You're stuck in denial // Campbell Eliot

don't even have to try

Sure we have our fights
Sure we have our doubts
Sure we lie
But we're not lying now, we know why

-light me up, rl grime

Kelsey woke up with the worst hangover of her life. Okay, not the worst, but she certainly felt like death. Her head was pounding, her stomach was sour; all she wanted to do was lie in bed and not do anything today, which is exactly what she intended to do. She rolled over and checked her phone to see several texts from Elle, one from Harry, and one from an unknown number.

I'll see you later.

Kelsey furrowed her brows in confusion and squinted at the screen, making sure she read the text correctly. She had no idea who the text was from, so she slid her finger across the screen and deleted it without a response. She rolled back over and pulled the covers up to her chin. Overcast light streamed through the shades in her room, but as soon as Kelsey closed her eyes, the light was shut out and so was the world.

*

"Is this her room?

"Yeah, but I'm not sure she's in there. You sure she knows you're coming?"

Kelsey blinked sleepily, pulled from sleep by the voices outside her door. She checked her phone once more to see it was evening. She had managed to sleep away the whole day and felt relaxed and less ill. The handle on her door turned, but the door didn't budge. Kelsey jumped out of bed and ran to the door, pulling the handle open and walking directly into someone. She apologized and looked up, a smirking Campbell met her gaze. Kelsey blushed from the crown of her head to the tips of her toes when she realized she was only wearing an oversized t-shirt and nothing else, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Can I help you with something?" She mustered, her eyes flickering between him and the person who had led him up to her room. He pushed past her and walked into her room, leaving a stunned Kelsey in his wake. "Campbell, what the fuck?" She snapped, getting his attention.

"Hmm?" He hummed, momentarily transfixed by the picture on her nightstand. Kelsey moved to put the picture facedown and stood in front of her bed.

"Why are you here?" She demanded, once again crossing her arms over her chest. She was annoyed that he had shown up out of nowhere, and tried to assert herself with angry body language. She knew Campbell could easily hurt her if he wanted, his body towering over hers, and her pulse quickened slightly at the thought.

"You never came over," he said flatly, picking up various objects on her dresser and putting them down. "So I came to you."

Her drunken encounter with him came crashing down, and she pinched herself for not asserting herself more. Still, she did need to check his arm for infection, so maybe it was a good thing he was here. It unsettled her that he knew where she lived, but then again, everyone knew where everyone lived in a small, isolated town. She made her way back to her bed and sat, gesturing for him to come over.

"Come here and roll your sleeve up. I'll look at your arm and then you can leave me alone," she said. She didn't mean it in an unkind way, but the truth of the matter was that he scared her, probably more than she realized in that moment. Campbell didn't maintain many close relationships, and she was afraid to find out why. She wanted to give him a chance, it was in her nature, but something about him warned her to stay away.

He raised an eyebrow, but sauntered over in lazy steps. He was wearing a dark green flannel, but instead of rolling the sleeve up, he opted to pull the shirt over his head. Kelsey inhaled sharply, fearing he would strike her in his movements, but exhaled quietly when she realized what he was doing. Trying to avert her gaze from his toned chest, she examined the sutures on his injured arm. Shit, I did a good job, she thought, given the fact that she had merely taken a First Aid class here and there. The skin was pink and warm, unfortunately indicating an underlying infection.