Rid of You

Chapter 3: Nyctophobia

Nyctophobia
9:02 PM

I was now standing as I leaned my butt on the flat armrest of the leather couch, arms crossed while glaring at Mal.

"This isn't the time to joke," I nervously said, "Surely, we'll find a way out of here before tomorrow. There's no guarantee we will spend the night here. Right?" I looked at Gigi for approval, completely forgetting that she was asleep. It didn't take long before Gigi moved her body. She was now lying in an unusual position, having her left leg thrown above the backrest with the other one bent upwards so that only the sole of her right foot was touching the top cushion, right arm still dangling from the sofa and head stuck in the same position.

"Looks like Giana enjoys the sleepover," he said as he tilted his head towards her direction.

Sleepover? Was he treating this like a normal sleepover in a cabin? Had he forgotten what was happening around us and that we're just some girls from school that he happened to run into, and he was still babbling about wanting to sleep in this dusty place despite the situation?

"If you'd rather go outside, I'd like to see you attempt to," he said with a cheeky expression.

I cocked my head to the side and my eyes directed towards the tiny, foggy window right beside the door. Sickness rose to my neck as I saw nothing but complete darkness and heavy drops of rain that dashed against the thick, blurry glass.

"Fine. I'll sleep here." I grabbed the toothbrush that he handed me and he proceeded to follow me to the bathroom. "By the way, why do you have an extra toothbrush lying around?" I curiously asked as I held it up to my face.

"Sam told m—"

"This is Sam's?" I stopped moving and turned my head to him. "That's a bit... filthy, isn't it?" I glared at him with sharp eyes.

"No, I meant that he wanted me to bring an extra from my home that isn't used anymore. I'm not sure if he even owns one," he explained.

I grimaced in disgust at his last sentence. "But isn't it still yours?" I asked as I broke contact with his eyes before meeting them again.

"Yeah," he casually responded with a wide grin. "Not sure which one I even gave you."

What a cheeky person.

"Only if you're okay with it," he added after he saw the serious look on my face.

"It's whatever," I sighed. "That's the least of my worries right now." I turned away from him and grabbed his forearm to lead him towards the bathroom door with a slight frown on my face. I was about to twist the doorknob when he suddenly looked at me and spoke again, making me motionless.

"You seem stressed."

Duh. "Yeah." I looked up at him, pinching my eyebrows together. "How could you tell?" I asked rhetorically.

"I think you should release the tension. You're gripping me a bit too tight."

"Didn't mean to." I dropped his arm down. "You should get a thicker coat if that was remotely painful."

"I just told you to not hold me so tight, not to let go of me," he stated with yet another cheeky expression before it returned to a serious one. "But I also told you that because I think you should take a breather to calm yourself down."