Dead Apples

25- Good Ideas

I don't have any clothes on when I wake up the next morning, and I can hear Javier snoring in my ear.

I lost my virginity last night.

Slowly, I sit up and start putting my clothes back on. I have to search through the blankets for my underwear but I eventually find everything and get dressed. I had my one day to break myself off from reality, but I now need to deal with everything that's happened. The first thing on my list is to make things right with Amber, and I know exactly how I'm going to start. It's going to be tough, but I think that it's possible.

I brush my teeth and try to wash my face as much as possible in the bathroom across the hall from Javier's room, not really sure what to do now. I have to get home to start putting my plan in place for Operation: Amber, but I don't want to leave without saying goodbye to Javier. As I'm putting my shoes on, he starts to stir in the bed on his own, which is a relief because I didn't want to have to wake him up.

Watching from the edge of the bed, I see his eyes flutter open. He offers me a tired smile and then when he notices that I'm dressed, he asks, "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, I have to get back home. I've got a plan to make things up to Amber," I explain to him. "And it's big, so I have to get started as soon as possible."

"Do you want any help?" He yawns and then sits up in the bed. He's not wearing a shirt and even though he's under the blankets, I can imagine that he's not wearing anything at all.

"You really want to help? It'll probably take me all night," I warn him slowly.

"I really want to help," Javier confirms with a nod.

"Okay. Pick me up in an hour then? I still have to go back to my house, shower, and grab some stuff," I suggest. I have to call Sage to tell her about last night, too, and I have to take Zero out for a walk while I'm home.

"I can do that. See you soon," He says as I'm grabbing my purse. I lean over the bed and quickly kiss his cheek before I head for the door. Luckily, his mother is back at work now because I think that run-in would be really awkward. She was really nice last night when we had dinner, and she seemed excited that I was there if anything. Maybe she'd rethink that if she knew that I spent the night. She went to bed right after dinner, so she didn't know that I never went home.

"See you soon," I say right before I leave the bedroom and then the house. The walk back to my own house is longer than it felt like before, probably because I'm so tired. I have a lot of work to do today though, so I can't rest. I get back to my own house to shower and get ready for the long day ahead of me, but I'm shocked and irritated that see Dex's car in my driveway when I arrive.

I don't see him anywhere around the house, so I guess that he's inside. That, or he's screwing Gabby in the orchard again. I would hope that he learned his lesson after the first time though.

Once I'm inside, I can hear Zero barking down the hallway. Curious and still very irritated, I walk down the hallway of the house to find Dex in my bedroom, looking at my wall of drawings.

"How'd you get in here?" I ask him, crossing my arms over my chest.

He jumps a little bit when he hears my voice and turns to look at me, his dazzling blue eyes darting right into my soul. "Your dad let me in before he went to work."

"Calm, Zee," I pat my dog a few times on his head to get him to stop barking. He whines about it but eventually leaves the room to go lay in the living room. I turn my attention back to Dex and say, "Okay, well what to do you want? I'm really busy."

"Well, I came to ask you what the hell is going on with you," He informs me slowly and then he motions over to the wall, in the corner near my desk. The sketches of him are still taped to the wall there. "But I think that I've got my answer."