and it was perfect

Chapter 29

I woke up in his bed two days later, I must have fallen asleep from exhaustion. No - I even remembered him cuddling me, he didn't make me leave. It still warmed my heart that he made me stay over now every now and then since I came back from Seattle. I stretched my body and turned around to face him - and gasped when I saw the empty bed. I let my hand slide over the cold sheets. He must have left a while ago.

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and turned it on. "Had to leave early today, sorry." I swallowed. At least he didn't just disappear without a word. But it still felt weird that he left me alone in his room, he never did. I rubbed my face and texted him back. "No worries, is everything ok?" Then I rolled over to his side and buried my face on his pillow. I might as well make the best out of the situation. I took in his scent lingering on his sheets and closed my eyes again. I wished I could wake up in his bed every day. Preferably with him around. I kept replaying the night before and smiled. It had been amazing.

Half an hour later he still hadn't replied and I finally sat up again. I barely ever saw his room during the day and took a look around. It was neat, as always, I just wished there were any photos or personal items that would tell me more about him than what we was willing to tell me. But there was nothing. The only pop of colour in his room were his books. I got up and walked over to his desk. I wouldn't snoop around, but I let my fingers run over the book covers on the shelf. Was he that invested in his studies for having as many books about psychology and the human brain? He usually seemed as excited about economy as I was about marketing, although I knew he took his assignments and tests way more serious than I did. So maybe it was just one of his hobbies I had no idea about. I sighed and got dressed. I couldn't believe this guy knew my darkest secrets while I didn't even know what his favourite colour was.

I made his bed and quietly sneaked out of his room. It was too late to go for a run now, so I simply got ready and went straight to class. Mr. Palmer reached a new level of boredom today and I couldn't help but drift off during his lecture. I checked my phone after a while. A missed call from Nate, but still no reply from Aiden. I tried not to read too much into it, but it still felt odd. After classes I went straight over to work and spent all afternoon with Bella figuring out how to style her new apartment. Her and Alex had just moved in together and her eyes sparked excitedly about their new chapter.

I tired to ignore the sting I felt. I'd been there before, I knew exactly how amazing it felt. And right now I was far far away from it. When I finally came home I didn't see his car in the driveway. He still hadn't replied to me and he usually wasn't working that late on a Tuesday. Was it another one of his emergencies? I opened our chat again, but didn't dare to text him again. I had no right to ask him where he was. But when I walked inside and saw Josh and Zack sitting at the table, I couldn't help it. "Hey guys. Where's Aiden?" They just shrugged. "Either working or getting laid." was Josh's dry response and I tried to grin back. He better not be.

I tried to pull myself together and joined them eating dinner shortly after. It was probably simply one of those "emergency" nights. But I couldn't shake that gut feeling. I finished an assignment and started watching the last season of Friends. I finally drifted off after a while and shrieked when I heard some rumbling downstairs. Was it him?

I quickly got up and nearly bumped into his tall shadow in the hallway. "Jesus." I shrieked and he quietly laughed and stroked my elbow he'd grabbed to prevent us from crashing together. "Sorry, J. Didn't mean to scare you. Goodnight." I caught my breath and tried to read his face, however I couldn't see a thing in the dark. I grabbed his hand and dragged him towards my room. "Come here."

He sighed but followed me. I knew he just wanted to go to bed right away, but I had to make sure he was okay. Back in my room the light on my nightstand finally hit his face properly. He looked awful. The dark shadows under his eyes were much worse than usual and he looked different. He looked ... sad. And didn't want to look at me. "I don't feel like it tonight. I'm sorry." I shook my head. "I don't wanna have sex right now either. Is everything okay?" He quickly nodded. "Yeah, don't worry. I'm just tired." I didn't buy it. "I'm not asking this as your sex buddy but your friend. What happened today?" He let out a frustrated breath. "Nothing happened, J." I shook my head. "Don't bullshit me. Why are you sad?"