This Time Tomorrow

This Time Tomorrow Chapter Five

“Parker.”

Before I even registered I was no longer asleep, I felt the cool touch of someone’s hand along the back of my neck.  It was enough to send a shiver running down my spine, and if his deep voice hadn’t given him away, I would have been able to identify Odynn by the earthy, pine scent that always accompanied him.  It was crisp and refreshing, and all things considered it wasn’t the worst way to be woken up in the morning.

Though, neither was it the best way.  I usually preferred the sound of my alarm clock - hearing the noise that sounded like an air raid siren never failed to get me shooting out of bed.  In my first few groggy moments of consciousness my brain tricked me into believing it was the real deal and that we were under attack.  Once I recovered from the fright I gave myself, I was ready to start my day.

And since it had yet to go off - I’d set it for nine sharp, I was not in the mood to be disturbed.  Of course, best friends could be dense as well as persistent.  Odynn proved as much when he ignored my incoherent protest as I rolled from my stomach to my side, giving him my back.

This time his chilly fingers touched my ear and I tried to yank the cover up for protection.  It must have been caught on something because it wouldn’t budge.

“Come on, Parker.  It’s nearly 7AM.  The sun’s shining and everything.”

Nearly 7AM, I thought in disbelief.  On a Saturday.  The boy was out of his mind if he thought I was going to join the world of the living at such an ungodly hour on a day I didn‘t have t be up for school.

Huffing out an impatient breath, I kept my eyes closed and mumbled, “Is there a fire?”

A brief pause.  “Not that I know of.”

“Is the house falling down around me?”

“No,” he replied, and I could hear the amusement in his voice.

“Did Chris Hemsworth finally come to his senses and realise I’m the woman of his dreams?”

A deep chuckle.  “That would be a negative, too.”

Groaning, I rolled over until I was on my stomach again, using my pillow to shield my head.  “Then go away.”

Maybe my voice got smothered under the pillow, because Odynn didn’t obey.  Rather he yanked the pillow free altogether.

“Odynn,” I growled, reaching blindly for it - I knew the moment I opened my eyes there would be no going back to sleep.  “There is nothing you can say or do that is going to make me get out of this bed before -”

“I slept with your sister last night,” he said bluntly.

I was sitting bolt upright as soon as the word “sister” left his mouth.  “You what!?” I screeched, so frantic I was tangling my limbs in the bed sheets.

There was a blinding flash as the camera on Odynn’s phone went off, followed by his laughter.  I blinked to clear the spots in my vision, even as rage consumed me.

“Ah, shit, how did I know that would get a reaction,” he said, far too blasé for someone who was about to die.  Suspicious of the fact that he hadn’t run after his confession, I scowled at him.

“You’re joking.”

It was more of a statement than a question.  Sitting beside me on the edge of my bed, Odynn made a noise of incredulity.  “Really.  You actually have to confirm that.  Okay, first off - I would pledge the rest of my life to taking care of business myself before I touched your baby sister.  And secondly, she’s your baby sister,” he said with great indignation, like maybe I was the crazy one.  Funny, I hadn’t been the one making the disturbing declarations.  “She’s fifteen!  And she has the mentality of a spoiled five year old.”