Falling into Summer

Chapter 26

Haley

When I wake up and realize my room is bright with sun light, I sit straight up and look at the clock. Noticing it's almost ten o'clock, I reach for my phone to see if I have any missed calls. When I don't, I call Carter to see where he's at.

"Hey," he says flatly, and I can hear a rasp to his voice.

"Hey, I'm so sorry, I fell asleep," I apologize, feeling like I've let him down.

"It's fine," he says, but he sounds distracted.

"Are you still driving?"

"Um no, I just got home and I'm unloading the car now," he explains.

"Oh well did you want me to come over and help you?" I offer, eager to see him.

"If you want to," he answers. "Or you can come over later, I'm almost done anyway," he counters, and I'm not sure what just happened to cause this change in plan.

"Well what would you prefer?" I ask, trying to understand what he wants me to do.

"Whatever you want to do is fine," he replies, and it hurts my feelings that he seems so indifferent.

"I'd like to come see you if that's ok," I insist as I tell myself he's just tired. He agrees, and I grab my bag and head over to Sarah's.

When I get there, Carter's family is washing their cars in the driveway. After greeting them, Sarah tells me she thinks Carter might be sleeping, so to head right in. When I make my way to his room, I see him unpacking his bag. I notice the rose and card are on his nightstand, and the pillow pad is in the corner. When he sees me, he drops his clothes and comes to greet me with a hug. As he gets closer, I see his eyes are totally bloodshot and even a little swollen, like he's been rubbing them to stay awake all night.

"Hey," he says as he hugs me close.

"Hi... how are you feeling?" I ask but it's muffled against his chest as he continues to hold me against him for a noticeable moment.

"Tired," he admits, and he sounds defeated and exhausted. "Thanks for my birthday present," he says as he pulls back and kisses me swiftly on my lips.

"You're welcome," I respond, but I'm distracted by his unenthusiastic affection towards me. How is this the same person that was confessing his desires for me less than twelve hours ago... Something just feels off... Why does he feel so standoffish, and guarded... Maybe he didn't like that I got him a gift?... No, he's just tired... It'll be better after he gets some sleep... I think to myself as he finishes unpacking his stuff.

He decides he's going to take a shower before coming to bed, so I decide to watch tv as I wait for him. When he gets out, he crawls into bed, asking me to join him. Despite my uneasiness in his demeanor, I willingly give in as I'm unable to deny that I want to be as close to him as possible. We spend the rest of the day and night in bed, making up for the lost nights and drifting in and out of sleep.

In the middle of the night, Carter wakes me up with seductive kisses to my neck. When he feels me stir, he turns me and kisses me with all the desire and passion I was craving when I first saw him this morning. After having slept for a couple of hours, he seems more like himself, and I'm reminded why I've fallen for him as he unknowingly, loves away the loneliness and uneasiness I've felt from last week to just hours ago.