Zugzwang

Chapter 7

I woke up the next morning with Chris’ arm draped over me. His hair was all messy and he had a soft smile on his face. As much as I didn’t want to get up, we have school today and I have to.

            I slid out of bed and went into the bathroom, turning on the shower. I walked back into my room quietly to get my phone, speakers, and clothes The blankets had been moved to the foot of the bed sometime during the night. . I looked over at Chris who was now sprawled out on my bed. His eyes were slightly peaked open. “I know you’re awake, jackass.” I said, throwing his shirt at him.

            Chris laughed softly and looked at the time on my alarm clock. “5:15! Go back to bed, crazy woman.” I ignored him and left, taking a shower.

            When I came back, Chris was sitting on my laptop, going through the pictures I had. “Hey! Stop that!” I yelled, quickly closing the computer.

My wet hair whipped Chris in the face and he let out an annoyed grunt. “I was just learning about you, baby girl.” He said with a smirk. “And I like what I learned.” He winked. I didn’t have any weird pictures on my laptop. They were mainly ones from my phone when I hung out with friends.

“We have school today, Chris. Go get ready.” I looked at the time and it read 5:45.

“My clothes are dirty and reek of alcohol. Do you think you could give me a pair of Scott’s clothes?” He asked, getting in my bed. I nodded and walked into Scott’s room.

“Hey, Scott.” I said. Scott looked up at me. “Can Chris borrow a pair of your clothes? His smell of beer and he doesn’t want to go to school like that.”

Scott’s dark brown, almost black, eyes quickly went from tired and hung over to angry. It was like I could see the steam shooting out of his nostrils. “You slept with Chris?” he spoke angrily but tried to keep his voice at a low.

“No, no, no.” I said. “He got too drunk and I made him sleep here instead of driving home.” Scott’s eyes lightened up a bit but I could tell he was still angry.

“You guys slept in your bed?” He asked. I nodded hesitantly. A sigh of disappointment escaped Scott’s mouth. “Listen. Anna, watch out for him. You know how he acts around others. He always gets his way with girls, even if he’s in a ‘relationship.’ Just watch out for him, around you.” Scott was getting too protective of me.

I smiled. “Don’t worry, Scott.” I took the clothes from him and left the room. When I got back to my room, Chris was laying on my bed with his jeans and T-shirt on the floor. I quickly tossed him the clothes then stepped out the room to make breakfast.

The sky was so pretty in the morning. My version of making breakfast was a bowl of cereal. I took out three bowls and poured cheerios in each. I emptied the bad in my bowl, leaving me a little less than the rest. I played the sound of a bell over and over again until both boys came downstairs. Scott was wearing shorts and a lack of shirt. He didn’t have to be at college until noon so he didn’t have to rush. Chris was wearing Scott’s green Tap Out shirt and black pants. His hair was still pretty messy.

“Liking the new hairdo? Chris said, making me jump. Both the boys laughed and poured milk into their bowls. They started bullshitting about something but I didn’t care enough to pay attention.

When I was done eating, I cleaned everything up and put on my shoes. “I’m going to school now. I’ll see you later, Scott!” I said, putting on my shoes and heading out the door.

Chris ran behind me, struggling to walk and put his shoes on. “I’ll drive you.” He said, holding his keys in his mouth.

I didn’t argue because it was a little too cold out to be walking today. “Alright.” I said, walking to his car. I tossed my bag in the back of the seat and got in the passenger’s side. “Just go in a different direction than me.”