Living with Trouble

Chapter 6

Who's giving you all your love? Who's bringing you all your pain? ~ Jacquees

☆

I JOlT AWAKE springing up from the table. I frantically look around, but I'm surrounded by darkness. "Huh- What."

I'm still in the study room. I could see the outline of Victor's body hunched over sleeping on the table. I get up to turn the light on. I push my chair back and walk only to trip over my own feet. "Ahhh!" I screech falling to my doom.

A hand reaches out and grabs my arm pausing my fall. He sits me back in my seat, his hand still wrapped around my wrist. "What are you doing?" his raspy voice says.

"I'm turning on the lights," I whisper.

He mutters something under his breath before getting up himself. I stay in my seat wiping the sleep from my eyes. The light flickers on and I feel blinded. "Ah," I wince and cover my eyes.

Victor squints and comes back to the table. He picks my quiz up and reads through the papers. "You got an 86, congratulations."

"Really?" I beam. He didn't even mark my paper, but Mr. Myers said he was one of his best students so I'll take his word.

"Mhm," he rubs his neck. He lays back down on his arms and closes his eyes.

I pull my phone out to check the time. My eyes widen. It's almost 4 am! I gently nudge Victor's shoulder, "Victor." I nudged him again. "Victor," I bring my face closer to him. "It's four in the morning."

His eyes flutter open and he twists his head. "What?" he looks at me with drowsy eyes. My breath hitches and it takes everything in me at the moment not to swoon over him. His eyes were a misty grey.

"We have to go, school starts in three hours."

He nods sleepily getting up from his seat. I follow after him. I make a turn to go up the stairs, but Victor grasps my hand. "Where are you going?"

I furrow my eyebrows. "Up the stairs?"

He shakes his head hauling me in the opposite direction. "We can take the elevator."

"You guys have an elevator!" I gape. I think I would have noticed an elevator by now. We walk to the end of a hall and sure enough, there's an elevator. "Wowww."

Victor presses the up button and the elevator door slides open. We walk inside, Victor going in first. The elevator is pretty small, but it's big enough to fit two people. I walk in after him and turn around.

Victor snakes a hand around me to press the number to the third floor. His front presses against my back a little. He blows a puff of air as the door closes. I shiver slightly as the elevator begins to move.

"Why didn't we use the elevator the first time we came down here?" I turn my neck.

He shrugs. "I forgot about it, and I only use the elevator when I don't feel like walking up and down the steps."

I nod. This elevator was going very slow. I poke the inside of my cheek with my tongue as the number changes from zero to one. When we're finally at level three the door slides open to our hallway.

We walk out and make our way to our room. "Goodnight Aniya," Victor mutters before entering his room.

"Good morning."

----

I'm sitting at my vanity mirror when I hear a soft knock on my door. "Yes?"

Kendall comes in her dark hair tied into a bun on top of her head. She was dressed in her work attire. "Hey honey, what are you doing? You look pretty." She takes a seat on the arm of the couch beside me.