What Walks Among Us (book one)

Mixed Signals

The next morning I woke up with an arm draped over my waist and a face pressed into my shoulder. To make the situation even worse, Chip was curled up against my face ensuring that every inhale of breath I took, I was that much closer to inhaling fur.

I stayed as still as I could while I attempted feebly to assess the situation. The arm was obviously one of the boys, and as the night came back to me in little fragments, I figured it was probably Chester. He probably came back into check on me and ended up falling asleep.

I continued to lay there, with my muscles locked up as I convinced myself that this was in fact what had happened, and with a deep breath that somehow was the key that unlocked my mobility, I decided that a little prank was in order.

Anything to distract me from having to deal with Mabel.

I reached up and pushed Chip's body away from my face, her eyes opened up and I swear she rolled them in my direction before stretching and jumping off the edge of the bed. I stifled a laugh, and rolled over, making sure to be very dramatic about it as I rolled on top of... Beck? His eyes flew open, full of grumpy irritation. He opened his mouth, to yell at me I assume, but before he could speak his eyes managed to sweep over my face.

The predicament I had unknowingly put us in, left me laying on my stomach, on his stomach, with his arm tangled up in the sheets, and pressed against my waist because he couldn't exactly move it. What I had planned to do to Chester, I wasn't sure. But what I just did to Beck left me speechless, excuseless, and courageless.

So of course I let out a squeak of embarrassment and continued to roll, as he opened his mouth to speak. He barely got my name out before I fell off the bed and onto the floor. There wasn't any time to make an escape though, because Beck was landing on me not a second later.

I grunted and he quickly pushed himself off of me, but hovered over top of me in a push up like position. I could only imagine how I looked. Tear stained cheeks, hair that resembled a bird's nest, and to top it off I probably had drool on my chin or something equally as bad. Tears don't usually come while I'm awake, and I've yet to figure out how to keep them from escaping while I sleep- but then again I've never had to worry about it before.

Beck swallowed, his adam's apple dipping with the motion, and his blue eyes searched my face, "We've got to stop falling on each other like this," he said, humor lighting up his eyes.

I opened my mouth, ready to reply with something snarky, but a knock on the door interrupted my train of thought. I glanced to the door, not that it did any good because Beck hadn't moved yet, and he was blocking my view. I looked back to Beck, expecting him to move off of me, but instead he just grinned, still watching me.

"Who is it?"

"Chester, who in the blazes do you think it is?"

I sucked in a breath, wondering what Chester must think of me. Sleeping in a room with Beck all alone, with the door shut. Maybe if I roll under the bed and pretend not to be in here, I'll be spared the need to explain myself.

But Beck still hadn't moved, in fact he was still smiling down at me. His eyes once again captured my attention, and I momentarily lost every single thought that raced through my mind. His lips spread into a wide grin and he tilted his head to the side. His head dipped down a little, I swear, but I didn't let the moment play out, because behind him I could hear the door opening. Chester was already complaining about something, and I pressed my hands to Beck's chest, shoving him a bit.

I knew he had moved willingly because feeling the wall of muscles under my hands had only solidified the fact that I probably wouldn't have been able to do it with the pitiful amount of force I had just issued to him.