Exposed (#wattys2016)

chapter thirteen

The next morning, my head was groggy and Caspian was sleeping next to me with his arm spread across my chest, his nose touching my shoulder.

I rubbed my eyes at the moment of waking up, moving his arm so I could sit up in bed. I suddenly noticed Danny was at my side, staring at me.

"It's 4:30 PM and Caspian has been in your bed all day. Do guys always do this?"

My head started aching at Danny's words, and I nodded so he would stop talking and I could close my eyes again to soothe my piercing headache.

"So when I'm older, I will sleep with another guy? That's cool," Danny pondered for a few moments, abruptly running out of the room.

I shook Casp's arm a few times, until his eyes slowly parted.

"I'm... awake," he mumbled, turning his head to look up at me. His eyes grew wide, fingers grazing the bed around him in confusion, "why am I in your bed?"

He sat up next to me, the covers falling off his body while he attempted to look around the room with squinted eyes.

I shrugged, his voice making my headache worse.

"I..." Caspian spoke one word, his voice trailing off before continuing a few seconds later, "think we had sex."

I tried to think back, and I remembered vaguely. I remembered when he led me into that bathroom and our clothes fell off like lava.

I nodded to him, confirming his thought as a fact.

His palms pressed against his eyes, a deep sigh escaping his lips before he spoke again, "Shit, yeah, I remember. It was great for bathroom sex," he whispered and dropped his hands, falling back onto my bed again.

"I can't move," he whispered again, which almost sounded like a whine. I never heard his voice this high before so I blamed it on the fact we just woke up.

I climbed over him to get out of bed, grabbing fresh clothes from my dresser and a towel from the floor.

He watched with squinty eyes from the bed, the sun shining through the window directly into his line of view.

"Shower," I said, heading out into the hallway as quickly as I could.

Caspian sat up again and pushed a cigarette between his chapped lips, stretching while he acknowledged my decision to shower with a raise of his eyebrows.

What the fuck did I get myself into last night?

it wasn't that awkward when we woke up, I thought. In fact, it felt kind of comforting.

I turned the shower on and let the water heat up while I brushed my fingers through my hair.

The fact I had sex with possibly the biggest troublemaker in this city was almost like an accomplishment. The fact I felt comfortable with him was a whole different ball game.

A few days later, Liv appeared at my door unexpectedly. Of course, I was happy to finally see her. Her eyes looked distant and the frown on her face was unsettling.

"Dad's getting out of jail tonight," she mumbled quietly, her voice quivering with anxiety.

Cold air blew in from outside, chilling my skin.

"This should be good, but my life is better without him," Liv stepped inside and shut the door, her eyes focusing on the wall ahead.

"How is Caspian?" I blurted out, suddenly remembering this was about Liv, but he was in the back of my mind.

"He needs to find a wife. Like, now. My dad is crazy with that stuff."

My eyes must have popped out of my head while my heart and chest started to ache with this feeling I wasn't sure of. Sadness? Jealousy? Anger? Probably a mixture.

I blurted out again, "a wife?"

Liv nodded, "He has eight hours to find a girl to marry. If he doesn't, I don't know what my dad will do."

I leaned against the wall, sticking my hands into my pockets while I mumbled under my breath. "Damn."

Obviously, this was no joke, from the way Liv was expressing herself and her body language.

"What?" Liv cocked her head, trying to figure out what I meant.

"That's just... not fair," I shrugged and took my hands out of my pockets, crossing them over my chest instead, "that's insane. The most ridiculous thing I ever heard, in fact."

Liv nodded and looked at the floor, "Will you come with us? You know, to get him from jail? That's actually why I came here."

"Uh, well, I don't see why not," I said with my arms still crossed, smiling a little to try and make her feel better.

I already wanted to punch Liv's dad for expecting something so stupid from Caspian.

"We'll come pick you up," she took a deep breath and opened the door to leave, adding, "not in a car, of course, but we'll stop by beforehand."

Liv's voice was shaking, and I encouraged her out the door before she would end up crying on me.

"Hale?" Levi called for me and I flinged myself around to face the kitchen, casually walking to the table where his voice trailed from. I haven't seen anyone in a few days, so it was nice to see him.

After Caspian left, all I did was stay in my room or wander the streets with nothing but a pocket knife and cigarettes. Was I insane?

"Hey, I haven't seen you in a few days," Levi said while looking up from his lunch of chicken noodle soup.

"I want to talk," he patted the spot next to him, and I promptly sat down.

"Are you dating Caspian? I know that may sound ridiculous to you but you guys were in-"

I shook my head and interrupted his words.

"No, we're not. I don't know what's wrong with him but he won't admit he's gay or anything else that involves liking other men," I started to feel angry, resting my head against my hand, forcing myself to stop my small tangent before it got any bigger.

"Do you like him?" Levi took a spoonful of soup into his mouth, watching me intently for my answer.

"Yes, of course I like him," I immediately realized what I said, relieved to find out it was only Levi and me in the room. Not that it mattered though, because I was in bed with Caspian for who knows how long the other day, and if Danny saw, everyone saw.

Levi wiggled his eyebrows, then took another spoonful of soup, "Oh, that reminds me, Gina may be pregnant and she needs to move in with us if that's the case. Missy apparently fled to New Jersey with a man she met at a casino, so we can use her room as an extra."

I dropped my head to the table, my cheek pressed against the cold surface, "I'm going to be an uncle?" I incoherently mumbled, and I caught a glimpse of Levi shrugging like his mother disappearing was something so nonchalant it was only worthy of one measly shrug.

Missy didn't even matter at this point, so I left out the part where I ask how she is. I tried to let the fact she abandoned her family sink in.

All I knew was that I had sex with Caspian and I was going to be an uncle.

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