Good as Gold // Josh Burrage

Chapter Seventeen

Indiana's POV
When I wake up on Monday morning, I immediately know something is wrong. As I sit up, the pain in my abdomen grows. Oh no. I rush to the bathroom and my suspicions are confirmed. My period isn't supposed to start for another week, but I guess it decided to come early. No way will I be able to go out feeling like this. All I want to do is stay in my pajamas all day. Before I let Josh know I can't make it, I convince myself to take a shower and change into sweats. Then I call him.

"Hey," Josh says when he picks up the phone. "I'm almost ready, I'll be down in a second."

"Actually, I don't think I'll be able to make it today," I say.

"Oh," he replies, obviously disappointed.

I feel like I owe him an explanation. "I'm not just flaking. I just woke up feeling pretty bad this morning."

"Do you know what you have?" He asks, suddenly concerned.

"Uh, yeah. It's just my period."

"Oh. Well, in that case, I hope you feel better. Get some rest," he says softly. I feel bad for letting him down, but I don't want to be overly irritable or emotional.

I thank him and hang up, only partially looking forward to having the day to myself. Any alone time I have is precious, but I had actually been looking forward to hanging out with Josh, for once. Before I do anything else, I get up and rummage through my bag to find some Advil. I grab my water bottle, take the pills, then lay back down on the bed. I switch on the tv, settling with whatever channel is on.

I must have fallen asleep because it's on a different show when I wake up. When I glance at the clock, I figure out I only slept for about an hour. With a sigh, I roll over and try to go back to sleep. As I'm on the verge of drifting off, a knock on the door startles me. I stay in bed, not wanting to get up. When the person knocks again, I get up, rubbing my eyes, and open the door. It's Josh. Why does that not surprise me?

"Did I wake you up?" He asks the instant I open the door. "I'm sorry."

I shake my head. "You did wake me up, but it's fine. What do you need?" I stifle a yawn and lean against the door.

"I thought since you couldn't go on the date today, we could still hang out. As long as you're feeling up to it," he says quickly. "I brought you some stuff, too."

I notice the plastic shopping bag he has in his hands for the first time. Although I would rather be by myself, I nod. It's the least I can do to make it up to him. "Um, yeah. Sure. It may be a little bit boring, though. Just a warning."

"It won't be boring. It never is when I'm with you," Josh says quietly, entering my room when I open the door wider.

I follow him and sit back down on the bed. "What did you bring?"

"Right." He sets the bag down and begins unloading items. "Marlee said you like dark chocolate, so I got some of that. And some extra Advil, in case you need it. I got some popcorn." He takes out three bags of microwavable kernels. "Some chamomile tea, and then I brought a blanket over from my room."

"You didn't have to do that," I mumble, suddenly feeling guilty about making him spend money on me.

"I know." He smiles slightly. "I just wanted to."

I don't know if it's because I'm in pain or because he's being so nice, but I start to tear up. Curse my unpredictable emotions.

"Thanks," I say whisper, blinking so the tears don't spill out of my eyes. Clearing my throat, I say, "So, if you want to hang out, most of the day is going to consist of sleeping and watching movies. I told you it would be boring."

"It doesn't sound so bad." Josh shrugs. "Can I sit with you, or would you rather me be on the other bed?"

"Um," I hesitate. "Here is fine. Can you hand me the blanket?" I scoot over to make room, not wanting to sit too close to him. He sits down and gives me the blanket. As I spread it over myself, I find that it smells just like Josh. Great. Getting emotional over a boy is exactly what I need right now. I write the light butterflies in my stomach off to be just hormones as I snuggle into the blanket.

Spending the entire day with Josh is different than I expected. He's not as hyper and chatty as he normally is, but he's quiet and gentle. I think he's afraid I'll lash out at him if he does something wrong.

Out of nowhere, Josh sits up. "This is a weird question, but can I braid your hair?" His face flushes pink. "Marlee taught me how on the bus a few weeks ago."

I generally would say no; I don't like people touching me. But I feel like I owe him, since he bought me stuff. "I guess so." I'm genuinely curious to see if he's any good at it, too. After I comb my hair with my fingers, I scoot over so he can start.

As Josh is braiding, I scroll through my phone. I have to admit, it feels nice to have someone playing with my hair. The last person to do this would be my cousin when I was little. Several minutes later, Josh finishes.

"Done," he says. "How does it feel?"

I gently feel the braid. "It's a little loose, but you're getting there." I nod and turn to see him still blushing. I move back over to the other side of the bed and grab the blanket again.

When it's dinnertime, Josh offers to go grab food from some local restaurant. We eat, and then I lay back down on the bed. Within several minutes, I fall back asleep. I don't wake up until morning.

When I wake up, Josh is gone, but he left a note on the bedside table:
Thanks for letting me hang out today. Hope you feel better! :)