𝐒𝐋𝐔𝐓! ʲ ᵇᵘʳʳᵒʷ

004. 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬

Joe let me use his shower and some clothes- I was pleasantly surprised with his high-end hair products. The pain from my head was gone for the most part, despite the tenderness in the back of my head. As for my nose, it's still swollen and sore.

Joe sat at the other end of the couch, watching the television screen intensely. I'm not supposed to be looking at screens, so I finger the pages of the decor magazines the athlete had lying on the coffee table. I get bored quickly.

"I think I'm going to head to bed. Do you have a blanket I could use?" I ask Joe, pulling the strings on his extremely large jogging pants. He pauses the movie to glance at me with a puzzled expression. "Are the blankets on the bed not enough? I can turn the temp up if you're that cold."

I shake my head, "No, I was going to take the couch so you can sleep in your own bed." Joe rolls his eyes, giving me an unamused look. I shrink back into the couch. "It feels wrong making you sleep on your couch instead of your own bed."

"Get up," Joe huffs, tugging me by the arm. I push myself up, holding the pants around my waist so they don't fall. He leads me to the bedroom, where the motions to the bed. "If you feel that bad, we can share, as long as you're comfortable."

I chew on my lip, thinking about it. I don't want to make things awkward, but he genuinely doesn't seem to mind- but I don't want him to feel obligated. "I don't wanna be a burden," I say, looking up to him.

Joe psh's, pulling the blankets back. "It doesn't bother me. You mind if I take my shirt off?" He asks, his hands already reaching for the back of his shirt. "Oh, um, go for it."

He pulls it off with ease, discarding it on the floor. He clicks the television off. He glances back to me, an embarrassed look blushing his face. "Sorry, I can't have any noise on when I sleep. Does that bother you? I could turn it back on." I climb into the bed, pulling my hair back and into a ponytail. "That's actually perfect. I can't either."

"Nice," Joe quips, shutting the door slightly. He clicks the lamp off before walking around the bed and sliding into the sheets. "If you need anything, wake me up. And if you wake up and think about taking the couch, tell me. I really don't mind taking it."

I nod in the dark, before realizing he can't see me. "Okay. Goodnight."

"Night."

I turn away from him, facing the wall. I bring my knees up, curling into a ball. This mattress is so soft- it practically molds to my shape. I sigh in content before letting the sleep pull me away.

---

The house hummed softly, waking me up to a quiet, peaceful atmosphere. I open my eyes, thanking God that the throbbing in my head has disappeared fully, despite the tenderness. My eyes land on Joe's sleeping figure- his arm wrapped around a pillow; his eyebrows furrowed with sleep. My heartrate creeps up as my mind begins to race.

Who the hell is this guy?

I'm in his house, under his blankets, in his bed. And I don't even know his last name. This is so absurd. My survival instincts are obviously nonexistent. What are we even doing? Why does everything feel so... uncomfortable?

I watch the shadows settle across the ceiling as the anxiety creeps into the edges of my mind. Before I can spiral any further, there is a soft shift beside me. He moves closer, warmth radiating across the space left between us. I freeze, worried he's awake.

"You okay?" he asks, his voice gravely with half-consciousness. I slowly turn my head to look at him- his face is half buried in the pillow, his eyes still closed. "Yeah. Just thinking," I say back quietly, trying to sound as normal as I can.