I was grounded for a week. Sure, considering the circumstances, I could handle a week.
Though, I thought I'd get more respect for helping save the world... obviously not.
Rude.
Despite my constant yearning for Lloyd, it actually felt nice to just lay low and recover. I had a lot more injuries than I counted for, so having the ability to sleep in 'till noon was a god send. Besides, space wasn't always bad. We both had a traumatic week. Space was probably a good thing. For both of us.
I wasn't one to disobey my mother and she knew that. Mum had no problem with leaving the house for work. She trusted me and I wasn't about to disgrace that trust. Besides, I might've needed it later on. It's always good to keep your bases covered.
One downside was that I had nightmares. Kinda bad nightmares. The wake-up-shivering-and-sweating-and-crying kind of nightmares. I shrugged them off when mum queried, as I guessed it was pretty normal for me to have nightmares after what we all went through. It was normal for me to wake up sweating and shaking and crying. That didn't give me a reason to not hate it, though. I loathed the nightmares. I cursed them. I woke up looking for a sign of Lloyd, just to make sure he wasn't still possessed and the fight against the Preeminent and the whole I-love-you's really happened.
Apparently, it did. And apparently I was still confused.
I-love-you's are a huge thing. Sure, adrenaline-pumping, on-the-verge-of-death, we-might-not-see-each-other-again kind of scenarios, it's okay to say an I-love-you. It's normal. It feels right. Afterwards, when everything has calmed down and we can evaluate the situation, that's the time when we can go what-the-fuck.
I'm not saying that I don't love Lloyd - I do, god, I love him so much, but that's not the problem. The whole I-love-you spot that we found ourselves in during the fight, it almost felt needed. I wasn't sure of how genuine it was. I know I loved Lloyd, but I wasn't sure if that was the right time and I wasn't certain of how genuine Lloyd was. It made me worried. I hate being worried.
Unfortunately, Mum had taken my phone, so any communication with Lloyd was a no-go, unless I wrote. I didn't even have his address, though. Maybe a pigeon would work. Or an owl.
I would've hung out with Aaliyah, Naomi and Claire for a distraction and to catch up, but they weren't answering their emails. I mean, valid, as I never really check my emails either, but it still kinda stung. I wanted to tell them all about what happened and what shit went down, though I knew that I couldn't do that to Lloyd. I just wanted somebody to talk about it with. My mother didn't count because she didn't even like to hear about the danger we were in. I couldn't blame her. That was some messed-up shit.
The week, although nice to chill and recover by bingewatching my Netflix shows cuddled up in Lloyd's freshly washed hoody (that I totally did not steal what are you saying), moved by rather sluggishly. I had nothing to do to quickly pass the time. I caught up to Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I caught up to Steven Universe. I finished both Avatar and Legend of Korra. I caught up with Boku No Hero Academia. I was so deathly bored.
It was four days in to my punishment when there was a tap on my window in the middle of the night. I was immediately on edge, my mind running with ridiculous thoughts of goblins and trolls and demons and ghosts and - wait, it's just Lloyd.
Who else would come a-tapping in the middle of the night? I rolled my eyes at my paranoid half before shoving back the curtain and opening the window, letting the gleeful ninja slip in.
"What are you doing?" I whispered in amusement as he sprawled out on my bed. He had countless of bandages and plasters dotting his skin; his t-shirt proudly showing off his injured arms like some kind of warrior's pride or something. His happy green eyes slid to meet mine.
"I missed you."
Awww. We're going to be in so much fucking trouble.
"You can't be here," I reminded with a disappointed frown. "I'm still grounded. If mum found out, she'd kill us."
