Shadows of Our Pasts

Chapter 11 - Morning Karaoke

Xantara's P.O.V

I blinked my eyes open, disturbed from my sleep due to the light streaming in through my bedroom window, hitting my face. I could feel the warmth of the sun on my skin as I yawned and stretched my arms out a bit, ready to get up and get ready for the day. As soon as I was done, I tried to get out of bed. 

Keyword: tried.

A weight rested on my waist, sending me into a temporary panic, my eyes widening as I spun my head around to look behind me, only to find the man who I've only known for a day laying behind me with his arm wrapped around my torso. 

Memories of last night flooded into my brain, and I was filled with embarrassment and sentimentality as I realized I'd let myself be so bothered by my memories, but he was so incredibly kind to help me. He must've fallen asleep here afterward. I relaxed back into my pillow, my once shocked expression morphing into a small smile as I turned back onto my back, my head now facing him. 

Even though I was not used to or very comfortable with this kind of contact, I was extremely grateful that Cry was there for me - a total stranger, really - after such a horrible nightmare. Now, everything was so peaceful that I was afraid of even moving and disrupting the peace, so I studied Cry's sleeping form as I contemplated what to do. 

His arm remained draped over me, even as I rolled completely onto my side, facing him. It was so calm, with the comfort of his presence near me and the warmth of the sun on my back, I nearly fell asleep again...but nope, I had to get up before the group arrives today. I let a sigh escape my lips, my breath brushing a few of Cry's stray hairs off of his mask, pulling my attention back to him. 

His mask was slightly ajar from sleeping on his side, and his mouth was open just a smidge, letting soft, even puffs of air slip through his lips. Before I got distracted staring at him I scolded myself (I was basically watching him sleep, that's creepy) and rolled back onto my back, trying to wriggle my way out of bed. I slowly began to pull the bedsheets off of my scarred body, but only got as far as my abdomen before Cry's grip tightened around my waist and he gently pulled me a little closer to his chest. 

I froze again, thinking I'd woken him up, but as I watched him from the corner of my eyes I knew he was still dead asleep for now. However, he wasn't done moving, apparently. His other arm moved from being bent under his head to sliding under my back, wrapping around my torso and laying on top of his other arm so he could pull me even closer to him. His forehead was nestled against my back as he adjusted, and I tensed, still not used to the closeness and now having no idea how I'm going to get myself out of this one without it being too awkward. 

His breaths stayed even and steady, letting me calm myself enough to focus on how to get out of this. I'm sure he didn't mean to get this close, but my heart was still racing so I'd rather not do anything that would wake him up so that we can both avoid the embarrassment of this...

I took a deep breath, deciding there was only one option - I had to move, but I would just have to hope he was a heavy enough sleeper for me to be able to do this without waking him. If I just stayed like this and he woke up, it would be even more embarrassing that I hadn't even tried to move away, right?

I reached down to grab the arm he'd just slipped under my back and gently grabbed his hand, hoping to pull each arm away so I could slip out of them. Of course, my plan was immediately foiled when his fingers instinctively intertwined with my own, and I was even more stuck than I was before. 

Frustrated, I tried to use my other hand to pry our hands apart, but as soon as I freed my hand I saw his fingers twitch. This time, it wasn't a false alarm.