Only, Always, and Forever You

32 - Poke the Dragon

Amara's POV:

I'm alone and confused, standing where he left me in the hallway. One minute he's acting all playful, teasing and exchanging flirty banter, and then the next, he's cold a distant.

I can't help but feel like I did something wrong.

I know me staying the night at his house is weird, but is it that bad for him? I didn't want to— I mean, his mom practically forced me. That's not to say that I'm not incredibly grateful, though.

I turn to the door he pointed at and open it cautiously, not knowing what to expect.

I thought the rest of this house was breathtaking, but I can't even begin to explain this room.

It's probably the size of my entire apartment, and there is a large canopy bed in the center of the room. The bed faces a grand window, overlooking the woods behind the house. Long, cream-colored curtains fall from the ceiling to the ground, and as I look closer, I see that the window actually opens up to a terrace.

The rest of the room is beautifully put together, and I notice the two other doors in the room. I open them, one revealing a walk-in closet while the other opens to an en-suite bathroom. Marble lines every surface, and the large mirror is illuminated by bright LED lights.

The shower is giant, closed off by glass walls. There is already shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and all of the essentials on the shelf in the shower, as well as toothbrushes, hairbrushes, and more on the sink counter.

I'm already tired and spent from the day I had, and I just want to go to bed. My hair is going to get so messed up from sleeping without curl protection, but I'll just take a shower in the morning.

I'm about to get into the bed, but I don't want to sleep in cargo pants since they wouldn't be comfortable. However, I don't have any other clothes at this house. I try to suck it up and get under the covers, but I cannot get comfortable. I groan internally when I realize that, if I don't change now, I won't be sleeping.

I really don't want to go ask Cole about it, considering the silent treatment he gave me not too long ago, but I also love my sleep. I guess I only have one choice.

Let's go poke the dragon...

I get up and leave the room, walking across the hall to his room. I stand in front of the door for a minute, debating whether I want to test him right now or not.

I don't understand what I did to make him ignore me completely. I thought we were friends, and just a few hours ago, we were laughing and joking around together. Did he not want me to stay for dinner? I didn't exactly have a choice.

My tiredness and my need to go to sleep give me enough confidence to knock lightly on his door. I knock once and after a little bit, he opens the door.

For a split second, his soft green eyes look down at me warmly, but that quickly disappears when he averts his eyes to anywhere but me.

"What?" he asks flatly, and I almost wince at his sharp tone.

"Um, I don't have anything to sleep in," I admit timidly, feeling like my mere presence is pissing him off. I don't like feeling like a nuisance.

He sighs and turns around, "Come in," he says without even looking at me.

I walk into his room hesitantly and close the door. I stand there awkwardly as he walks through another door, which I assume is a closet. He comes out a few seconds later with some clothes in his hands. He passes them to me and looks at me with an emotionless face.

"Thank you," I say quietly, turning around, about to head out.

"Wait," he says, and for a second I hope that whatever distance he's putting between us is shrinking, but my hopes are too big. "Try the clothes on here so that if they don't fit I can find something else."

I nod and internally face-palm myself for thinking that he was telling me to wait for something sincere. He just wants to make sure I don't have a reason to come back here again.

He turns around and looks at the floor, silently telling me that he won't look. He gave me the same hoodie of his that I wore earlier and a pair of his sweats.

The hoodie drops down to about my mid-thigh, but the sweatpants will not stay up. They don't have a drawstring either, so I just give up on trying. The hoodie covers my body anyway, so I should be good without them.

"Okay, I'm done," I inform Cole.

He turns to face me and immediately turns back around when he sees what I'm wearing, "Jesus, Amara! I thought I gave you pants to wear too!"

If the situation were different, I might giggle at his reaction, but honestly, right now I just feel somewhat awkward.

"You did, but they don't fit. Plus, the hoodie is big enough to cover everything anyway," I assure him, and he seems to take my word for it, slowly turning back around and meeting my face.

He nods briefly with a tight-lipped smile, avoiding my eyes at all costs. He breaks the silence by walking away, heading toward his bed. He sits down on the edge of it, facing away from me, and I take it as my cue to leave.

I'm about to reach the door when his words stop me, "Amara, wait." His voice sounds solemn and sincere, and I turn to him to find him still facing away.

"Hmm?" I reply, my tone soft so that I don't annoy him more than I clearly already have.

He pauses for a moment, debating himself in his head. I can tell he wants to say something serious, something he's been wanting to say for a long time, but he doesn't.

Instead he says, "There are fresh towels in your closet if you want to shower."

I can tell that's not what he really wanted to say, but I decide not to push him. Instead I thank him and leave the room. I return to my own room and immediately crawl into bed.

I wonder what he really wanted to tell me.

I can tell he had something else on his mind, but I'm in no position to ask him about it. I mean, he could barely look at me, so he definitely won't open up to me.

I push it out of my head for now and let much needed sleep overtake me.

* * *

I'm woken up by the sound of my door gently opening and closing, but I don't have the energy right now to look at who it is. The clock beside the bed reads:

2:38 A.M.

A part of me wants to scold whoever is in here for waking me up at this hour, but then reality starts to set in and I feel a growing anxiety. Who is in the room? What are they going to do? Am I going to die?

I'm silently freaking out until the bed covers lift and I feel a warm body lay down behind me. I'm met with his familiar smell, and I instinctively relax.

I'm still too tired to really process what's going on or use any rational thinking, so I flip from one side to the other so that I'm lying down, facing him.

I keep my eyes closed, as they're still heavy with sleep, but I can't hold back my small smile when he pulls me closer into his side and tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear.

My head is on his chest, and I listen to the steady, relaxed rhythm of his heartbeat as his fingers lightly trace shapes on my hand, which also rests on his chest.

I feel so safe, so comfortable in his arms. Even though he's been distant to me tonight, I can't help but feel cared for like never before right now. It feels so natural, so real.

Before I can have a single negative or realistic thought, his intoxicating scent, his warm body, and his calm heartbeat all lull me back to sleep.