She Will Persist

19

Axel

"Laurie," a voice whispered.

I cracked my eyes open and turned my head groggily toward the bedroom door. "What?" I murmured to Harrison. My eyes weren't awake yet and the only reason I could tell it was him was by the nickname no one else was authorized to use.

Harrison made his way farther into the room and shut the door quietly behind him. "Cal, Zach, Blitz and I are heading out to the library," he said, still whispering. "Jinx is going to work. Lautaro, Quinn and Lucky are up on the roof."

"Shit," I said, starting to throwing the covers off myself to get up, but warm hands clutched tight around my left arm stopped me from moving so quickly.

"I think you're a little preoccupied," Harrison noted, nodding down to Adira.

I glanced over at her too. She was fast asleep, blonde hair loose around her face and spiraling out around the pillow, both hands wrapped around my bicep and her nose blowing soft warm breaths against the skin.

I suddenly remembered last night. Adira had hit her head on the end of the coffee table while she was dreaming. There was blood. It was pretty bad. That was around 4:30 in the morning, and Jinx said we could just sleep in her bed for the rest of the night while she got to her internship early for once.

"Shit," I whispered.

"Shit what?" Harrison narrowed his eyes. "Shit like you forgot your gun to training, or shit like you did something you weren't supposed to?"

I carefully maneuvered myself to scratch the back of my neck. "Um..."

"Axel."

"Get your mind outta the gutter Harry it's not serious enough to call me that. We just sorta... ended up all tangled together."

"If I wasn't too tipsy I remember you guys starting all tangled up together too."

I looked down at her again. "She doesn't like me like that." I spoke quietly.

"Hold up, she doesn't like you like that?" I glanced up at him and he actually looked kinda pale. "Laurie, you don't like her like that either, right?"

I shook my head.

"Because you can't."

"I know."

"Because Blitz will beat you if you do. He's moved in on older brother territory since she didn't shut up about you that month you were gone."

"I know, okay? I know. And I've got a lid on it, I promise."

He squinted his coffee-brown eyes at me. "Yeah? Take the duvet off your legs."

I hesitated for a moment, and then reluctantly peeled off the orange comforter to reveal our legs locked together too, and then guiltily looked away.

My best friend licked his lips and shook his head. "I pray you know what you're doing Laurie," he whispered.

"I do," I insisted, "I'm just helping her sleep." I put the blankets back over Adira's and my feet.

Both of us watched her chest rise and fall quietly and her eyelids occasionally twitch.

"Just let her sleep," Harrison said, crossing his arms. "James is staying to look after Owen. You stay too and watch the phone lines. We'll be back in two maybe three hours. We have the ear pieces and our backpacks. And the other guys are just a couple floors up." He smiled a little as I tried to sit up more without waking Adira still clinging to my left arm. "She really likes you, huh?"