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9| Connections to the Past

Wednesday | October 12th, 2016 | Eliana

Warm. Very warm and soft.

I had no idea what I was laying on, but I just knew that I didn't want to get up. I snuggled closer into the soft warmth and felt something tighten around my waist.

That's when I opened my eyes.

It was pitch black and it took my sleep-laden mind a minute to remember that I was still at Katerina's house. I picked my head up a little and rubbed my eyes. It took a few minutes before my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I was able to make out the outline of Katerina's body and realized that I had been laying on her chest and not a pillow. One arm was wrapped tightly around my waist while the other was resting against her stomach. One of my arms was smooshed between our bodies and the other was draped across her stomach. Our legs were tangled together in a jumbled mess.

I knew it had to be late and my parents had to be home by now. I tried to detach myself from Katerina's tight grip, but every time I moved, she only tightened her grip more.

A puff of air escaped my lips, I whispered, "Kat."

"Go back to sleep, Ellie," she mumbled, pulling me back down to lay on her chest.

"I need to go home. It's late."

Sighing, she released her hold on me and detangled my legs from hers so that I could climb off the bed. I ended up getting my foot caught on the bed sheets and fell flat on my butt.

"Damn it," I muttered, pulling myself to my feet and rubbing my now aching backside. "That hurt."

Light suddenly illuminated the room and I squinted my eyes at the sudden brightness.

"Maybe you should try turning on a light before navigating in the dark," Katerina said smartly. I turned my head to see that she was leaned against the wall by her bedroom door, hand falling from the light switch.

Her hair was all tousled from sleep and her clothes were wrinkled. The grogginess was still present in her emerald eyes that held a hint of amusement. Something about her slightly disheveled look made her look two times more attractive than what she already was. I quickly dismissed that thought from my mind, though. We were just friends. Nothing more.

I rolled my eyes at her smart comment whileI picked my backpack up off the floor and slung it on my back. I checked the time on Katerina's clock, the red digits reading 9:45 PM.

"It's almost ten. There's no reason my parents shouldn't be home by now," I said, facing Katerina. "Are yours home?"

"Yeah. I can hear the TV down in the living room," she replied, her voice still a bit raspy from being asleep. "Let me grab my shoes and I'll walk you over to your house."

I noticed that her shoes were right next to mine and I mentally face-palmed myself for forgetting to put them on.

"You don't have to walk me over," I said as I busied myself with putting on my shoes. "I'll be fine walking by myself." I tied the laces on my shoes and saw that Katerina hadn't moved from her spot but was frowning at me. "What?"

"I don't want you walking by yourself, plus we live near the woods and bears, foxes, and all sorts of other shit likes to come out at this time of night. I don't want you getting hurt."

I don't know why, but I thought it was kinda cute to see Katerina acting all protective. It's not like she hasn't before. It's just this moment that stood out to me more than all the other times.

"Fine, but only because I don't wanna get mauled by a bear."

Katerina was quick to put on her shoes and we were soon heading downstairs.