Lovestruck (EDITING)

47: Home

"Skye?" I let out a breath of relief when Jayden opens the door in front of me wearing a black pair of low-hanging sweatpants and a t-shirt.

Relief washes over me not to be greeted by one of his parents or, perhaps even worse, by Tasmin.

"Can I come in?" I ask desperately with pleading eyes.

I catch Jayden's eyes wandering over me momentarily, taking in the sight of my messy hair and my anxiously shaking body, covered by his borrowed sweatshirt. Concern seems to spark in his dark eyes as he nods his head and stands back, gesturing for me to come inside. I hear the sound of a television drowning out the voices of the rest of his family as we pass the closed off living area and I follow Jayden into the hallway. Suddenly, the television grows louder as someone opens the door of the living room and Jayden quickly pulls me by my wrist into his bedroom, closing the door behind us.

"Sorry," he apologizes, letting go of my wrist and taking a step back. "I panicked."

"No," I whisper with a shrug. "Good reflexes."

Jayden chuckles and takes a seat on the edge of his bed as he looks up at me for an explanation. I glance around the room which was once occupied by a set of bunk beds and several crates of toys, but has now been transformed into a plain space with nothing but a double bed and a dresser filling the space. The walls that I remember to be covered by bright posters and childish drawings have been stripped of their life and repainted in a beige color that reminds me of my grandparents' house. It seems to hit me how much things really have changed in what has felt like a relatively short amount of time.

"So..." Jayden mumbles, waking me from my daydream.

"Oh, right," I shake my head before taking a seat next to him on his bed. "I know I'm supposed to explain myself... but, truth is, I don't really know why I'm here."

A confused look covers Jayden's face as I struggle to come up with an explanation.

"I just know I had to leave... you know?" I chew on my bottom lip and stare at the ground as I speak.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jayden asks softly and I shake my head quickly.

I glance up and give him a small smile when I'm met by a look of understanding and acceptance. I feel like I can really be myself around Jayden. There's no pressure or expectations with him. I watch as he begins to pick up notebooks from his bed and put them into his backpack.

"Did I interrupt your homework?" I turn to face him, sitting cross legged on the bed.

"Oh, no," Jayden shakes his head. "Just an attempt to plan out that chemistry experiment we're supposed to be doing."

"Can I help?" I offer with a smile, scooting closer to him.

Jayden looks hesitant, but he tosses the notebook in his hand back onto the bed in front of me with a small nod of his head. I open the book and sit back against the headboard as he slowly sits beside me holding a textbook, a look of concern on his face. I give him a reassuring smile as I grab a pen from the nightstand and pull the cap off with my teeth, shooting it out of my mouth playfully so that it lands on the bed in front of us.