Unhinged

Chapter Sixxx

***

"Act like you don't remember – you said we'd live forever!"

You sang out along with the song playing on the record player as you sat upside down on your couch with your legs dangling off the back and a bowl of cereal resting on your stomach.

It was one of your days off and you were dressed in an oversized jumper, boxers that made your ass look amazing, and a pair of men's socks that drooped down a bit in the middle of your calf since they were a little too big. Your hair wasn't done, so you left it comfortable, and you weren't wearing any makeup – sometimes, you need to let the face breathe, people. But you did have a pore strip over your nose and some pimple patches scatter around your lower face, one on your forehead.

You were scrolling through your phone, picking up a news article here or there, but mainly diving into all the pop culture gossip or new movies and music coming out.

Alex was upstate shooting a wedding for some extra work and cash, so you were left to your own devices. This typically meant living off takeaway and cereal for a few days, listening to music that they claimed was overrated or just crappy in their opinion, and boring days off since you had very few friends. There was Jackie and Denise who were always up for a girl's day or night, but you were weirdly feeling kind of bummed, so you didn't want to bring the group down if you asked them to go out with you. They were always around for a good time, and you loved them for that, but everyone was busy adulting, so you didn't see them as much as you'd like.

"Maybe I should get more friends," You sighed out as the record spun on its end, "Or a dog."

There was a knock at your door after you carefully got up, not spilling the cereal, thankfully, and went to flip the vinyl over, making you freeze. You hadn't ordered food, your rent had been on time this month, and like you've said, very few friends.

"Uh...who is it?" You called out unsteadily when they knocked again, thinking you had imagined it the first time.

"It's James."

"Fuck," You whispered harshly, jumping around after you hit your toe on the coffee table, and trying to fix your hair a little as you stumbled into your room for some trousers, catching yourself before you tripped, "Uh – just a second!"

He hurriedly slipped some black leggings on since they were the cleanest thing you could find quick enough and then you remembered the crap on your face, ripping it off with a wince, stifling your pained groan so it came out as a whimper. You rushed back to stand in front of the closed door, detangling your hair until it was deemed fine by the small mirror you had hung below the peephole after you first moved in.

Then, with a deep breath, you unlocked the door and swung it open to be face to face with an even better looking version of James than you had swimming around in your memories from when you last saw him nearly two weeks ago now.

"Hi." He smiled shyly, his eyes holding insecurity, but when you returned it, that seemed to make it vanish.

"Hey," You breathed out, trying to come off casual, but your heart was beating so freaking fast, and you resisted frowning at that, "What're you – what're you doing here?" You took in what he was wearing and then your eyes searched his face, seeing the cuts and fresh bruising, "Did you just get back?"

"Can I come in?" He asked, sounding a little gruff as he tilted his chin down a bit and raised his eyebrows, his blue eyes digging into yours.

"Yeah." You backed away and held the door open further, so he gingerly stepped inside before you shut it, locking it again.

You stood there with your hands intertwined behind your back, rocking back and forth on the heels of your feet anxiously as he seemed to take in your apartment for the first time. You knew it was a bit messier than when he had been here before, but it's not like he hasn't seen it and you were growing impatient. Thankfully, he seemed to sense that.