Enamour [boyxboy]

Chapter 28 - The Aftermath

Chapter 28

The Aftermath

•Jake's POV•

The hotel was empty when I got back to our room.

I'd hoped he had come back here, being in a foreign town. While his unpacked, but neatly organized, suitcase was still in the corner of the room, there was not tuft of dark brown hair peeking out from the white bedding like I had hoped.

I even checked the bathroom to see if he was in there.

I had spent several minutes in the hotel lobby, too scared to come up here, afraid of what he would say, of how he would react. I feared being utterly speechless like a fool again. I spent another several minutes stalling in the elevator before finally coming up here, despite still not knowing what to say to him.

I didn't blame him for not coming back, but I had hoped he had been here, mostly out of the fact that I felt like the worst human being on earth, and because I was worried about where he was right now, what he was doing.

Immediately, my mind had imagined the worst; Ethan, cold and shivering, sleeping on a park bench in a suit that most definitely didn't protect him from the cold, all alone.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, but a second later my sister's words ran through my mind: "Just give him time, and don't call him. Don't text him. Wait until he comes to you, because he will, when he's ready". She was right; as much as I was dying to explain things to Ethan, he needed time, and I needed to be patient.

I put my phone on charge and climbed into bed after taking off my suit. I didn't bother with a shower. The sheets were clean and fresh, and my mind couldn't help but go back to two nights ago, with Ethan's naked, perfect body laying beneath me. But it wasn't that sexy naked body that made the tears form in my eyes – it was the perfect blue eyes and white adorable smile that stuck out to me, that made my heart shake, bend and break.

I'd destroyed everything good that I had.

No matter how hard I tried to sleep, the image of Ethan sleeping alone, in the cold, on a park bench in the middle of a foreign town, kept me awake.

- - - - -

•Ethan's POV•

The moon was well on its descent towards the horizon, with the sun rising on the opposite side, casting the faintest light over the Earth, when the bus arrived at the station.

The carpark was dotted with empty cars that had been dead for some time. A line of taxis was waiting in the taxi bay, the lights on the back of the car highlighting the exhaust that was putting out of their cars this early in the morning.

I didn't bother checking the time.

I was the last off the bus. I barely had my two feet on the ground before I was greeted with a hug. I didn't have to look; I knew immediately, from the familiar smell and the blonde hair that blocked my vision, that it was America.

I needed this hug – I had craved it the moment Jake had broken me, but now that I had it, it only reminded me of Jake, of his loving embrace and his warm cuddles.

I sobbed into America's shoulder. She caressed my head in response.

I wasn't sure how long we stood there, holding each other, while I cried into her shoulder. But by the time we pulled apart, all the taxis had left, the bus had left, a few of the cars remained though. We were the only humans in sight, apart from those up in the offices that were open twenty-four hours.

We reached her car, and she tucked me into it as if she were tucking me into my cot, even putting my seatbelt on for me. I rested my head on the cold window, staring at the sun that now shun golden light directly into my eyes.

It was so beautiful, watching the sun rise, despite how empty and alone I felt inside. If I pretended enough, it felt as though the sun was blooming inside me, waking me up. But I knew it was a lie.

Despite how much it hurt to even think of it, I imagined how much better this moment would be with some Halsey playing.

My thoughts were interrupted when America slammed her door closed, buckling her seatbelt.

"Aren't you freezing?" she said, turning the car on, then blaring the heater. The radio was playing music I didn't recognize, on some station I didn't know, the volume low.

I shrugged. I'd forgotten I was only in a suit, not noticing the cold. But I felt numb, just in a different way.

I remembered then that I had left everything back at the hotel room, unpacked and forgotten. I'm sure America assumed as much, since she hadn't asked about it. I wasn't worried though – I knew Jake would pack my stuff and bring it back for me. That was an encounter I didn't want to experience.

I lifted my head off the window. The tears had ceased and dried by now, leaving behind red, sore rims.

America looked at me for a bit, a frown forming. It wasn't the usual frown, the one that represented frustration or anger or confusion – this one had sad eyes below it, with drooping eyebrows.

It took everything I had left to not crumple at the look America was giving me.

The town was empty and dead as we drove from the outskirts – where the station was – to the neighbourhood that I lived in.

I expected America to just drop me off and go, but she walked inside with me. The house was quiet and asleep. Mom's suitcase was tucked in against the bench of the kitchen, so I knew she was home. I made my way up the stairs quietly, America following closely behind me.

I didn't bother turning the light on, the sun was well on its way into the sky, the room that blue kind of light that only happens this early in the morning. Despite having slept almost the whole bus ride home, I was still bone-tired.

My room smelt fresher and looked cleaner than I had left it, despite vacuuming and making the bed and doing a general clean before I left. There were even brand-new candles on my bedside tables, with a plant on one of them, and another plant in the corner of my room, next to my dresser.

I wasn't worried about America when I started undressing myself, taking the suit off and climbing into bed in only my underwear. I only just realised that mom had changed the sheets and bought a new spread for it. America climbed in beside me, fully clothed, and spooned me from behind.

I closed my eyes, embracing the warmth that radiated off America.

"What about Noah?" I asked her.

"I told mom and dad where I was going, they said they would watch Noah for the day," she replied.

After that, America and I nodded off to sleep.

}xoe{