Love from the streets (A Josh Hutcherson FanFic)

chapter 17

Chapter seventeen

I wake up and find Josh’s arms around me, my head in his chest. I reach over my stomach, and hold his hand loosely. I turn around so that my back is to Josh, and his hand is in my hands. I feel him hold me tighter, and so I hold his hand tighter. Josh’s left side of his face rests on my head. His eyes flutter open, and he puts his free hand to my forehead. “Want some soup or something?” he asks tiredly.

         “No… maybe just tea,” I respond.

         “You should eat though.”

         “I know.”

         “Oatmeal? I guess…”

         “Sure…”

         Josh doesn’t move though, he stays holding me. I keep holding his hand, and eventually just holding his upper arm and using it as a kind of pillow. Josh takes his free hand and feels my forehead. “I’ll get your breakfast.” Josh gets up, and leaves the room.

         I put on a thin, medium blue hoodie and stand by the window, looking over the city in the morning. I only remember doing this once, and that was one of the first days I got here. How long ago was that? A year? Less? More? I don’t know.

         I pull the sleeves of the hoodie half over my hands, and rest my chin on one of them. I look over the city for a long time, or at least it seems like it, until Josh comes back. He comes over to the window with me, and hands me my bowl of oatmeal. “Thanks,” I say.

         “No problem.”

         “Are you going to eat?”

         “Later maybe. I’m not hungry right now.” I put the spoon in the oatmeal and mix it around slowly. I take a small spoonful every other minute, not feeling very hungry either.

         “How do you…” I start. “How do you just decline food so easily? Just throw away half of it like it’s nothing? How do you do that? Food is like… a key ingredient to life, and yet it’s wasted.”

         “I don’t know… That’s a good question though. I guess some people would just call it comfort.”

         “Well that’s a shitty version of comfort.”

         “Ha.”

         “What?”

         “It’s cute when you curse.”

         “Well damn it then.” Josh laughs but I just smile. I fiddle with the sleeve of my hoodie and feel the soft fabric. I think back to when Josh found me under that tree, when he gave me that muffin and let me come here and kissed me. I think of the clothes I was wearing. It was basically an old shirt, old pants, and old sandals that I decided to keep and stored in the closet.

         I stop thinking about it, trying to remember that I don’t need to think about it since I have Josh – I guess.

         I slowly move my hand toward Josh’s, slowly wrapping my fingers around his, slowly moving toward him and resting my head on his shoulder. He wraps his fingers around mine and puts his cheek against the top of my head. I wonder if I should tell him I love him for once. I think about it, wondering if I should, wondering how, if I mess up and say something else. Eventually, I just suck it in and spit out the three words: “I love you.”

         “I love you too.” Josh kisses my temple. He holds the back of my hand with his other, and then goes behind me and takes the other one, now having his arms around my stomach too. He rests his head on my shoulder, and presses his lips against my neck. “How do you feel?” he asks quietly.