Living With Ian

Chapter 23

When Sarah woke up, she listened. The entire house was silent. She picked up her phone which was lying beside of her on her pillow but it was dead. Sarah groaned as she looked at the clock on her nightstand. It was 9:00. Her alarm hadn’t gone off because her phone had died while she was talking to Ian last night. Sarah gave a small smile as she thought about her and Ian’s conversation. It had ranged from school to food but not once was there nothing to talk about. Sarah had missed that. She had missed how safe she felt whenever she heard Ian’s rough voice. Even if it was just over the phone, Ian was still capable of cheering her up and making her feel safe. Sarah sighed and plugged her phone up to the charger before getting ready. She knew that her uncle was at work, her aunt was probably shopping, and Caitlin was at school. Sarah didn’t feel like going to school late and having to bother with going to the office and checking in, so instead of rushing around and trying to leave the house before first period ended, she took her time picking out her clothes and fixing her hair, and then making herself breakfast.

An hour later, she decided that her phone was charged enough. She unplugged it and grabbed her bag before walking out of the house. She smiled. Leaving whenever she wanted to reminded her of living with Ian. She had so much freedom with him. At her aunt and uncle’s house, they wanted to constantly know where she was and who she was with. Sarah didn’t like that. She knew it was just because they cared about her but she liked being able to be independent and alone for a couple of hours without someone breathing down her neck. With Ian, it wasn’t as if he didn’t care enough about her. He just understood that she was a quiet girl and she liked being alone sometimes. He understood that sometimes, Sarah didn’t want people to know where she was at.

As Sarah walked, she found herself being drawn to Ian’s place of work. Without realizing where her feet were taking her until it was too late, she found herself in front of the gym where Ian was guaranteed to be.

She walked past the grouchy lady at the front desk who had taken an immediate disliking to Sarah and headed straight into the gym. She was immediately hit by the smell of sweat and testosterone. She walked over to the corner and sat down against the wall as she watched Ian train with a man.

                “Alright,” Ian was telling him. “We’re moving up today by ten pounds.” The man groaned as Ian handed him a set of weights. Sarah watched as Ian could easily pick up the heavy metal objects but the man that Ian was training was struggling. It wasn’t a surprise though. Ian was probably twice the size of the other man. Ian shook his head as he watched the man struggle, still unaware of Sarah’s presence.

Sarah watched as the man groaned one last time before dropping the weights.

“I don’t see how you do it man,” he gasped to Ian. Sarah watched as the familiar smirk came across his face and she couldn’t help but giggle. Ian recognized the sound and his eyes swept the gym looking for her.

“Take a break,” he told the man as he walked over to her. “What on earth on you doing here?” Ian asked her. He frowned. “Shouldn’t you be in school?” Sarah rolled her eyes at his over-protectiveness.

“I overslept,” she told him. “And I didn’t want to go to school late and there was nothing else to do. And I’ve missed you,” she added the last part quietly.

“I’ve missed you too,” Ian said with a bright smile on his face. “Come here.” He opened his arms and wrapped Sarah up in a tight hug. Sarah squirmed away.

“Get off of me,” she cried. “You’re sweaty and stinky.”

“I do not stink!” Ian said, pretending to be appalled by her statement. “Let me finish with this guy and then I’ll take you out for lunch, ok?” Sarah nodded and watched as he jogged back over to the man.

Thirty minutes later, he had showered and changed and they were on their way to a restaurant. As Sarah sat down at the table across from him she looked up at him.

“What do you want to eat?” Ian asked her. Sarah shrugged and looked down at the menu. “You look like you’ve lost weight. Have you been eating?” Sarah stared at the menu pretending not to hear his question.

“Sarah,” Ian said sternly.

“I haven’t really been hungry lately,” she mumbled. Ian sighed. She looked up at him.

“What about you?” she asked. “You look tired. Haven’t you been getting any sleep?” Ian smirked as Sarah tried to turn the conversation onto him.

“Well,” he said. “Considering I was up all night last night listening to you telling me about what’s been happening this week, no, I haven’t gotten a lot of sleep.”

“I’m really sorry,” Sarah said. “I didn’t mean to keep you up all night.”

“It’s alright,” Ian assured her. “As cheesy as it is, I’ve missed your voice.” Sarah giggled. “You haven’t been getting into any trouble, have you?”

“No,” said Sarah. “Although Caitlin hates me and Uncle Roger and Aunt Kay are both way too over protective. They’re almost as bad as you.” Ian smiled.

“We all care about you,” he said. “That’s why we’re so protective. And what’s this about Caitlin hating you?” Sarah shrugged.

“Well we’ve never really gotten along. She’s always kind of just acted like she was better than me. She acts like having name brand clothes and perfect mascara on her eyelashes are the most important things in the world. And you know how much I hate that.” Ian nodded. “She’s always looked down on me. Especially whenever she saw me when I was living with my mom. She didn’t even try to hide her disgust at my dirty clothes and un-brushed hair. But it’s not like I could help it. She treated me like a disease. And even now she acts like she’s so much better than I am. I can’t stand people like that. She’s so shallow.”

“Well,” he said. “She is your family. You should at least try to get along with her. Even if she is high maintenance. ” Sarah sighed.

“Yeah I know.”

Once the two of them were finished eating, Ian told Sarah goodbye and they parted ways. Sarah sighed as she headed back to her uncle’s house. When she got there, it was after 3:00 and Sarah knew that both her cousin and aunt were at home. However, when she walked up to the driveway, she was surprised to see her uncle’s car parked in it as well as her aunt’s. She walked up to the front door and opened it. She was immediately met with three sets of eyeballs glaring down at her.

Author's note

Once again I really want to apologize for making you wait so long for an update. I've been having trouble with my laptop since Christmas and I've also been really stressed with midterms. Fortunately, I am on a short break from school right now since exams are over and should hopefully be able to update the next chapter quickly. Thanks for sticking by with me and reading the story. Continue to vote and comment because I love hearing your responses!