Heart Condition

Chapter Five: Goodnight and Good Morning

I stepped out of the house and clapped my hands, “Levi! Come on, get up!”

            Jumping to his feet, Levi trotted beside me as we took off down the street. I clipped his leash in, and we beat down the pavement. The sun was slowly rising through the fog, and I checked my phone. No new messages.

            School started in exactly an hour and a half; I was showered, and I could get out of Levi’s favorite pair of my sweats (I had bite marks and fur to prove it) and eat breakfast when I got back. I had plenty of time to get Levi around the park and back. I turned, and picked up my pace.

            “Come on, babe.” I tugged his leash, and attempted a jog to the end of the street. Across Steiner Street, we turned into the park and began our daily walk.

            Walking, I thought through my weekend; I’d spent all of Saturday sleeping, watching reruns of Friends and baking cookies for no other reason than to eat the dough and have cookies. Now it was Monday, and I wanted to stay home.

            I thought back to Friday, and how freaking adorable Sasha looked with his glasses on. It was almost distracting, but I managed to get all my homework done, and worked a few extra problems so I’d be ready in case Numel gave an unexpected quiz question. But that wasn’t the best part.

            Sasha stayed with me until my parents came home. Nobody ever stayed with me, not even Joy. As I walked with Levi, I smiled at myself in thought of what he said to me.

            “It’s almost one-thirty.” I said, taking his glass and putting it in the sink “I’m sure you have plans tomorrow, and I don’t want to spoil them by letting you adopt my sleeping habits.”

            He shook his head, “It’s fine. I don’t have plans anyway.”

            I dared to ask, “When was the last time you had plans?”

            He laughed, “Oh, that’s a good question. Hm…What month is it, October? I haven’t had a plan since August.”

            “Really?”

            “Yep.” He insisted, clicking his pen. I found it absolutely terrifying that he did his homework in pen; that meant he was so confident in his answers, he didn’t need to worry about mistakes. He looked up, “But I’m hoping that I can make a new one in the next couple weeks.”

            I filled out my worksheets, not looking up “What’s your new plan?”

            “Don’t know yet.” He flipped through his pages, and started in on the question I’d been waiting on since he said he’d stay. He tried to make it sound casual, which totally failed; he asked, “So, um, do you stay up this late normally, waiting for your parents?”

            “If you’re asking if my parents not coming home at a specific time is a regular thing,” I smiled, not looking up “The answer is yes.” I scribbled side-notes in the margins, little rat claws scratching the walls of tension that I felt building between us.

            Pulling out his chair, Sasha picked up his glass and started toward the sink; his hand rested on the back of my chair for balance, and I froze. I didn’t realize how strange it was that he was in my house. Something about how comfortable he was made me think about school, and how he seemed to fit just as easily with the lacrosse team as he did with Rami, who was a little more timid, but totally brilliant. And I thought about sitting on the hill with him, eating lunch with Hudson and Z, listening him talk to Joy about various logical things that I couldn’t wrap my mind around if it were made of tape.

            He spoke softly, “You just go to bed alone every night?”

            I hesitated, and my face felt flush. “Yes.” I said, trying to focus on the problems in front of me.

            “I see.” Sasha’s voice was low, but there was no irritation in it. He wasn’t confused, or at least he didn’t seem so. After a moment, he spoke again, glancing at me quickly.

            “I’m going to stay with you until your parents come home.” He said, his hand resting almost close enough to touch mine. I could feel the body heat. “Would that be alright?”

            I refused, “I don’t need a babysitter. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

            “I see no babysitter.” He noted, “And in case you’ve forgotten, this would look highly suspicious to anyone over the age of twenty-four. I’m committing a crime for you. But,” His eyes met mine, and I stared at his messy helmet hair “if you want me to go, I’ll go.”

            My heart raced, but I smiled anyway. “You can…You can stay. I appreciate it.”

            BARK!

            We rounded the corner, and I looked up from Levi’s tangled leash to scold him for pulling so tight when I saw him.

            “Sasha?” I called, and he looked up quickly. And that’s when I realized.

            I was still in my chewed-up sweatpants.

            “Hey.” He smiled, and I looked at my phone; shit. I had forty-five minutes to get to school. Fuck my life.

            “What are you…why aren’t you at school?” I asked, running to the gate at the side of the house. Sasha followed, but didn’t say anything until I unclipped Levi’s leash and was opening the back door.

            Taking my offer to come in, he started, “I figured you might need a ride. Seeing as you walk from here to Parks, I can only imagine how atrocious your attendance record must look.”

            I laughed, “You’d probably think I’m absolutely appalling if I told you that I had Numel first period.” I grabbed a glass and filled it with water, feeling the chill pulse through my body as I chugged it.

            “Do you have a death wish?” asked Sasha, shaking his head, “Being late to her class is equivalent to breaking laws in forty-nine different states.”

            I panted, “Forty-nine?”

            He smiled, and took the cup from me “The jury’s still out in Alaska. They’re always one way or another; the sun can’t even decide.”

            “Guess they’re still in the dark about the whole situation.” I muttered, and his laugh hit my ears in a hum, the sound hiding behind his lips making me hope I’d hear it again.

            He sighed, “So, are you ready to go?”

            I narrowed my eyes, “Where?”

            “To school.”

            “With you?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Um…” I looked down, and then back to Sasha, “Give me five minutes to change?”

            He nodded, and I took off up the stairs, Belize racing up behind me. I was running late, and I had no time to fool around. I opened up my closet, and grabbed my black jacket off of the hanger.

            Pulling up my jeans, I stared at my shirts. I found my favorite gray and black sweater, which I knew looked awesome with my beanie, which meant I didn’t have to mess with the helmet hair I was sure to acquire from this ride.

            I searched for my Sperry’s, and tumbled down the stairs.

            At the door, Sasha froze.

            “Whoa.” He stared, and I smiled, fixing the flat tire at my heel.

            “Ready?”

            He nodded, speechless.