Say The Word

Chapter 41- Fellas, Is It Normal To Be Cocooned By Your Homie?

  "How shameless do you have to be?" The same ex who grabbed me previously tried to pull me out of his arms. Her grip on my arm was firmer than before, sharp acrylic nails digging into my flesh. "Doing this in public? Where everyone can see?"

"I can do what I want, Sasha. And my friend's cold. What are you going to do about it?" Luzien challenged, holding me closer to him than before, not budging no matter how forceful she was.

'Oh, so her name is Sasha' was literally all I could think about.

Their noises fizzled out into nothing but noises of low buzzing in my drunken ears. Luzien was warm, and the pain in my arm was basically ignored with how comfortable I was between his thick fur coat and washboard body. (Yeah, there was really no other comparison. His body wasn't exactly cheese grater yet, so washboard it is). I was ready to pass out in the warmth.

Of course, I could not even get something as simple as that.

A few moments right before my eyes closed off the world, I picked up on a familiar voice.

I shot up. It was as if instinctively I knew exactly whose voice it was.

"C'mon, Sash, you're drunk," that voice pleaded. The pressure (and nails) pulled away from my arm. Luzien immediately pulled me into the warm barrier of his arms, shielding Sasha, the cold, and...Sumi. An altered familiar face to match with that voice.

The day of our graduation was actually the last time I had saw her. All we managed to do was take a picture together, before I hurried off to deal with Vati. I did not even get to keep the picture taken. Neither of us had the chance to bid each other a proper farewell. To think that we would meet again after months of no contact, under the circumstance that she was rescuing both Luzien's and my ass from his ex, was delightful but no doubt more awkward of a reunion that I had expected. Truly, the world was small enough for Sumi to be Sasha's friend and for her to be holding Sasha back from throwing hands at the both of us.

"It's...you!" her face lit up upon recognition, though her hands were still confining Sasha, with no signs of letting go anytime soon. She looked like a different person. Gone were her box braids and simple foundation. Instead, she wore an extravagant eye make-up that really suited her face shape; long straightened red hair flowed a little past the small of her back. The only thing that had not change was how tiny she was. Compared to Sumi, Sasha was, quite frankly, a street lamp with heels.

"You know these jerks?" Sasha tried to pry herself free. She got a confirmation. "I didn't know you were friends with assholes, Mimi."

"They aren't assholes, Sash, stop it," she pulled the taller woman behind her, acting as a barrier between her and us. "I didn't expect you to be here, what's up with you?"

No coherent words would come out no matter how hard I tried to tell her that I was not involved with Luzien romantically and that I just so happened to go to the same college as he did. All that could escape from my mouth was forms of half-way babbled words. The more I tried, the more frustrated I got at my uncooperative mouth. Blood flushed my face.

"Sorry, he had a lot to drink," Luzien explained things for me as wrapped his arms around my restless hands to secure them in place. Each time I tried to 'correct some details that he missed'; I was met with a "shhh" from him. Eventually, I was discouraged from even attempting to speak. My eyelids feeling heavier by the second, I could feel myself going limp in Luzien's warm cocoon.

▪▫▪▫▪

A splitting headache rudely invaded my brains when I finally decided to be conscious mainly because of the blaring alarm clock. Any will to get out of bed was dead along with every muscle on my body. I found myself sleeping in the most awkward position ever; my left arm was basically folded to the back of my torso, my legs crossed in such a way that it would never have felt comfortable for any sane (or sober) person, and my neck was craned at the worst angle possible. Each joint and nerve was on fire as my body begged me to adjust myself. At least the alarm finally stopped.

As I tossed and turned in an endeavour to at least make my bones stop screaming at me, my hand hit something – no, some...one? Well, more specifically a nose.

With an effort equivalent to having moved a horse, I peeled my eyelids open. Blinding rays of light turned the intense headache up a notch. A weak groan escaped my mouth.

It was responded by another groan. A groan that was not my own.

I jolted upright, eyes wide. All five of my sense became awfully sharp despite my headache. My hands felt around my body.

Right, my clothes were still on. My hair was a mess but that was not my utmost concern. Naturally, my eyes took me to the direction where I had hit someone. On the other side of the bed was Luzien, still deep asleep.

Blue seashell themed wallpaper, a queen sized bed in front of a mahogany cupboard, a table occupied by piles of research papers and books; the room was certainly the guest room I was temporary living in. Then...what was Luzien doing on my bed?

Fully clothed, yes, but he had his own place, didn't he?

Worst of all, the last thing I could remember was being Sumi and the feeling of being lifted up like a sack of potatoes bunched up in the fluffiest coat when I lost the fight to keep my eyelids open. That explained why I was wearing the black coat he was wearing the night before.

"I can feel you staring," Luzien's voice was like a morning slap in the face. It was deeper than his normal voice (and let me tell you, his voice could only be described as buttery smooth, sultry, silky, and all of the English words to describe heavenly voices. Wait...why do I sound like a certain someone?).

Tearing my eyes away, I could only mumble, "Sorry, I did not mean to do that."

He hummed, sat up, and said something that had my head snapping in his direction.

"What did you just say?" all the functions in my brain stopped working.

When he repeated his question about the condition of my body, my first immediate thought was 'Oh, he knows German' which was stupid. Because obviously he knows German.

"Yeah, I'm fine," my legs hung off of the bed as I gave him a half-hearted answer. The only thing in my mind was my unwillingness to converse in German. While I was aware that it seemed dumb and unfair to an entire language, speaking it at that time made me thought of Vati, which was a no-no for me. Sure, it had nearly been almost a year and a little more, but I just would much rather not go into contact with anything remotely related to him. I could not bring myself to even think about him yet. To avoid spiralling down that rabbit hole, especially with a headache bugging me, I pointed to the alarm clock behind Luzien, "What time is it now? I have work today."

He reached behind him and read, "8.15. No more German-ing for today?"

45 minutes until the clinic opens. I needed to be fast, yet he also had my attention. "What do you mean?"

He slumped back down onto the bed, "You were super fluent yesterday night, you know."

I...spoke German? In front of him? "Right, I was drunk. Just pretend you did not hear anything."

"No, but I'm curious. What happened between you and your father?"

Jesus. Remember when I said that I was not ready to talk about or to Vati? Yeah, turns out I had to be asked about him regardless due to my own stupidity.

"Luzien, while I appreciate your hospitality and our...friendship, there are certain lines you are not to cross. I was drunk, I babbled something even I don't remember. Right now, I would like to get ready for work, and I have less than 15 minutes to run to the clinic. So if you will be so kind, please let me get changed." My blood was seething by the time I was done. The door to the guest room I was in opened up, and I was ready for him to leave.

He got the message.

Getting up and stepping out of my room, he replied, "Understood. But I want to make it clear that just because you're staying here right now, doesn't mean I'll use that against you, so don't worry. I'll drive you, get ready in 10."

Mouth agape, I was left at the door. Lord, that was...unexpected.