lacuna

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Fallon's pov

I ended up going to Asher's house a few days later. That was where Justin wanted to do the rest of the project together and I was fine with it. Besides, I get to see Barney.

The rain had dragged out through the night and the roads were covered in puddles by morning. Whenever I see remnants of the rain dropping from leaves or roofs, my mind would snap back to the previous day when I was being twirled in Eli's arms. It had felt safe. So safe in a way that I knew I would be beyond protected with him.

I glanced at an old couple sitting on a bench as I walked along the pavement towards Asher's house. The woman had a bouquet of flowers in her hands and she was smiling down at it. But what warmed my heart was the way the old man was looking at her. It was as if he saw the world in her. I looked away, focusing my eyes back on my feet, knowing I probably won't find someone who would look at me like that.

Asher's house came into view and I gripped the strap of my bag slung over my shoulder, taking a deep breath as I got closer. I walked in through the gate and up the steps leading to the front door and just as I was about to knock, I noticed the door was open.

"Um..." I peeked in but the house was empty. Then I heard barking, almost scaring the life out of me before I saw the yellow fluff ball running to the door, his tail wagging wildly.

I smiled, "Hey, boy. Where's everybody?", I scratched behind his ear and stepped inside. The dog kept nudging my hand, asking me to pet him and I crouched down to his level, causing him to almost topple me over, "Whoa, hey. Here", I ruffled his fur, placing a quick kiss on the top of his head. After playing with him for a short minute, I stood up, walking further into the house but noticing the kitchen and living room were both empty.

"Hello?" I called, feeling the nerves kicking in. Did I just walk into an empty house without permission? Crap. Barney panted as he jumped around me, clearly excited and I couldn't help the laugh that blurted out. He barked and licked my hand. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I took it out, noticing a text message from Asher:

Is that you downstairs?

I started typing:

Yeah. How do you know? There's no one here except for Barney tho.

His response was quick.

Come upstairs :)

I made my way towards the staircase, glancing up but seeing no one. Nevertheless, I moved my feet and climbed up the steps, Barney following closely behind. I heard shuffling and chuckles from the second room from the right. The one next to the room in which Justin and I did a part of our project weeks ago. I gently pushed the half-closed door and it opened to the room, the curtains opened widely and the three teen boys sprawled on the huge floor. Barney gave a bark and scampered into the room whilst I stood in the doorway. It was messy in a way that gave off the idea that they'd been doing something destructive.

"Fallon! Hey," Asher grinned from the floor.

I smiled, "Hi". That was when my eyes collided with Eli's and mine widened before I could stop them. His mouth turned into a smirk when he realised how panicked I suddenly was. He definitely knew what was the reason for that.

That little bonehead.

Justin grunted as he got up from the floor, "Okay. Do you wanna get started right away or...?".

I shrugged, "Whatever you like is fine". I liked Justin. There was no small talk, just straight to the point. I walked into the room, stepping around the strewn pillows and blankets as Justin went to bed, taking out some papers from his bag. Placing my own bag beside the bed, I sat opposite him, taking a look at the papers he'd prepared. He was amazing with his words. Words. I could feel Eli's lips on my neck as my memories flashed back to yesterday.