Kyle droops, his entire body slumping. It makes me feel a little bad, because he ran all the way here in the rain, terrified that something had happened to me. It’s nice but I didn’t need it. I sigh again and stand, draining the last few gulps of my coffee.
“Look, it’s late and you’re wet,” I say. “Why don’t you stay the night? That’ll prove to you that everything is okay, and you don’t have to walk home in the rain. I’ll grab some blankets and a pillow and you can sleep on the couch.”
Admitted
ly, the couch looks far too small for Kyle. But there’s nowhere else for him to sleep; I’m not offering my bed up.
Kyle, however, lifts his head and nods with a tired smile. He yawns widely, his night finally catching up to him.
“Thanks, Allison,” he says, fishing his phone and wallet out of his pocket so he can lay them both on the coffee table. “I appreciate it. And sorry for causing so much trouble.”
“It’s fine,” I say, rolling my eyes.
I collect some blankets for him and grab a pillow off my bed. When I return to the living room, he’s shrugging his wet shirt over his head, revealing his naked torso. My face flares red and I dump the bedding on the couch.
“Goodnight!” I say, and flee the room before he can reply.
I snap my bedroom door behind me and shake my head. I really have gotten myself into a weird mess now.
Chapter Nine
Allison
When I open my eyes the next morning, I’m half-tempted just to close them again. I’m so deeply tired that my limbs are still heavy and my mind is working sluggishly. It takes me far too long to remember why; I’m tired because my sleep was unceremoniously interrupted by Kyle, who seemed to believe that I was in some sort of danger from Jesse.
I rub the bridge of my nose as I sit up in bed, yawning widely. I glance at the clock. It’s already ten o’clock, which is far later than I’ll normally sleep. Thankfully, I only have afternoon classes today, so I’m not missing anything.
Should I just go back to sleep? I consider this and then, with a huff, I realize that it’s out of the question; if I go back to sleep now, I definitely won’t wake up in time for class. So I force my tired body to move, sliding out of bed and locating some clothes.
It’s only when I step out of my room, heading for the bathroom, that I remember that I have a visitor here. I hear a snore from the couch, and I freeze for a few seconds before I see Kyle twisting his huge form on the tiny couch, somehow managing not to fall off. I can’t help but giggle at the sight; he looks absolutely ridiculous, curled up like that under a few flimsy blankets. Yet his face is peaceful and he’s drooling slightly in his sleep, completely relaxed.
Curious, I creep forwards, staring at him. While he’s awake, his expression is tense and set in a permanent frown, too focused on the world around him to think about smiling. In his sleep, however, the lines on his face have been smoothed out, and I think he might be younger than I had originally guessed. His lips are curved up slightly in contentment and his shaggy head is ducked at such an awkward angle that I feel bad for the pain he’s going to be in when he wakes up. He looks, dare I say it, oddly cute, which is a strange word to use for such a large, rough-looking man.
I shake my head and look away, pushing the rest of my fascination away. I still need to have a shower. Maybe, if I’m lucky, he’ll be gone by the time I get out.
I step into the bathroom and twist the taps, waiting patiently as the water warms up. Once it’s the right temperature, I slip out of my clothes and step under the spray.
The water wakes me up like nothing else normally does, and I stand there for several moments, allowing the water to soak me completely, allowing it to calm the tension I still feel in my body. Why am I anxious, though? Is it because Kyle is still in my apartment? Or is there a part of me that’s still thinking over the dire warnings that he brought me last night?
There’s nothing to worry about, I remind myself.
Jesse is not someone to be feared. I know there’s still a lot that I don’t know about his life before we dated, but I don’t really care about that. All I care about is the evidence that tells me that everything is going to be fine; Jesse won’t hurt me.
Subconsciously, though, my hand lifts and rests on my shoulder. There’s a faint bruise there, in the shape of a hand, and there’s a similar bruise on the other side. It’s already fading, but I bite my lower lip.
Am I stupid for defending Jesse so much when he’s already hurt me? Does it really matter if that was the first time? The fact that he’s hurt me at all should be enough to tell me that something has definitely changed, shouldn’t it?
Should I be taking Kyle’s warning a little more seriously?
No, I decide, feeling foolish the moment the thought crosses my mind. There is nothing to be scared about. Even if Jesse is feeling violent toward me, he’s too stupid to chase me down just to act on those urges.
I push all thoughts of Jesse out of my mind and finish my shower. When I step out of the bathroom, Kyle is still snoring lightly on my couch; he hasn’t moved since I went into the bathroom. Unwillingly, I smile slightly. I hope he doesn’t have work today because if he does, he’s going to be awfully late.
I feel more awake now, but I still yawn as I flick the switch on the kettle. Kyle stirs slightly at the sound and rolls over so he’s facing the back of the couch, tangling his legs in the blanket and mumbling something too quiet to hear in his sleep. He’s too deeply asleep for such a small sound to pull him awake, which is what I had hoped would happen.
Sighing, I walk over to him and snort. He’s clutching the blanket to his chest, as though he were afraid someone would take it away from him. Before I can stop myself, I take a picture and send it to Jacqui.
“My ‘knight in shining armor’ showed up, drunk, last night because he heard Jesse mouthing off.”