A Match Into Water (Fuenciado)

Chapter Ten

When I woke up in the morning, I almost believed that it was all just a dream. There was no way that last night could've possibly happened. Yet there was Jaime, still curled up in the bed next to me. For a moment I felt warm inside, loving the thought that he'd been true to his word and actually stayed. I tried to roll over to see his face while he slept, but the bed started making obnoxious creaking noises. I froze awkwardly on my side as he stirred, adorably stretching up his arms and yawning. He was taller than me, so his hands ended up slamming into the headboard. I giggled, and he turned to me with a smile on his face.

"Morning, sunshine," he grinned, his whole face lighting up.

"Oh, shut up," I chuckled, elbowing him.

Jaime laughed, but it eventually faded into a sigh. He stared up at the ceiling. Only he wasn't just looking upward...he was looking at the fan, which was spinning in lazy circles above us. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was thinking about. And as the dark thoughts of what had happened the night before crept into my mind, I seemed to shrink into myself. The bright morning light shining in from my window made me feel exposed, and pretty embarrassed. My reaction must've been obvious, because the next thing I knew, Jaime had moved closer to me, shaking the troubled expression off of his face. He reached for my hand, interlocking his fingers with mine. I could feel their warmth, and tried to draw from it. He squeezed my hand, and I shyly ran my eyes over his body to glance up at his face. Jaime stared at me for a moment, and I almost felt like he was assessing me.

"How're you feeling?" he finally asked.

He meant it to be nonchalant, but I could tell he was still worried. I almost blurted out that I was fine, my go-to line, but then realized: who the hell was I kidding? So I just stayed silent, slightly shrugging my shoulders. Jaime pursed his lips, not knowing what to say. He fidgeted with a strand of my hair for a minute, humming to himself. He then propped himself up on his elbow, eventually pushing himself into a sitting position. He swung his legs so that they dangled over the side of the bed and hopped off, making the bed creak. He then turned around to face me, holding out his hand.

"C'mon, get up."

I stared at him indigently. I was perfectly content to just lay here without getting up, preferably ever. I was suddenly just so tired, and even moving an inch would take way more effort than I had to offer. Jaime probably thought I was being a brat, but I simply couldn't get up. He took a step closer to me so that he could reach me, grabbing my hand and gently tugging me upright. I followed his pull like a rag doll, not even motivated enough to resist, stumbling to my feet. My shoulders were slumped as Jaime guided me to the door of my room, pushing open the door.

He suddenly held up a hand to stop me, a panicked expression on his face. "What about Mike?"

I snorted, rolling my eyes. Really, that's what he was worried about? He seemed confused with my reaction, but honestly, what was my little brother going to do? "I doubt he'll be up before dinner."

Jaime nodded slowly, unsure of my mood swing. I shrugged it off, gesturing towards the door. He obviously had some plan of where he wanted me to go. He seemed to remember it again, and began to lead me to the stairs. I stole a glance at Mike's room, seeing that the door was closed as I'd suspected. He probably hadn't even gotten home until early this morning, wouldn't wake up until late tonight. Wouldn't have found me until then...

I hadn't even noticed that we'd gone downstairs until Jaime snapped his fingers in front of my face, knocking me out of my stupor. We were standing in my kitchen, which was lit up by the natural light coming in from the picture window above the sink. I shifted my weight, the floor tiles cold underneath my toes. Jaime pulled out a chair for me at the table, and I robotically sat down in it. I stared at the wooden tabletop, almost in a trance. I heard Jaime fumbling around with the cupboards, but it didn't hold my attention. I was too tired, too tired to care.