Basic Instinct [stranger things]

98. Hesitant Slumbers

CHAPTER NINETY-EIGHT
HESITANT SLUMBERS

That night, Aaron had gotten little to no sleep.

He'd been the first of his friends to awaken, besides Max of course, but she'd been up all night scribbling furiously on pieces of paper, so Aaron figured that didn't really count.

Aaron presumed that he had gotten three hours of sleep at most, four at a push.

He'd awoken in a slight panic, jolting awake as if he'd only dosed off for a moment or two. The blond looked around the room in a daze, trailing his eyes over everything as he tried to blink the sleep from his eyes.

Everyone else was sleeping, the room almost an eerie silent.

Eventually, he adverted his attention onto the girl next to him, thanking god that she was still sleeping, knowing she needed it.

Usually, it was Kimmy up before Aaron. And unless Aaron wasn't sleeping in her room with herr - which admittedly wasn't common - or he'd snuck down to check on her, he never really saw her sleeping.

She looked... calm almost. But then again, maybe that was because she'd been and looked so stressed lately, perhaps she wasn't calm at all.

Aaron frowned and took back his previous assumption upon looking closer. Her brows were knitted together in a furrow and a ghost of a frown played on her lips. The blond quickly realised that she wasn't at peace at all, not even while sleeping.

As the sleep wore off, Aaron realised just how tightly the girl was gripping onto him.

Kimmy was slumped against him, her head dropped against his shoulder, practically buried in his neck, the boy just able to make out her features. Well, he would have been able to if her dark hair wasn't spread out over her face and blocking his view.

Aaron was still sat up in the same position he had been in earlier just before he fell asleep. Using what felt like all his might, he lifted his head from where it had been resting against the back of the couch and reached his fingers out in an almost hesitant manner, shifting the dark hair from her face so he could see better.

He wasn't even sure what it was he was looking for or why he felt the urge to get a look at her - a good look. It just seemed to be an instinct for some reason.

Aaron watched the sleeping girl for longer than he cared to admit, a million feelings rushing through him all at once despite the fact his face remained blank.

The only thing that had been on his mind was Kimmy and her expected situation that he presumed to play out in the next few days.

And he hated it. He hated himself for giving in and having those thoughts, he hated her parents for causing her mountains of pain and trauma that had landed her in this shit heap that she currently found herself in.

He hated it all.

Suddenly, he was second guessing everything. Fuelled by fear and anger that left him wanting to do nothing but stay with the brunette at all times, somehow convinced she'd be fine as long as he was right next to her.

The blond could feel himself getting angrier and angrier by the second, yet unable to clear the thoughts from his head.

Just like most things in life, the situation at hand wasn't fair.

There wasn't many things in life that were fair, but fucking hell, it was like the girl was being targeted by that point. There were things that weren't fair in everyone's life, but Aaron truly believed that Kimberley Jenkins had suffered enough in her fifteen years of life to never face any amount of bother from anyone or anything ever again.