Well Known Strangers

Chapter 3

I fell asleep in the chair right next to you that first night. Sitting by myself with no phone got pretty boring, so I decided to take a little power nap.

But I refused to leave your side. I guess that's why my neck was cramped when I woke up. I could only blame myself for being so protective of you.

I stretched with a low grunt. Sitting forward, I rubbed my eyes tiredly, like a child. You always thought that was cute, but I truly just did it out of habit. Well, at least that's what you used to think. Not that little things like that should matter. Right?

It was early morning from what I could see out the window. We were pretty high up in the building. It was crazy to think that all of those people walking their routines on the ground were completely clueless to us; our life now that you've forgotten. And we are clueless to theirs. But no one thinks about that, because we're all too worried about our own lives. Not that I'm blaming anyone. I for one am more worried about your life right now than theirs. That's how things work, I think.

I heard your sheets ruffle, so I turned my head to look at you.

Your eyelids twitched while you looked around rapidly, probably dreaming. Your hair was fluffy and ruffled, just like it was every morning. Nothing changed. Your eyelashes just about touched your cheeks, and your tiny nose breathed slowly. Nothing changed. And how you slept, oh how you slept, was something that was seen every morning when I woke up next to you. You always slept on your right side, one hand under the pillow, the other near your face. That's the only way I've seen you sleep, other than when you slept on my chest, or curled up in a ball on the couch and napped from a redbull high. Just little things; they were the same. Nothing changed.

But they did change. They changed a lot. And I didn't realize how much they did until your pretty brown eyes fluttered open, and I had to look away so that I didn't frighten you. So that you didn't think I was watching you sleep, even though I was, because it was weird now. It wasn't normal now. I couldn't smile at you inches away from your face and lean in just enough for a kiss. I couldn't. We weren't technically together anymore. We weren't the same.

You cleared your throat as I pretended to watch the TV. You sat up a bit and stretched, looking over at me and jumping slightly, I guess not expecting me to be there. I guess not remembering who I was momentarily.

"Oh, hey...Josh?" you said. Your voice was low and tired, raspy in a way. All in all...cute.

I turned to you, folding my hands in my lap and acting like I didn't know you were awake.

"Hey, uh yeah. It's Josh. And you're Tyler."

"Yeah, I know," you giggled. My heart fluttered, as if I was talking to my crush.

We sat in silence for a while. I stared down at my knotted hands and bounced my knee. You were making me nervous. How perfect you were. The way that any sentence that was too much for you to handle could shatter you. Push you off the edge. It was terrifying, and I started to feel my social anxiety again.

"Hey," you said.

I looked up at you questionably, just now realizing I was starting to tremble.

"Do you know where my parents are?"

Shit.

"Oh. Um-"