Afterlight ✔️

chapter thirty-seven

— Chloe Romano

I opened my eyes from the most blissful rest to a hazy, dark saturday morning. My clothes still lye on the floor as I covered my bare body from the sinful actions that took place the previous night with Justin's bed sheets. The faint scent of weed fled up my nostrils as I stepped out of the bed, opening one of Justin's drawers, fishing through to find the largest t-shirt I could possibly search for, throwing it on.

I took a look at the digital clock to find that it had been 7:30AM. Finally, coming to my senses, I recognized that Justin had been out of the bed. The light to the bathroom had been glowing under the door as I caught onto the obvious aroma of masculine shower gel. Justin had been on the phone, after showering.

"I told you, Nick. We didn't do anything wrong at the party. Chloe and I were in the bathroom and we heard the bomb ticking." I heard a sudden pause, "I didn't even know Dean was at the party, Nick. I can't believe it was all a setup to get Chloe and I killed..."

At the time, the bomb had been the last thing on my mind. After the paradise I got handed to me last night, the bomb that went off had little to no affect on my life. I wasn't hurt. Dramatic events, such as the bomb seemed to tick Justin off (no pun intended). He was never going to stop blabbering on about it until he found out who set it off and that happened to be his number one rival, Dean Hill.

Though I hadn't had an encounter with Dean in awhile – thank god for that – it had been utterly shameful that someone would go out of their way to impose misery in someone else. After weeks and weeks of what Justin did to him and his gang at his warehouse, he had still been going at it, snaking his way around to initiate revenge.

Sitting at the edge of the bed, I waited for Justin to exit the bathroom, blocking out the sounds of the phone call and silently praying to myself that he wouldn't pull a stunt, such as pitching in on his side of the revenge game. It was usually times like these when Justin got himself in a load of bullshit. Hearing a few things rattle around in the bathroom, the door finally swung open as a shirtless, messy haired Justin walked out. His light brown eyes never left mine as they pooled with an intense glow.

"Good morning, baby girl." Justin rasped deeply, as he tried to hide the bothered expression on his face. "Did you sleep well?"

I nodded as he held his muscular arms out for a hug. Grasping me tightly, he locked his arms around my back, dragging his moist lips against my neck.

"I know you didn't wake up without giving me a kiss." Justin chuckled, pointing a finger to the right corner of his lips. On my tippy toes, I reached up, giving him a peck.

His nose rested on mine, his immaculate hungry eyes giving me attention in all ways possible. His grip had been so tight, I could tell he wasn't planning on letting go any time soon. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he smirked, staring me up and down.

"I see you've found one of my shirts, again." He grinned, slyly. "Let me guess, there's nothing on underneath all of that cloth."

"Shut up." I blushed, removing myself from his grip. I gave him a playful bite on his ear, feeling him clutch around my stomach, pulling me in closer to him.

He licked my cheek with his moist tongue, allowing a low chuckle to escape the space between his lips. Taking me by the hand, he flipped me around so that I had been facing him, placing a peck upon my forehead.

"How about you get dressed. I have to handle something with Dean, so I'll bring you with me." Justin suggested, giving my hand a quick squeeze. I walked over to my leopard bag, pulling out a pair of shorts, and a sweatshirt for the gloomy weather.