Broken Strings

A close call with hell

I woke to find myself in an oversized shirt and underwear, head to toe with Peter in our double bed. He became restless when I crawled from the sheets, “Ah sleeping beauty,” he mumbled. His eyes were squinted against the light form the open window. I pushed open the glass and a hot sticky breeze blew through the room. It was lovely and refreshing.

“Morning,” I caught my reflection in the mirror and gasped as everything clicked together, “What happened? I don’t remember anything after you paid last night?”

“You fell asleep on the stairs, I carried you up here and then realised how uncomfortable it would be to sleep in those shorts,” Peter gestured to my jean shorts I’d worn last night, “I didn’t see anything I wasn’t supposed to, don’t worry. I’m not like that. You still have your shirt on under my shirt. I figured it would be indecent of me to take it off last night,” I felt a sense of pride and I was grateful.

“You know what, if I was going to be stuck with anyone on this adventure, I’m glad it’s you. You’re an old soul Peter Grey,” he smiled from under the sheets.

“Same goes back to you partner,” he sends me a wink.

“So where are we going today?” I ask.

“Well I worked out that if we keep having nights like last night we’ll run out of money before we even get to my Uncle’s house so I was thinking of asking you something,” he looked to me for reassurance.

“Go ahead,” I prompted him. Peter rolled over so his back was to me. He knew what I was about to do and he was a gentleman.

“Well I know that it’s nice to have somewhere warm and cosy to stay overnight but I know this great place around the corner,” Peter pointed out the window, “We could hire a swag and a few blankets and sleep under the stars. There is this really nice place everyone goes and my phone says that it’s going to be a clear night,” I slipped on a fresh pair of shorts and threw off Peter’s shirt. He was right he had left my shirt under his. I slipped it off and threw on a singlet.

“I think that sounds amazing, I’ve always wanted to do that, sleep under the stars I mean,” Peter’s sleepy smile widened.

“Me too,” he added, “Are you decent?” I pulled my singlet down so it covered the whole of my stomach.

“Yep,” I answered.

“So you obviously don’t remember much about last night do you?” I shook my head with confusion.

“What do you mean? You said I fell asleep?”

“Yes, you did. Did you know that you sleep talk?” Oh no.

“I do not!” I lied.

“So you meant it when you said you loved me?” my face fell, I’m an idiot. I didn’t answer Peter, I figured saying nothing was better than saying something stupid, “It’s okay, I’ll keep it a secret. I’ll never bring it up again,” I heard him chuckled as he rose form the bed, a sheet wrapped around him.

“You aren’t naked are you?” I asked when I realised he was covering the lower half of his body.

“Of course not! Gee Amelia! Do you think I am an animal?”

“No of course not,” I answered him.

His eyebrows rested and he relaxed, “I’m just cold,” his voice turned from serious to a childish tone I’d learned to love. “I’m going for a shower,” he laughed before grabbing a fresh set of clothes and pulling the bathroom door shut. When I heard the water start I gathered all of Peter and my dirty clothes and carried them in a plastic bad to the front desk.