A fractured fairytale

96

༻ Rose's POV: ༺

I couldn't sleep.

Logan had put my bags in the hallway upstairs, leaving it up to me where I wanted to sleep. I didn't have the guts to talk to Matt tonight, so I'd opted for the spare bedroom, and now, I was regretting it. After dinner, we'd all slowly moved into the living room and settled on the couch to watch movies.

Em had sat cross legged on the floor, colouring books splayed around her and an array of multi-coloured pens. Every now and then, Mia glanced over at her and sucked in a breath at the sight of the pens all over her cream carpet. Each time, Logan reached over to her and squeezed her knee, pulling her attention back to him.

Mia had picked a chic-flick which had Chris asking the guys if they wanted to go outside and kick a ball around before the sun dipped below the horizon. Alex and Jay didn't even hesitate, but Matt stayed right beside me. Which meant that I spent the entire two hours holding my breath.

The entire left side of my body burned from his body pressing up against mine. His hand had rested between us, pressed up against my leg for the first half an hour, before inching over until his hand splayed across my thigh, just above my knee. It was an innocent touch but it had my mind reeling and my body temperature rocketing.

Every now and then, his thumb would lightly stroke the inside of my leg and my heartbeat would stutter.

His hand never strayed from its spot and not once did he look over at me. He just watched the movie, his actions seemingly absentminded. On my other side was Violet, her hair pinned up in rollers and a green mask smeared across her face. She wore a pair of silk pyjamas and had a blanket draped over her lap. On the other couch, Logan and Mia curled up together, her legs draped over his lap and his arm slung around her shoulders. Watching the two of them made my heart clench. After so long together, they were still so obviously in love. It was everything I ever wanted.

My eyes felt heavy by the time the closing credits rolled across the screen and I was moments away from falling asleep. Everyone else was equally as tired, and we all made our way upstairs. Both Logan and Mia pulled me into a hug before heading up to their bedroom on the third floor. Violet shouted a good night to me, deliberately ignoring her brother which made him roll his eyes in her direction as she walked away.

And then we were left alone.

He smiled at me, standing close enough that I could smell his cologne. I thought about how it would feel if he threw his arms around me, scooped me up, carried me to his room and wrapped me up in his arms, buried under the bedcovers, my back to his front. "You okay?" he asked me, a small smirk lifting the corners of his lips like he knew exactly what I was thinking.

I swallowed and nodded. "Just tired."

He nodded and then stepped towards me, arms parting. My mouth ran dry and my stomach dipped, waiting for him to pick me up and carry me back to his room. And then his arms closed around me, squeezing me tightly, and I sunk into him. It had been far too long since he'd hugged me and I'd forgotten how good it felt, how warm and strong and safe he felt. "Goodnight."

He pulled away and I almost jumped him like a koala clinging to a tree. The distance made me queasy. "Goodnight," I said, voice a bit croaky.

"Do you need anything?"

You.

I swallowed and shook my head. "I'm good, thanks."

He nodded. "Okay, see you tomorrow."

He turned to walk down the hallway which suddenly seemed too long, his bedroom too far from where I would be sleeping. But I gathered the courage to turn and open the door to the spare room. It was a nice room, large and bright and airy, with a comfortable looking queen-sized bed decorated with throw pillows, two big windows either side of the bed and a gorgeous vanity table beside the door to the ensuite bathroom.