Twisted Turnaround

Chapter 28

ANDREA

Miles has been rotting in bed for the last two weeks.

Aside from begrudgingly getting up and heading to his classes, he comes straight home and falls into bed. I watch him lay in bed and stare at a laptop screen playing a show on repeat as I go about my day. For the first week, I let him be. I know that he was excused from his classes and was having a hard time adjusting to using crutches, but after that week, I've had enough of watching him sulk. One thing about Miles was that in all of our time together, he had never given ip this much.

Miles is a positive guy—one who came around every day even though I had slapped him. He didn't back down from a challenge, and as annoying as it was, he kept persevering. But now he had given up and was mindlessly going about his day. I doubted that he even did his classwork when he got home. He was just letting life go by.

I was worried about him.

I wouldn't go as far as to say that Miles could be falling into depression, but with every day that goes by, the more worried I get. I wouldn't just watch him wither away, not when he was doing it in front of me.

I finished all my classes for the day and headed into our room. Just as I thought, I see Miles on the bed, the noise of his laptop the only thing in between us. As I take off my jacket, I wonder what he was thinking about. If he was thinking about his future or just letting his mind blank. I didn't want him to think negatively about his future because there could be a way that everything works out for him. If he really wants it, it would.

Brushing my hair up in a bun and securing it with a claw clip, I head over to the bed. Miles doesn't pay me any attention as I slip into bed and turn my body to look at him. I'm not sure if he can sense me there, as he doesn't look to the side. I peer in at his laptop screen and find that he was watching one of those old shows that used to come on CW. I doubted he was truly watching it though.

"Miles," I call out, and I watch recognition of my voice appear on his face. His eyebrows twitch, and he looks over at me. I frown, "I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine," he says, and that makes me want to roll my eyes. Placing a hand under my chin, I say, "But you are not. I hate to see you this way."

"What, relaxed?" he asks, gesturing to the bed. I roll my eyes seriously this time and sigh. "No," I say, sitting beside him now. "I'm talking about how you haven't done anything other than going to classes and how instead of catching up on work you just mindlessly watch television. I'm worried about you."

"I'm doing fine," he repeats, but I watch the way his eyes move back and forth on mine as if he is scared I'll be able to read through his eyes if he makes contact with me.

"Are you though?" I ask with a tilt of my head. I glanced down at what he was wearing—the same shirt he had been wearing for the last three days. "You haven't showered in like three days, and you stink."

He frowns at me and then asks, "Do I really?"

I roll my eyes. "Come on now, Miles. You haven't showered in a few days, and—" I move closer to him and grab the material of his shirt. Pulling it off to the side, I lean down and take a whiff of his shoulder. "And um—," I say, looking up to see his curiousness peak. "And you don't stink, fine. But I know you have been sweating."

"I do nothing other than rest in bed all day," he points out, and that makes me nod slightly.

"See, you get it," I say with an encouraging smile. "You can see that you have been sulking for the last two weeks. I say you get up and we go on a walk or something."