The Flynn Effect

29 | sleeping arrangements

Jo

IF FLYNN IS surprised, he doesn't let it show but his eyes become a little bright. "Why?" He asks suspiciously.

I shrug and fold my arms. "I thought you wanted me to invite you to my room once. Now, it looks like you're fidgeting."

"I'm not—" he pauses, like he can't find the right words to use and then he says, "I'm just curious. Anyone would be."

"You don't want to go to the hospital and it'd be difficult, not to talk of slightly reckless to drive with an arm you're not used to. I have a first aid box in my room," I shrug again. "I could take a look at it and then, you can sleep over and leave in the morning before my mum wakes up."

He stares as me as I speak and once I'm done, he says, "How do I know you won't try to break my entire arm in the process?"

I roll my eyes and poke his chest with every word. "I was in the junior Red Cross society for four years. Don't insult my intelligence. Now, are you going to come in or not? I don't usually invite boys to my room. Consider yourself lucky."

He opens the backseat door and grabs a sling and when he closes it, his lips curl at the corners. "Lead the way."

I turn around and head towards our porch, aware of his every step behind me. This is something I would never even dream of doing but ever since I've been hanging out with Flynn, I've been doing things I normally wouldn't do. Sneaking a boy to my room in the middle of the night sounds rebellious but I wouldn't deny the fact that it also sounds thrilling.

I get to the door and pull the net door silently before turning around to meet him. He's really close to me now and even though it's night, I can see his face and his silhouette from the light reflecting from the moon. It almost makes me wonder if Woody is seeing all of this from his house but his lights are also off. Like most of the houses in this neighborhood.

"Remember what I told you," I whisper. "Skip the fifth and the sixth steps. If my mum wakes up, we're both dead. Got it?"

"Sure," he says. "I'm way too young to die."

I turn around and breathe before gently pulling the door open. It's dark, as I expected it to be. The only source of light is the ray of moonlight pouring in from the kitchen window.

I shuffle into the living room and he follows right behind. When I lock the door behind him and discreetly look round, I find him staring at me with a small smirk at the corner of his mouth.

"What?" I whisper.

"You look like we're about to rob a bank."

I tuck my lips together and feign a glare. "Just shut up and follow me."

I move towards the stairs and find King sleeping peacefully next to the sofa with those ears of his twitching lightly as if he's trying to detect the smallest noise. Flynn gently follows me up the stairs and he's only a step behind so I can feel him looming behind me. I get distracted as we climb and then I hesitate and swiftly turn around.

He raises his brows and stops too, seconds away from colliding with me. He's too close so I blink when he mutters 'what'.

"Um," I clear my throat and look down at the number of steps behind him. "I wasn't counting."

His brows lift in amusement. "Oh? I thought you were used to this."

"Well, first of all, I live here so I don't bother counting when I'm going up. Plus, it's not everyday I sneak a boy into my room so excuse me for trying to be careful."

We're both whispering into each other's faces and he looks like he'll laugh any minute from now.

"What's so funny?"