Viola

Chapter 26

Al's POV

Blinking my eyes open, I take in my surroundings, jumping up when I realize I am most definitely not in an on-call room.

I look around, sighing when I see Leo across the room, sleeping on a little sofa.

Slowly getting up, I find my phone, keys, and pager placed nicely on the nightstand.

In an attempt to make it out of the room quietly and let him sleep, I expertly tiptoe, seemingly hitting every creeky spot in his wood floor, cringing as I go.

Just as I'm about to make it to the door, I catch my foot on something and tumble forward, banging into the door.

I squeeze my eyes shut, expecting him to have woken up, but freeze when I hear a low chuckle.

"You alright there?" Leo's clear voice calls out.

I snap my eyes to him and find him looking completely clear and awake.

He wasn't actually sleeping!

Pouting fervently, I walk over and push his shoulder, only receiving a chuckle in return.

Stomping away, I slide into my shoes which sit by the door, and almost have my hand on the handle before I'm pulled back

"Hey hey, I'm sorry. Are you okay" He says with a chuckle

I nod, looking down and blushing lightly.

"Are you hungry?" He asks, nudging my chin upwards. 

 I blink a few times before shaking my head and going to pull out my pager. 

"I should be going back-" I start but my pager is snatched out of my hand. 

"No," He states simply, opening the door and walking out of the room and towards a flight of steps down the hall. "You coming?" He calls out to me, stopping at the top. 

I shake my head before chasing in that direction. 

When he hears me coming he begins to walk down the steps, my running speed catching up to his walking one as we reach the landing. 

"Give it back," I told him with a pout, holding out my palm. 

He looks at me nonchalantly before chuckling. "No," He tells me, continuing to walk into what I can only identify as the kitchen. 

Looking around, I find what looks to be a bachelor pad. A small kitchen, a little hallway that leads to the bathroom, and a bit of a living room with a couch, a tv, and some gaming stuff. 

Once my attention has drifted back to the issue at hand, I turn to find Leo cooking, the smell of bacon and pancakes flitting through the air. 

Taking his distracted stance as an opportunity to make a move, I tiptoe around the table, getting right behind him before gently attempting to reach for the pager which sat on the counter next to him.

My hand is almost on it, but before I can touch it, I'm spun around and pinned to the cabinets. 

Looking up, I find his face dangerously close to mine. His bright green eyes stare boldly and firmly into mine.

"Really?" He asks me, seemingly annoyed. 

I blink, ready to come back at him with a snarky response

"Do you not like me or something?" He asks, snapping me out of my thoughts on a comeback

"what?-" I ask, struck suddenly with confusion at a new look of confusion and hurt in his beautiful green eyes.