The Roots Beneath

Chapter 21: Overthinking and Oversleeping

Seren groaned as her alarm blared through her room, the shrill sound drilling straight into her skull. She slammed her hand down on the clock, shutting it off before rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling.

Last night had been perfect. Almost perfect.

She and Elijah had spent hours together, laughing, talking, even swinging on the playground like two idiots in the middle of winter. It had been easy and light, just like she'd hoped. But somehow, despite all of that, she couldn't shake the one thing that hadn't happened.

She hadn't kissed him.

And worse—he hadn't kissed her.

Seren covered her face with her hands, groaning again. Why was she like this? Why did it feel like such a big deal? They'd had a great time, so why was she suddenly convinced that Elijah regretted the whole thing?

Her stomach twisted as a thought hit her.

Was it because of Finn?

That moment at the diner had changed everything. One second, it had been warm and fun, and the next, Elijah had been stiff, his whole body coiled tight like he was barely holding himself back. He'd been angry in a way she hadn't seen before, not even when he was annoyed. And Finn had enjoyed it, pushing and taunting Elijah like he was testing something.

And then, just like that, the night had felt... different.

Not bad. Not ruined. But not what it could have been.

What if seeing Finn had changed something?

What if Elijah thought she wasn't worth the trouble?

Seren groaned louder and grabbed her phone off the nightstand, squinting at the screen.

Nothing.

No text from Elijah. No check-in. No anything.

Her fingers hovered over the screen, debating whether she should send something first. Had fun last night? Too casual. Hey, everything okay? Too desperate. Maybe just... Morning?

She hesitated, then threw her phone back onto the bed with a sigh.

Maybe this was normal. Maybe not every guy woke up and immediately sent a text after a date. But the silence gnawed at her, feeding the worst parts of her overthinking.

Rolling onto her stomach, she buried her face in her pillow and groaned again.

After a few more minutes of useless wallowing, she finally forced herself out of bed. She dragged her feet through her morning routine, moving slower than usual, lost in her thoughts.

By the time she was dressed and ready, she was already running late.

"Seren, you're going to be late!" her mom called from the kitchen.

"I know!" she shouted back, slinging her bag over her shoulder and racing downstairs.

Her parents were both home, which was rare in the mornings. Her dad stood by the back door, coffee in hand, while her mom flipped through a stack of mail at the table.

The tension between them was better than last night but still noticeable.

"Morning," she muttered, grabbing a piece of toast from the counter and shoving it into her mouth.

"Morning," her mom said, barely looking up.

Her dad just grunted.

Seren bit the inside of her cheek. Right. Okay then. She didn't have time to unpack whatever was going on between them right now.