Instead of Me

∆14∆

When I woke up, my body was covered in goosebumps. It was freezing inside the bedroom, and I only had a polka-dot sheet covering me. When I rolled over, I saw Katherine lying there, all bundled up with her blankets. She was sleeping so calmly. When she breathed out, she whistled quietly. I felt her foot up against my thigh. 

The light to her phone came on. I lifted myself up to see the displayed time. It had only been an hour and a half since Kat came back into her room. A very dim light started to peak through the curtains. I glanced back at her. I noticed how swollen her lips were and the light mark underneath her jawline. She probably had some sort of make up to cover it up.

What on Earth had I gotten myself into? Did Kat now think that I had a slight thing for her? Don't get me wrong, she is a fantastic human being who deserves the world, but she is nothing compared to my best friend who, according to Riley, I was absolutely in love with for years. Why did I not stop myself once she was lifting my shirt off? What was I thinking? Of course this would eventually turn into some sort of mess. That's it, though. I wasn't thinking at all. I wasn't thinking about Annie. I wasn't thinking about myself. And I was absolutely positively not thinking about Kat's feelings. I was a scumbag. 

I rolled onto my back, holding my hand to my head. I could try going back to sleep, but if Kat woke up at the same time as me, there was no way I would be able to look her in the eyes. Deciding that it would be best to wait until Monday at school to talk to Kat about our situation, I started searching around the room for my clothes. My boxers were thrown all the way on the other side of the room. Everything else I found on the floor next to me. I quietly pulled all my clothes on. Kat stirred around a bit, but she was a heavy sleeper. I was sure some of the alcohol she had probably had something to do with that as well. I grabbed my dead phone off the nightstand and shoved it into my pocket. My shoes were at the bottom of the bed. It would be quieter to walk through the house with just my socks on, so I picked up the shoes and carried them by the laces. With  one swift movement, I swung the door open, slipped through the opening, and shut it. I tiptoed down the stairs, but slipped down the last step, barely catching myself on the railing.

Annie was with Heath in the living room. She had been sleeping on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, her head laying in his lap. However, as soon as she heard me fall, her head darted up. I stepped back up onto the last step, hidden by the wall to the living room. I heard her shifting around, probably trying to see where the noise came from. Heath grunted, waking up from Annie's movement. "Are you alright, Anastasia?" he asked, his voice raspy. I peeked around the corner. Heath was yawning and pushing his hair back. 

"Didn't you hear that?" She searched around the room. Her hair was a mess and she wiped away a small line of drool from the side of her mouth, careful to hide it from Heath. "It sounded like an elephant fell." Wow, Annie, thanks a lot. 

Heath chuckled. He smoothed out her hair and said, "You're probably just imagining things." He pressed his lips to her forehead. 

Annie nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She smiled at him, reaching up and kissing him. My heart felt like it stopped beating for a moment. Annie had kissed him in a way that seemed as though that wasn't there first time. I knew that it would probably happen at some point, but it was still hard to watch. Truthfully, I shouldn't be too upset since I had been acting like a complete man whore in a matter of a a few hours. 

I sat down on the step and started slipping my shoes on, tying them slowly. I had no right to stay and listen to them, but my mind was too curious. I poked my head from around the corner again. My face was shielded from them by a giant fake plant. I watched them through the leaves.

Their kiss deepened. Annie was cupping his face and he had his arms wrapped around her waist. His hands could practically cover the width of her back. Heath started leaning over, pushing Annie down completely on the couch. Her lips smiled against the kiss as he held himself over her. Their breaths were heavy. Heath broke their lips apart and started leaving kisses down her neck. I felt sick again. His hand started making its way underneath the hem of her shirt, and I had about had it. I was ready to stumble on in there and stop them, but Annie did it for me.