A Little Story About Love

Part 19

Max - March 10, 2010 - around 2:00 am

The darkness overwhelmed me. I was lost, confused. Someone was close, their breathing heavy. I caught my breath, trying to see where I was. My ankle throbbed viciously and bits of my day began to come back to me. I became aware of Chance, laying directly beneath me, the source of the breathing. His face was buried into my neck, right below my ear. His hands were wrapped around me, cacooning me in warmth. I felt alive, energetic. I smiled to myself, realizing I had just slept through most of the night. The first time since I was seven. I carefully sat up, untangling myself from Chance's arms. I located my crutches, and hoisted myself off the couch. I looked down at Chance's sleeping body. I kissed him softly on the forehead, and clumsily made my way to Elle's room to get some pain killer. Because of my past history with pills, Elle held onto them for me, just incase. I eased her door open.

"Elle?" I whispered. Elle stirred but didn't wake. I hobbled to her bed and nudged her shoulder. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up.

"Max, what's wrong?" She asked, confused.

"My leg... can I get a pill?" I winced slightly as the pain grew worse.

Elle relaxed, "Of course," she said. Elle slid out of bed, wrapping her blanket around her shoulders. She retrieved the bottle of pills and handed me two.

"Thanks," I smiled and headed out of the door, "goodnight."

"Goodnight Max."

As quietly as I could on crutches, I got myself a cup of water to take the pills. I was heading slowly towards Chance when he stirred, siting up with a soft groan. He looked around and met my gaze. He smiled slightly, his eyes blurry. I laughed and hobbled to the couch.

"If you want, you can come sleep in my bed, it's probably more comfortable than the couch," I smiled and helped him up. He stood and stretched stiffly, wincing painfully and letting out a sharp breath. He rubbed his lower back and then followed me to my room. He crawled into my bed without hesitation and fell asleep almost immediately, stretched out from head to toe of my bed. He was so tall that his feet hung off the end of the bed. I stood in the doorway, unsure of what to do. I shook my head, scolding myself for being so hesitant and scared. I set my crutches against the wall, and crawled into bed with Chance. He shifted onto his side, gently wrapping his arms around me and holding me close.

I fell asleep thinking about what a miracle it was that I could sleep. It wasn't my pain meds, they had tried everything to get me to sleep, but nothing worked. And now I was able to sleep, by some miracle, I could finally rest. A smile appeared on my lips, and I slipped into the dark, peaceful comfort of sleep.

*~*~*

The next morning I woke with a start as Elle opened my door to wake me up, something which she had never had to do before. She smiled, seeing that I was awake, and pointed at my clock. She set two pain pills and a glass of water on my bedside table and left my room. I gingerly placed my feet on the floor, grabbing my crutches. Chance still lay fast asleep. I bit my lip, deciding to leave him for the time being. I took a quick shower and changed before waking Chance up. I softly shook his shoulder, and Chance stirred.

"We gotta get up," I whispered.

Chance opened his eyes reluctantly and moaned as the light hit them. He rolled over, stuffing his face into the pillow.

I shook him again softly, "Chance. We gotta get up," I said a bit louder.

Chance rolled over, letting loose a barrage of swear words, cussing at me, calling me things I'd never even heard of. He buried his face in his hands and stiffly slid out of the bed. He swore more as he straightened his back. He glanced at me, a vacant look in his eyes. I sat shocked and silent, hurt by his words. Chance seemed to struggle before finding the right word.

"Shower?" he finally mumbled, rubbing his eyes. I pointed him in the right direction and he shuffled out of the room.

I hobbled into the main room of our dorm and saw Elle making coffee. She laughed, "Someone's not a morning person!"

I chuckled, knowing she was right to laugh about it. There was no reason to dwell on his outburst.

Elle looked at me, smiling quietly, "Max. You look amazing."

I looked at her confused. Was she insane?

Elle laughed at my expression, "I mean it, you look great, you look... alive."

"Oh..." I laughed, realizing my stupidity. I glanced at a mirror. She was right, I did look alive, healthy, sleep could never have been more welcome. Elle handed me a cup of coffee and we sat down on the couch together. We waited for Chance, slowly waking up for the day. Finally, Chance quietly entered the main room, wearing the same clothes he had slept in.

He met my gaze, looking scared and apologetic, "Max... I... what did I say to you?" his hands clenched into fists, and Elle got up and pushed a cup of coffee into them.

I repeated what he had said as best as I could and watched Chance's face fall. He sat down on the carpeted floor and ran a hand through his hair, letting out a deep sigh.

"Max... I'm so sorry..." He said, waiting for my response with eyes filled with sadness and guilt. I sat silently looking back at him.

Chance pulled his knees up closer to his chest and rested his head in his hands. After a few moments of silence, Chance looked up again. He dropped his hands and leaned back. "I have... never been a morning person," he said, and Elle giggled, I had to hold back a snort myself. Chance's expression lightened a bit, "Whatever I say when I wake up... I don't mean. I never even remember it. At this point in time, I know that I always tend to have outbursts... My mum found out a lot earlier than most when I started cussing," he chuckled, then looked up at me. "Max. I am so sorry for anything I said to you, or might say to you in the future. I promise, I don't mean any of what comes out of my mouth in the mornings..." He trailed off, looking at me meaningfully. His hands balled into fists on the ground, waiting tensely for my response.

Suddenly the hilarity of this situation hit me and the giggles began spilling out of my mouth, soon Elle joined in, and then Chance too. I spread my arms, gesturing for Chance to come to me as we began doubling over with laughter. Chance grabbed me into a tight hug, pulling me close, shaking with laughter. When we finally stopped laughing, we sat gasping for air, smiles plastered to our faces. I didn't take what Chance had said personally, and he knew it. We headed down to breakfast, Chance giving me a piggy-back ride the whole way. We faced the day in a cheery mood.