Someone Hit the Mute Button

Chapter Sixteen- Alexei

Chapter Sixteen- Alexei

     Have you ever heard of Rasputin? You may have heard of the song, or maybe you've seen the Disney movie Anastasia, but you probably don't know that Rasputin was a real person. The Russian tsar, Nicolas II, briefly believed that Rasputin was a holy healer who could heal his deathly ill son, Alexei. Alexei was a sickly child and he was most certainly going to die by the time Rasputin showed up. The next day, Alexei was out and about, as if nothing had happened.

     I'll give you the short version of the rest of the story. Alexandria, the Tsarina, invited Rasputin to stay at the palace and eventually everyone began to believe that she was having an affair with him. This outraged the Tsar, so he decided to murder Rasputin.  He poisoned Rasputin, shot him, and attempted to drown him in a river, but Rasputin did not die until he froze to death in the very river he was supposed to drown in.

     There were only two people that made it out of the Tsar's ambush a few months later. Anastasia, Nicolas's youngest daughter, and Alexei. Neither were ever found.

     Alec loved this story. He used to joke that he was Alexei and I was Anastasia. He liked to say that we were survivors, that only the harshest of circumstances could bring us down. We could cheat death again and again and again. He liked to think that he was invincible.

     Maybe he was, who knows? All I knew was I most certainly was not.

     When I woke up the next morning, I felt ridiculously sick to my stomach and there was the most uncomfortable weight hanging over me. Literally, not figuratively. I couldn't roll over, I couldn't kick my feet, and I couldn't move the blanket off of me. It felt like I was sleeping directly below a furnace. All I wanted was a little cool air, but of course, that was impossible with the blanket that was aparently glued to my body.

     I sat there for a few minutes, letting my mind wander while I waited for the strange feeling to pass. I was starting to get anxious. It wasn't entirely unpleasant,  it was just so damn hot.

     It took me a good ten minutes to start making connections. When they were all firmly attached in my brain, I began to relax. I was in Dustin's room, he was the heater I was burning next to, and he was the blanket that I couldn't move.

     His head was buried in my neck, half of his frame leaning on top of mine. His right leg was hitched over both of mine, which sounded a lot more uncomfortable than it was. I was torn between just sitting there and getting the hell outta dodge.

     As I woke up, I began to notice how screwed up this all was. I was caught making out with someone who was going to be my stepbrother. Moreover, I spent the night with him, woke up in his bed, and made absolutely no move to get up. That has to say something about my character. Right?

     I was pulled out of my head when I heard my phone vibrating on the nightstand. It was only six, but I had a text message from my mom. In fact, I had thirty texts from my mom. She was freaking out, but I didn't fully understand why until I read the first few messages she sent. She had expected me to come home and she had a meltdown when I didn't. I sent her a quick message just to let her know I was alive and I put my phone on silent.

    Dustin was still completely passed out. I wanted to be, but I was wide awake and not entirely too cozy. I debated waking him for a long while, but I eventually gave in and started shaking him.

     He didn't wake up. I became a little nervous and I shook him harder, but my one free arm didn't do much damage. Eventually, he groaned and shifted his weight just the tiniest bit. I took the opportunity and I shook him just a little bit harder. His eyes fluttered open, and though he seemed suprised for a short time, he relaxed and shut them again. He seemed to curl closer to me and he let out a satisfied sigh.