divorce papers and arguing in public. Veronica had been Bailee’s only companion- the only person she could trust to tell about her deepest secrets.
She passed her mother in the kitchen. “No eggs?” her mother asked, her eyebrows creased together.
“No thanks,” Bailee answered, giving her a slight peck on the cheek. Enjoy your perfect day, Bailee said to her in her mind. She would never dare to say it out loud. He did not want to interrupt the boundaries- cross the thin line between what was acceptable and what was not.
She quickly rushed to the bus stop and sat at the base of the nearest tree. She sat and waited. Isaac would show up next and they would exchange polite words before others showed up. Then they would pretend they didn’t notice the other’s existence.
Bailee thought about what she had said in her dream. She was so sure that it was a dream. She had told Isaac, “Today is the day.” This was nothing new. She really did say it every morning. But something about today made it seem as thought it might actually come true.
On queue, Isaac strode up to her. Today, his blue eyes danced. He picked her up in one fluid motion and kissed her.
Bailee’s head whirled. It was a dream? Wasn’t it a dream?
As if Isaac could read her thoughts he chuckled and softly whispered, “It was no dream. I love you Bailee. You are my everything.”
Bailee smiled a small, delicate smile. “I love you too,” she breathed. She tucked her head into his chest and breathed in his scent.
He sank into the grass and pulled her down next to him.
“Sing to me,” he told her. “I love when you sing.”
“I’m dreaming,” she teased. He ran his hands through her hair and kissed it.
She obeyed him, she sang.
Isaac and Bailee have only one class together in school. She was able to use the time away from him to think. Why had he decided to tell her today? Why hadn’t it been a dream? She knew now that she could never tell her parents about their friendship- now they really had crossed the boundaries from friendship to the “unknown.”
In first period she gushed to her friend Jen so she had one companion during her duress.
“Bailee,” Jen hissed to her friend as she leaned over the isle and casually pretended to drop her pencil. She picked it up as she said, “He’s staring at you.”
This was the only class they had together, English Literature. She slowly slid forward in her seat and pretended to look at Jen as she snuck a peak at Isaac. His stare was brooding. He grinned when he caught her eye, and suddenly Bailee felt a sense that there was something different about Isaac. He never once moved this quickly in a relationship. Bailee knew- she had been in love with him since she first laid eyes on him. He was beautiful in a way that some girls could never achieve. To her, he sparkled. She had asked Jen if she ever thought he sparkled and she had chuckled, saying something about love.
To Bailee, Isaac was perfect. There were no imperfections. He always said the right thing. Why was he suddenly telling her things she had only previously dreamed of? She was the one who gushed about how wonderful he was- but never out loud. She had never dreamed of muttering a word out of line. She always kept to the norm between them. She put on a smile and went through the day- even if her heart ached for one person, ever since she had laid eyes on him.
She remembered meeting him clearly, even though it was years ago. Bailee had been swinging on the swing set in first grade when a boy, Ben Baker, a notorious bully, came up and pushed her off. She didn’t cry, even as she heard the snickers of her classmates, she only held her bleeding arm and walked away silently. She saw Isaac, the new boy who wouldn’t talk to anyone, come up and whisper in Ben’s ear. Ben’s eyes widened and he nodded his head swiftly. He never once talked to or even dared to look at Bailee again. Isaac had caught Bailee staring and gave her a small smile, but he never spoke to her.
A few more incidents like the first occurred. Isaac would go out of his way to make people leave her alone, stop picking on her, and be nicer. He never tried to speak to her, even though they lived on the same street and shared a bus stop.
In the sixth grade, the first incidence where he finally talked, Bailee was rushing to the bus and made it just in time. Isaac had been tying his shoes at the bus stop and the bus driver was angry. He didn’t care if all the students were on the bus as long as they got off as quickly as possible. Bailee muttered thanks like she usually did, but this time Isaac replied. ‘No problem.’ He gestured for her to get on the bus first and followed suit. Bailee had dreamed of hearing his voice when it was actually speaking to her. It was even more wonderful when directed to her. He sat two seats behind her and every time she snuck a peak at him, he was looking out the window.
Bailee, knock off the daydreaming. Pay attention. Mr. Johnson just asked you a question. “Hamlet was struggling with identity,” she answered, even though she hadn’t heard the question. “The ghost symbolized his internal struggle with what was right and wrong.”
“How interesting,” Mr. Johnson replied. “Does everyone agree?” he asked, turning the attention off of Bailee and onto the rest of the class.
Bailee’s mind reeled. She hadn’t even read Hamlet yet. She shouldn’t have been able to answer a question without knowing the question… or the answer for that matter.
Jen shot her a look. They had just talked this morning about how they had skipped the reading assignment to watch the latest episode of One Tree Hill. All Bailee could do was shrug.
Bailee, there is something you need to know.
Bailee’s head shot up. She looked around her, for the owner of the voice, but everyone was paying attention to Mr. Johnson. No one was looking at her. No one except Isaac. Isaac Angelo stared at her with every ounce of concentration he had.
Bailee you know my voice. You know it’s me.
Isaac. He was in her head.
I have something to tell you Bailee. I need you to meet me after class by the oak tree out back. We’ll go for a walk.
Bailee nodded, so that he could see she understood. But inside, Bailee was scared. For the first time since meeting Isaac, she was terrified. Images of him slaughtering her formed in her mind.
Bailee honey, you know I’d never hurt you.
Bailee’s hand shot up and she asked to be excused. She ran to the bathroom and started crying. How? It wasn’t possible. Was she imaging things? Had she made it all up?
Jen was by her side a few minutes later. After a two second pause, Bailee told her everything. Starting at everything she knew of Isaac, how she just knew the answer, and how he had spoke to her telepathically.
Jen shook her head in disbelief, “What? Do you think he is a vampire? Your own Edward Cullen?”
Bailee shook her head. That sort of thing didn’t happen in the real world. “I just want to know what it going on. He wants me to meet him outside to talk after class. Should I go?”
Jen stared at her. “Of course. You finally have your Romeo. Don’t dump the boy already just because he is skilled at telepathy.”
Bailee sighed. Calm down, she told herself. He’ll never hurt you.
*
Bailee, I’m almost there. Please stop pacing, you are giving yourself blisters.
Sure enough when she looked at her feet, blisters were forming. She sat down obediently and almost jumped up a second later when he appeared.
Nothing has changed. I am still me.
“Then why don’t you talk out loud? Like a normal person? Which I suspect you aren’t.”
Three weeks before your seventeenth birthday, I finally receive my powers. That is why we were drawn together. I am your guardian angel. I am here to protect you. You can talk to me telepathically too Bailee. Just think the words.
“I don’t want to,” she stubbornly said. “Why do I need a guardian angel?”
Your parents died when you were hours old Bailee. You needed someone to look after you.
“My parents are alive and well…” Bailee trailed.
“They aren’t your biological parents Bailee,” Isaac whispered aloud. “They are your mother’s cousins. They took you in because you had nowhere to go. They don’t know it though, that is why they never told you. They were brainwashed into believing you are their own child. In reality, Jenna is not able to have her own children.”
“I don’t believe you,” Bailee whispered. She turned around and ran home. She tripped three times, and was sure she was bleeding, but when she got home she found no wounds.