amsterdam ( central cee )

28

The pressure of his arm bears on the side of my skull. When I try to move I'm trapped in the tangle of his legs. I gasp for a breath but inhale a piece of his shirt instead. I tried to move my arm to push him away, but I felt weighed down by his own.

The rumble of his snore moves through the parts of my braids and I sigh sleepily. With my newfound vision, I watch him in adoration. I looked at his fingers, littered digit by digit with art, and followed the trail of pictures all the way to the tattoo of The Queen on his shoulder.

I clasp my hand onto his and his longer fingers spilling weakly through mine.

I lift our hands and look at them, our intertwined fingers telling a story of unity and love, a silent confirmation that Oakley and I have rekindled our connection.

My lips grazed the tattooed skin of his wrist as I squeezed his hand again, hoping he'd never leave again.

Sighing again, I use all of my strength to push him away from me. He makes a short sound of disagreement before the sound of his snoring returns.

I reach for my phone on the nightstand and gasp at the time, it's past noon. It's only then that I realize the scratching at my door. Rolling my eyes, I carry my heavy body toward it with heavy footsteps.

Lilo slips past the small crack and happily skips into my room. She jumps up my bed and after sniffing at Oakley she curls up to him. I watch the whole ordeal with raised brows and roll my eyes once again.

"Don't worry girl, he's all yours," I mumble and with my towel in hand, I make my way to the bathroom.

I cringe at my reflection and reach for the scissors beneath the sink. I cut the braiding hair and unravel my braids one by one.

When I'm nearly done, my mom knocks on the door and without waiting for my response she opens it. Her eyes go wider at the sight of my hair and the braiding hair on the floor.

"What happened to you?! Are you cutting your hair off?!"

I laugh at the expression on her face. "No, mom. I'm just taking out my braids, I'm done with them."

"Okay," she says quizically, looking at the mess on the floor. "Just make sure to clean up when you're done. And..." My mother checks the hallway before turning to me again, lowering her voice. "He's here?"

My heart skipped a beat as I felt myself blushing as I nodded. Her jaw loosens. "No way."

"Yes, way."

"Oh, Hanne," mom whines with worry. "Just be careful, okay? Remember what happened last time? You were a mess. Is he still here?"

"Gosh, Mom, it's fine, nothing happened, get that look off your face." She bats her eyelids unnaturally fast and then shakes her head, the look on her face changing skeptically.

"Anyway, you're brother and Alexia are coming over for lunch, so figure that out before he comes over and put Oakley's and your dirty clothes in the hamper so I can wash them." With that, she leaves, leaving me stressed- as hell- while undoing these braids.

When all are undone, I look at my frizzy head with my thoughts racing. Marius is going to yell at me. No, he won't just yell at me – he's going to  fucking kill me.

The thought of Marius's disapproval sends a gust of anxiety through me. He's not one to hold back when it comes to hating Oakley. Right then, the door to the bathroom swings open, Oakley sleepily looks at me with Lilo happily nestled in his arms.

"Yo," he says groggily.

I snap my eyes to Lilo and then to his. "Yo." I swallow. "How did you sleep?"