Souled [Editing]

Chapter 15

Nate rolled uncomfortably on the couch. The clock on the mantle told him that it was a quarter past five. He usually woke up at this time but today it felt like he barely shut his eyes. After he showed Meredith their room he returned to the living room to finish watching the movie with the kids. Their parents ushered them to bed shortly after that, but some came back downstairs to talk to Nate some more. He made sure he was the last to to go to bed so he could sneak down to the couch without too much suspicion.

He shuffled the pillows around and sat up. Meredith had thought ahead and left him a couple of pillows on the ottoman for him. He didn't see them at first so when he found Meredith sprawled out all over the bed he couldn't help but smile. Her mouth was open and hair was covering her face. Even so, she looked peaceful and beautiful. Before he could help himself, he pushed her hair back so he could get a better look at her, selfish as it was. He forced himself to turn away after that and change clothes. If he didn't get out of there fast he might've done something stupid.

Nate now swung his feet off the couch and rubbed his eyes. He was still slightly tired but going back to bed wasn't an option. He couldn't be caught on the bed sleeping by everyone and he needed to go for a run anyway.

Nate jogged up the stairs silently and snuck into his room. Meredith was still asleep with one arm draped over her face. Her hair was a tangled mess but he thought it was almost cute. She was in a deep sleep still; soft snores came from her mouth.

He tip-toed to the suitcase and slowly unzipped it. He changed clothes in the adjacent bathroom and was throwing his clothes in the hamper when someone spoke.

"What do you mean?"

Nate froze in place, terrified that she woke up. Of course he had no reason to be guilty of being in here, but with Meredith looking so vulnerable he couldn't help but feel bad.

"No..." She stopped speaking clearly and that's when he knew she was still out. "I do like him.

This caught his attention. He turned his head and stared at her. The little line between her brows was back.

"He won't...no...he..." Her words went back to quiet gibberish and then snores.

Meredith was a sleep talker. Nate grinned despite himself. This would be fun to tease her about. It didn't matter that he wanted to find out who the person she mentioned in her dream was, he decided. She'd tell him if it wasn't him. He hoped.

Meredith woke up to a knock on the door a few hours later. She pushed her hair back from her face and tried to smooth it down.

"Nate? Meredith?" Carrie's voice came in through the door.

Meredith bit her lip. "It's just me. Come in?" It came out more like a question than a statement. She wasn't sure if she wanted to see Nate's mother before she had the chance to brush her teeth.

Carrie cracked the door open and looked around the room. The bed looked slept in on both sides since Meredith was a bit of an aggressive floor. "Where's Nate? I didn't see him downstairs."

Meredith looked around the room for a clue of where he went. There was nothing. "He might've run an errand or something. He got out of the bed before I woke up," she lied smoothly.

"He always was an early riser. I think he got it from his father. Hopefully he'll be back soon."

"Hopefully," Meredith agreed.

"Anyway, the reason I barged in here so early was my sister, who is a wonderful cook, made breakfast. If you're hungry don't be too shy to come downstairs. There's more food than there are people and with a group this size that's impressive!"