Between the Days and Nights ✔

Chapter 10: Horror Movie

Tam

I wake up in a daze, struggling to absorb the events of last night. I shut my eyes and thought it through: dance, Scarlett, Vinh, then Silas.

Oh, Silas. The thought of him shoots clouds of euphoria around my chest, making me smile as I open my eyes.

I turn over to face my desk, only to find a tall boy slump on my desk chair, his mouth slack and his head rolled back so that he slept facing the ceiling.

"Mỹ ơi! Thức dậy chưa?" I hear my mom yell from in the bathroom. Silas and I both jolt up, staring at each other wide eyed.

We hear her approaching my door from the hall and I scurry to get him to hide in my closet before I hear her turn the knob and open the door. My mother looks surprised to see me so awake, but because she was in a rush, she just tells me that she would not be able to come home to cook dinner on time tonight, and then hands me a twenty.

I follow her downstairs, wait for her to close the door behind her, before I run back up the stairs to my room. Upon entering, I find a large lump under my blanket on my bed.

I raise an eyebrow as I pull the blanket off him to find Silas grinning, with my pink and white polka dot bra on his head as if it were a hat. I yelp and yank it from his head to toss it back in my closet.

"You can't shove me in your closet and not expect me to take particular interest in your delicates!" He's still laughing and I have to slap his arm to keep my nerves down. Finally, he gathers himself together and apologizes, "Sorry. I meant to leave as soon as you fell asleep, but..."

"But what?" I sit down on the desk chair and face him. He blushes.

"You looked really cute asleep, and before I knew it I was knocked out too." His eyes hide behind his thick lashes, and his shy boyish behavior leaves me breathless. His smile was gentle and I don't know why, but there was a sudden flash of anger in his eyes before he gets up to pull me into an embrace.

"Thank you," he whispers into my ear, "for telling me about that last night. I can tell it was hard." He pulls away just enough to rest his forehead on mine, his eyes shut tight as he continues, "I wish I could find a way to take those awful memories from your head."

I nod, realizing that neither of us have brushed our teeth this morning.

I give him a new spare toothbrush to brush his teeth with while I do the same with mine. Standing over one sink, we grin at each other as we do our business, foaming up our lips.

Once we were done, I walk off, but he grabs my wrist to turn me around and fall into his arms. With one hand on my back and the other reaching up to my face, he slowly brushes off an eyelash on my cheek, which remains on his thumb.

"Make a wish," he almost whispers as his eyes explore my face, finally falling onto my lips.

I stare at him, then at the lash. I wish I knew what this feeling is. I blow the lash out of sight.

I can't understand what I am feeling right now. Yes, Silas has become quite a friend this past week, but it feels like there's more. I can't decide which direction to see in this level of passion. I want to believe that this is just his macho protective side showing up, as I have never had to deal with such things in the absence of my father. It made sense for him to come to a damsel in distress to save the day and gain recognition. After all, isn't that what it's all about?

But in these little moments, when he cradles my head, when his lips lure me just inches away, when he looks at me like I'm the only one in the world he wants to look at, I lose feeling in my knees. My heart melts for him and I can't help but think of him all the time. No one in this world has ever made me open up about myself this much, not Vinh, not Natasha when I was around her, and not even my own mother.