Catch Me

Chapter Twenty-Nine: I Hate the Dark

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

Zander chuckled slightly as he stood from Haleigh's bed. He gathered his shirt from the floor and pulled the white fabric over his head before sitting back down on the edge of Haleigh's twin sized bed.

"I should really get going before the weather gets too bad." He glanced out the one window in Haleigh's dorm room. Light from the street lamps illuminated the heavy falling snow. Haleigh cleared her throat as she sat up in her bed.

"You could stay." She suggested hesitantly. She still wasn't fully sure about Zander. She knew she liked to kiss him, he was a great kisser. Yet, she just wasn't convinced that she could fully trust him. He stood from the bed and grabbed his leather jacket. He then walked back to the side of Haleigh's bed, his jacket in his hand. He leaned down, gently placed his hand on Haleigh's jaw line, looking deeply into her bright blue eyes.

"As tempting as that sounds..." He began, as he placed a small kiss on Haleigh's forehead before standing up straight. "I have work tomorrow." She nodded in understanding. "I'll text you later." He said, then pulled his jacket over his arms and shoulders, and stepped out into the hallway, leaving Haleigh by herself.

The night seemed to drag slowly. Haleigh waited patiently for Zander to text her, but when 10:00 rolled around she was finding it harder and harder to keep her eyes open. She drifted off to sleep with her bedside lamp still illuminating the room around her. Visions of Zander filled her head. His soft lips and golden brown eyes were hard to escape from.

Haleigh awoke from a deep sleep. The light from the street lamps no longer shown into her dorm room. This was odd, that light normally stayed on while the sun slept below the horizon. Haleigh reached for her bedside lamp, forgetting that she had left it on before she had fallen asleep, and attempted to click it on. She soon realized that the power must have been out as her lamp too refused to emit light. She willed her eyes to adjust to the pitch black, darkness which surrounded her as she glanced around her empty dorm room. She reached for her phone, and was soon blinded by the bright light of her home screen.

2:03 AM.

A text from Zander caught her eye. The time stamp was from an hour ago, and it worried Haleigh just a little that it had taken him so long to text her. She had assumed he would get home and immediately text her. After all he had only been trying to get her to talk to him again for the last two weeks. She sighed as she opened the text.

Zander: I should have stayed with you...

The vague text made Haleigh smile to herself slightly. Although she knew he had work in the morning, she wondered if he would still be awake at this hour.

Haleigh: I wish you would have... I hate the dark.

She admitted to him another one of her many secrets.

Zander: Can't sleep...

***

Zander lay silently in his bed. He had gotten home at around 9:30 last and had immediately felt the urge to text Haleigh. He was happy that she had finally given him a chance to explain himself about the Alyssa situation. However, he knew that if he texted her right away he might come off as desperate.

Around 12:30 the power had gone out, leaving Zander in complete darkness. He let his mind get the better of him as he re-lived some of his greatest fuck ups. His mind raced with visions of that time in high school when he had punched a kid so hard in the face it had caused the kid temporary blindness. Zander had been expelled from his third school that year due to this incident, and neither Zander nor his mother was surprised when that kid and his family had pressed charges. Six months in that "youth detention center" (which was a polite way of saying Juvenile Prison) had really flown by. This was a time in Zander's life that he wished he could take back. He wanted nothing more than to go back to that day in high school. He wanted to take back all of his actions. He wished he had just walked away from that kid. Looking back, Zander couldn't even remember what this kid had said to him that had gotten him mad enough to hit him. He was just some scrawny chess player. Yet Zander was known for being the tough guy in his high school, the kid had probably just looked at him funny.

Zander was having a hard time pushing these thoughts from his mind. He really wished he had stayed with Haleigh tonight. She always kept his mind busy. Zander picked up his phone and looked at the time.

1:00 AM.

He sighed before giving in, and texted her.

Zander: I should have stayed with you...

He admitted. He would never let slip the mistakes of his past to this girl, but he needed to be by her side. He needed her to take him places that no one else could. She was incredible. These last two weeks had been miserable, and Zander couldn't wait for the next time he would be by Haleigh's side. He was kicking himself for leaving her dorm room earlier in the evening.

He waited patiently for a reply, but soon figured that she had probably fallen asleep. Zander sighed as he lay back on his pillows. One arm rested above his head. He let visions of Haleigh fill his mind. These visions took him back to the time only two weeks prior when she had been in this very bed with him. He imagined her beautiful, freshly cleansed, wet body as he hovered over her. He imagined her perfectly shaped breasts as they moved up and down as she breathed in the dense air surrounding them. He imagined the soft skin on her inner thigh and the moans that escaped her lips as their hips moved in sync with each other. He desperately wanted to go back to this moment. He wanted to feel her close to him and kiss those beautiful lips.

Before Zander knew it, it was 2:00 AM. An hour had passed since he had sent that text to Haleigh. He had given up on a reply and willed the sleep to take over his body. His eyes were beginning to grow heavy. Buzz. Buzz.

Zander was startled out of a light sleep as a text message came through his phone.

Haleigh: I wish you would have... I hate the dark.

Zander smiled to himself, his heart raced just a little. This girl had that effect on him.

Zander: Can't sleep...

He lied. He had just began to fall asleep when that text had come through. He was secretly hoping she would invite him back to her dorm room. He didn't care that it was still snowing outside, and he didn't care the town had already had an accumulation of over a foot of snow. He would strap on some snow shoes and walk in a blizzard if it meant he got to spend the night with Haleigh.

Haleigh: I wish you were here...

This text made Zander smile once more.

Zander: I'm on my way.

I'm back! Hey guys! I know this chapter is a little rough, but just bare with me! I'm rusty! Don't judge me too hard! lol

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you guys want to see happen next! I would love to hear from you. Also don't forget to vote! I will be posting regularly again, just bare with me while I try and get a feel for these characters (and writing!) again! Love to you all! <3