Babysitting the Bad Boy's Family ✔

58. Wanted you to notice me

Chapter 58: Wanted you to notice me

Ethan's POV

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I felt my feet stick to the ground as I saw Kelsey standing there right in front of me, with tears in her eyes. She was supposed to be in New York, and yet there she was, her eyes staring into mine as she stood there frozen in spot. I couldn't believe she was there, and a frown quickly formed on my face. I was ecstatic to see her, but she was crying, and that was a sight which I never wanted to see.

"Kels, what are you doing here?" I asked as I took a step forward towards her, only for her to take a step back, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion at her actions.

She was standing right in front of me, nearly at an arm's length, and yet she seemed so distant. Her eyes were looking towards me, but it was as if she were looking through me. It was clear that there was something bothering her, and I wanted her to tell me what it was and allow me to help her.

"My dad and I came back, I missed everyone too much," she mumbled. "Jake told me to stay away from you this morning so I could surprise you before the game, but I guess I'm the one who got surprised," she said, her gaze falling to the floor as I simply stood there, listening to her in confusion.

"Why were you crying?" I asked, once again attempting to take a step closer to her, which to my relief she allowed me to do.

"You tell me," she sternly said, her voice breaking as she shot her head up to look at me, her eyes darkening.

"What do you mean?"

"I come here, ready to surprise you, only to have some cheerleader show me a picture where you two seem to be having the time of your lives," she replied as another tear came trickling down her cheek.

I looked at her more confused than ever. Not once had I met any girl while she was away, nor did I want to. The only girl in my mind for those past few days was her, and it was always going to be her. My fists clenched at the thought of somebody wanting to do something to not only hurt her, but to make her lose all trust in me-trust which took me years to be able to gain. It took me a lot to get to the point I was in with Kelsey, and I was not going to let anybody ruin that for us.

"Kels, I swear there's nothing going on with anyone."

"Then can you explain the photo? I really want to believe you Ethan, so please, make me believe you," she said, her voice sounding weak and vulnerable as tears kept falling down her face. I couldn't stand to see her that way, and all I wanted to do was wrap my arms around her tighter than I had ever done before.

"Kelsey, I promise, there's no-" I stopped talking as my eyes widened in realisation, everything finally starting to make sense.

I knew exactly who showed her that photo, and I could not believe that Bella could stoop that low. She made Kelsey see things that weren't even there. That photo was not taken by Bella, but she did come telling me that she had saved it the day after it was taken because we looked cute in it.

There was a small gathering for the basketball players and cheerleaders, organised by our coaches to start off the new season on a good note. They hired a comedian to entertain us during the party, and Bella and I happened to be sitting together, giving the photographer the perfect angle to take a photo of the two of us laughing at the same time.

"Kelsey, that's nothing. It's not what it looks like, I promised," I sighed, as I took her soft hands into mine.

"Okay, then what is it?" She asked, making me smile out of relief at the fact that she was letting me explain.