Wasteland // Kim Seungmin

9 - Would Sell My Soul For Some Lysol

The bed was more comfortable than I expected it to be, and Sky was right, as soon as I laid down, I knew I would fall asleep easily. There was a tiny window shining a sliver of moonlight into the room, and I stared up at it, thinking about all the people I had met, the things I learned. Really, it was a lot for one day.

I didn't remember falling asleep, but I do remember Sky coming in. There was a bit of grey in the sky through the little window, and I wondered if it could really only be 4. Maybe he stayed out a little longer. I heard the door of the house open, and the sound of him kicking off his shoes. A moment later, the door to the tiny bedroom creaked. I debated showcasing that I was awake, but I was afraid it would be awkward, so I just pretended to be asleep.

I remembered just a little too late that I was laying smack in the center of the bed. I had not felt Sky touch the bed, and I pictured him standing over me, debating how he should approach this. Knowing he must be tired from a long night of walking in the darkness, I picked my head up and shuffled toward the wall. "I'm in the middle of the bed, sorry." I croaked.

"s'okay." He mumbled, and I felt the bed sink under his weight. It really was a small bed, and it was obvious that he was trying to touch me as little as possible. I knew this would be awkward. I turned my body around, facing him.

"Anything exciting happen?" I whispered.

"Nope, a few more groups walked by, but no one came close."

"That's good."

"Paila?"

"Hm."

"I'm just going to ask you how you sleep. Like, how do you like to sleep?"

"Huh?"

"Like, I usually lay on my side, like you were doing when I came in. And you slept like that the other night. We'll fit a lot better if we both do that, but then I'm going to have to touch you, if you're okay with that."

"Are you asking me to spoon, Sky?" I giggled.

He let out a very long, exasperated sigh. "Yeah, I am asking you to spoon."

"Well come on, then." I turned my back to him with a small smile, endeared by the way he asked. Curled up the way I was, I felt him slot himself behind me, molding to the shape of my body. His right hand rested on the curve of my waist, and his chin landed softly on the crown of my head, and before I could say another word, he started breathing steadily like he was already asleep.

It was absurdly comfortable, lying with Sky, feeling a warm body cuddling with mine. The blanket was drawn up around my neck, and I was acutely aware of the minute little tenses he would make with his fingers every once in a while. Within minutes I was asleep too.

But I didn't sleep long, having slept all night, and going to bed so much earlier than I was accustomed too. The sky was light, and I couldn't stand to lie there anymore. But Sky's whole arm had wrapped tightly around my waist, and I knew I would not be able to move without waking him up. Experimentally, I seized his wrist and worked on sliding it slowly up my stomach toward my side, so that I could slip out from underneath, but before I made too much progress, the hand clenched and gripped even tighter. The whole boy clung to me more now, his face nestled into my neck, through the curtain of my hair, and his legs drew up, encasing me even more firmly into the nook created by his body.

I was clearly not going to get anywhere trying to sneak, so I abandoned that. I started to just pull away from him with my normal strength, and was again met with resistance. It was almost cute. "Sky," I whispered to softly request he let me up.

He hummed, but I could tell he was not really awake, so I tried to turn around in his arms.

"Hey, Sky." I said again, and the boy woke. It seemed to be in body only, because he at once uncaged me, only to grab my arms and flop me onto my back and hover over me. I gasped, and looked up to see his eyes still closed and his eyebrows furrowed a bit.