DELICATE ★ JENLISA

Chapter 9

I stirred the next morning, pulling the sheets on the bed farther over top of my body. I couldn't help but notice that they smelled vaguely like the woman in the next room- fresh, although the scent itself was unplaceable. I didn't want to get up, but I found myself groaning as the sunlight leaking in through the windows begged me to open my eyes.

And then I realized something.

I was waking up to sunlight.

My eyes shot open, and I glanced out the window to see the intensity of the light shining back at me. Not only was it day, but the sun had traveled much farther past the horizon, leading me to wonder just how long I had slept for. I couldn't understand my mind or my body, and I honestly thought that one day I would need to hire a professional to help me figure them out. Why was it that I was able to fall asleep and stay asleep in someone else's apartment or during school, but it was rare in my own bed?

It couldn't be simply because of the fact that Charles wasn't present here, because another huge reason that I never slept the night away was because of the nightmares. When I finally did manage to fall asleep, I never failed to wake up sweating, screaming, or crying with the thought of my past in my mind. I only ever woke up crying if the nightmare was from the fire, because it was my only mentally scarring memory that my parents were present in.

But I couldn't remember waking at all throughout the night, and I had a high suspicion that I had slept through the morning too.

I finally decided to get up, pushing the bed sheets off of me and swinging my legs to the side. The sudden movement caused my head to spin and I squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt to block out the dizziness. When the room stopped spinning, I stood on the hard wood floor of Ms. Manoban's apartment. Unsure of what to find when I exited the bedroom, I combed through my hair with my fingers and tugged on the shorts I was wearing. They rode up my ass and I struggled to picture how they would fit her in any situation, considering the fact that her legs were much longer than mine.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped out of the room and into living room. I half-expected her to be sleeping on the couch, her pillows thrown on the floor and the blanket scrunched into a ball at the end of the couch, but I probably should have known better. She wasn't on the furniture and the pillows were all in their respective places, the blanket that I assumed she had used the night before folded neatly on the edge of the couch.

Much like her physical appearance, nothing seemed to be out of place in her apartment, and I shouldn't have expected there to be.

I re-directed my gaze toward the kitchen, where I noticed her sitting at the kitchen counter. She was facing me but her eyes were entranced by the laptop in front of her, clearly paying no attention to the fact that I was awake. She wore a plain white tank top and her long, toned legs were exposed by a small pair of black shorts resembling the ones I was wearing. I wondered when and how she had the time to change, taking it upon myself to assume that she had slipped into her bedroom while I was sleeping.

She separated herself from her laptop and walked around the counter to pick up her phone, her expression shifting into obvious frustration at whatever was on the screen. Her eyes lifted and she saw me loitering in the living room, immediately putting her phone away. Maybe a little too fast.

"Uh.. morning," I said, scratching the back of my head. I had absolutely no fucking clue how to go about this situation and I couldn't pretend that I was comfortable. It wasn't anything about her specifically that was putting me off, but thinking about the reality of my situation, I had actually just slept in my teacher's bed, who I had known for maybe a total of two and a half, three weeks tops.

She pulled her lips into a tight line, clearly not very happy this morning. Not that she ever was, but she had at least given me a brief smile yesterday night. Or maybe it was more of a smirk, but nevertheless, it was something.
"Afternoon, Jennie. How are you feeling?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, moving forward to glance at the digital clock on her stove. Seeing that the time read two thirty-one pm, I realized that I'd slept longer than I had in maybe.... years. I was having trouble thinking this morning though and for some reason I found her question to be odd. "Um. Fine, I think?"

She raised her eyebrows, moving back to her laptop. "Do you not remember blacking out or whatever the hell happened yesterday to make you fall off of the ladder?"

I let my mouth form an 'o' and started to recall the events yesterday. I still assumed that I had a concussion, if not a major one then definitely a minor, but thankfully it wasn't too bad this morning. "Oh, yeah I'm fine now, I was just a little dizzy getting out of bed."

"Something wrong with your head?"

"No, I mean I think I have a concussion but it's not that a big deal-"

"You think you have a concussion? Jen, why do you push everything to the side like that? A concussion is a big deal, especially if it's major."

I refrained from answering, unsure how to do so, and she sighed and gestured to the stool in front of her. As I reluctantly sat down across from where she stood, she spoke up. "You know, if I had known that you were going to sleep until two-thirty in the afternoon, I could've gone to work and been back before you woke up."

"Sorry.. I haven't been getting very much sleep lately."

She looked up from her laptop, tilting her head. "Why not?"

"Just have trouble keeping my eyes closed, I guess."

Her eyes scanned my face knowingly, as if she could guess why I had trouble keeping my eyes closed. "Well then it's good you were able to get some rest."

We fell silent and I rested my elbows on the counter, burying my face in my hands. I had a bit of a headache and I could only imagine how terrible I looked. She didn't exactly look like she usually did, but there wasn't a strand of hair on her head that was out of place and and as much as I didn't like to admit it, she had a naturally beautiful face. I tried not to look at her because I knew I shouldn't, but it was rather hard to keep my eyes trained on the counter.

"You should eat something."

I looked up to see her separated from her laptop with her hand in her hair, looking down at me. "I'm not hungry."

"Here," she said, ignoring me. She turned to the cabinet behind her to pull a bowl and a box of cereal out and then she placed them in front of me. "Eat and then we'll talk."

"I'll be honest with you, neither of those things sound appealing to me. Seriously though Ms. Mano-“

"Lisa."

I sighed. "Seriously though, Lisa, I'm not hungry. And no offense to you, but I have a headache and I'm not in the mood to talk."

"I took off today solely for that reason Jen, and I only get so many personal days. You don't have to tell me your life story if you really don't want to, but I do need you to tell me a few things before I let us sit in silence."

"Well can it wait? I have to go to work in an hour and I really need a shower."

She sighed, "Call out sick."

"No."

"Would it really hurt you that much to skip one day?"

I pushed the bowl away, standing up. "Yeah, it it would," I said, growing frustrated. "I need money to be able to move out and I can only get it by working. I'm sorry I actually need money and can't just skip like some people-"

"Jen, look around you, my apartment doesn't exactly scream 'wealthy'. I need money just as much as you do."

"Yeah well, you're lucky enough to get payed for sick days."

She ran a hand through her wavy blonde hair, narrowing her eyes and walking around the counter towards me. "Yes, you're completely right, being a teacher is an absolute privilege."

"I think I sense sarcasm."

"You think? Jen, the job you have right now probably has more perks than mine, and I went through four years of college."

"I doubt that's true. You get the entire summer off."

She shook her head, "That's what I thought. Take into account the curriculum meetings I'm required to attend, the fact that I have to be at the school two weeks before you do, and the fact that three months worth of my paycheck is taken out of my normal pay to account for summer, and you realize it isn't all that great."

"You really dislike being a teacher, don't you?"

She frowned slightly, walking past me so that her backside came into view and I couldn't help but to let my eyes wander over her legs. She turned her head briefly and snapped to get my attention, "And I'm supposed to believe that you don't stare at my ass when I'm not looking."

"Well, it's there."

"Well, it's not there for you, Jen."

"You weren't saying that three weeks ago when you were moaning my name."

"Holy shit," she said, turning around to face me and it seemed as though the blood had drained from her face. "Why does it seem impossible for you to just fucking drop that?"

I had to admit, I did feel a little bad for bringing it up and drawing this sort of reaction out of her. "Sorry I guess, but in my defense, you bring it up just as much as I do."

"Sure but I do it subtly. When you do it, you blatantly remind me that I broke the law."

"It wasn't your fault Ms. Man- Lisa," I corrected myself, "I wasn't your student then... and I was the one who lied to you."

She sighed, "Yet I'm the one who's in danger of being sent to jail."

I shifted my stance, looking down uncomfortably and staying silent. That was true; I was in no danger of getting in trouble, yet I was the one who should be at fault. "I'm sorr-"

She cut me off, "Don't apologize again, what's done is done. Come on, you need a shower, right?"

I reached up to scratch my head, "Uh, yeah."

She nodded, turning back around as she began walking towards her bedroom. I trailed after her, passing the bed and eventually finding myself in her bathroom.

"Here's a towel," she said, pulling one out of the cabinet under the sink and handing it to me. She pulled a drawer open and grabbed a toothbrush, and I raised my eyebrows at the amount she owned.

"That's a lot of toothbrushes."

She turned to me rather quickly, her eyes darkening when she picked up on what I was implying. She tightened her jaw, handing the one in her hand to me. "Yeah."

"Why do you have that many?"

"Why not?"

I stayed silent, but her mood seemed to have shifted. She blankly walked over to the shower and gestured with her hands to the knobs. "Cold, hot. I'll be in the kitchen. Tell me when you're ready to go, I'm driving you and I'm picking you up. What time does your shift end?"

I wanted to protest, but with the way she was looking at me and because of the fact that her arms were crossed, I decided against doing so. "Nine every day except for Thursdays."

She nodded, and then briefly turned back to me. "I take it that's my fault?"

"What?"

"You have to work later on Thursdays because I gave you detention."

"Oh," I said, leaning against the wall. "Well yeah, but it's not that big a deal. It's just another hour."

She sighed and turned to walk out the door, leaving me standing in the bathroom alone.

"Nothing ever seems to be that big of a deal to you."

****

We stayed silent in the car ride to the grocery store, and the only words spoken were hers, telling me that she'd be back at nine. I had changed into my jeans and a red shirt, and I knew that even if she was going to force me to stay with her, I would still need to go back to Charles's house at some point to grab a few things. I hated thinking about the possibility of Charles finding me in her apartment, because even though I didn't know his philosophy on hurting people other than me, I knew what he was capable of. The thought alone of him hurting anyone else made me sick to my stomach.

But what could I do? Lisa wasn't taking no for an answer, and I could either stay in her apartment or let her call CPS. I assumed that even if she did so, it would take a little bit for my case to go through and for me to actually be taken from Charles's home, but it would undoubtedly happen eventually. That's not to say that Charles would go to prison, because let's be honest, nothing ever worked out in my favor. Somehow I would be put back into the system and Charles would probably get off scot-free.

As I re-stocked the shelves, I tried to clear my mind but it was near impossible when I had so much weight on my shoulders. I was stuck, and in a situation that I had no idea how to get out of. I could only hope that Lisa would eventually get tired of me or something along those lines, and send me on my way with a warning to stay safe.

But what were the chances of that happening?

Eventually, nine o clock rolled around and I knew she would be parked out front. When I stepped out of the grocery store, I half expected Charles to be on my right, ready to put his mustang into drive and block me from leaving with Lisa.

But he wasn't there.

I tugged my bag over my shoulder, sighing and walking over to where I noticed her silver car in park. I knew she was going to want to talk about Charles, but I honestly wasn't in the mood. I doubted that I would ever be in the mood to discuss my current predicament or my past with her, but I knew that I'd have to eventually. I would at least have to talk to her about Charles, but I heavily doubted that there was anything she could say to get me to open up about what I'd been through. I had already said enough yesterday when she threatened to call CPS, and I didn't want to go any more into depth.

Pulling the passenger door open, I silently got into her car and sunk into the seat. She spoke, "You didn't see Charles, did you?"

I looked over at her, "No, I didn't."

She seemingly sighed in relief and started driving, and much like the drive to the grocery store, the drive back to her apartment was completely silent. She eventually pulled into her parking spot and got out of the car wordlessly, leading me into her apartment once again.

"What do you want to eat?"

I shook my head. "I'm really not hungry."

She narrowed her eyes at me, and started walking toward me so that I was forced to back up into the stool. "You haven't eaten anything all day Jen, that's not healthy."

I hadn't had an appetite since before I stood up for Cate, and I had been forcing food down my throat for the past couple of days. But I sighed, once again finding it impossible to say no to her while she was staring at me like that. "Alright. I'll eat whatever you have."

She turned and walked around the counter into her kitchen, pulling a container out of the fridge. I took notice to the fact that she hadn't changed, her tight white tank top still clinging to her torso and her shorts revealing enough skin that I had trouble keeping my eyes off of her. She caught my eye but didn't say anything this time, putting the container in the microwave and turning back to me.

"I know you don't want to talk, and I can see how whatever I'm about to ask you might be a touchy subject, but I really need you to just answer a few things."

I sighed. "I suppose I'll do my best."

She nodded, retrieving the container of food from the microwave and placing it in front of me. "Eat. You can talk to me when you're finished."

With that, she left me alone at the kitchen counter and strutted over to the couch in the living room, sighing and sitting down. She propped her legs up on the coffee table and started fussing with the remote, leaving me to pick through the chicken and pasta she'd placed in front of me and discreetly steal glances at her. She seemed frustrated for whatever reason and tired, and I watched her as she started to doze off. I quickly forced the food down my throat and started toward the bedroom, hoping I could slip past her and we could delay this conversation until tomorrow.

"Jennie."

No such luck.

I sighed, turning back to her to see her hand in her hair and her eyes re-opened. The room was dark except for the light of the TV, so I could only see the outlines of her face instead of the finer details. "Come on, have a seat."

I stayed put for a few moments, before walking around the coffee table and sitting on the opposite side of the couch. When I stayed silent, she sat up and turned towards me, eliminating a bit of the distance between us.

"Who is Charles to you?"

I looked anywhere but into her eyes. "My adoptive father."

"And you were adopted last year? Or he just started becoming abusive then?"

"I was adopted last year."

She sighed, leaning back into the couch. "By all means, be as vague as you possibly could be, Jennie."

"I told you I would answer your questions Lisa, that's it. I really don't have any interest in giving you my life story, and that really has nothing to do with you specifically, I just don't like sharing that kind of information with people in general."

She shook her head, "Why?"

"For more reasons than I can count. To be honest, most people can't handle the sheer truth anyway."

"I'm not most people you know."

I pulled my knees into my chest and settled against the arm of the couch, facing her and sighing. "Believe me, I can tell. But it's not just about that, it's about letting people in. There are two things that can happen when a person finds out what I've been through, and I hate them both. They either realize they can't handle it and distance themselves, which sucks because I already have a shitty sense of security to begin with, or they start to get closer. And I can't let that happen, because the truth is I do have Charles in my life, and I'm sure that even when I move out, he'll still be there. Anyone that gets close to me puts themself in a situation where Charles could hurt them, and that's not okay."

She released a shaky breath, and whether it was intentional or not, she seemed to move closer to me. "Alright, now we're getting somewhere. Look, I understand everything you just told me, but I'm pretty sure our situation is different. Now you're living with me and I've apparently already put myself in a situation where Charles could come after me, if what you've been saying is true. I just want to help you Jen. You shouldn't have to deal with this alone."

"I shouldn't, you're right. I shouldn't have to deal with a lot of things Lisa, that doesn't mean they don't happen. Look, this conversation is pointless. Ask me what you want to now because I doubt you'll be able to get anything out of me after tonight."

She sighed heavily, putting her head in her hands. "I... I don't understand why you won't just tell someone that can actually do something to put this piece of shit away..."

"Because it's not as simple as that. For starters, even if I told my social worker, she would still have to go through what could be a year or more of investigation and court cases to reverse my adoption and get me out of Charles's house. By then, I'll have hopefully already moved out. And even if they did try to pull me out of his house immediately, I wouldn't want them to."

She moved closer to me so that she was sitting on the cushion right next to me, turning to make eye contact. "But why?"

"Because, I can't go back to being constantly moved around or settle in a group home. You have no idea what it's like... I don't want to do that again. I would so much rather..." I shook my head, my voice catching in my throat. I lifted up my shirt and gestured to my bruised stomach, making her visibly wince. "I'd so much rather have to deal with this than go back. I really don't want to talk about it, you just have to trust me when I tell you this is the better option."

She turned to face the TV, nodding and resting her arms on her bare thighs. We sat in relative silence for a while, the only sound being the hushed voices of the actors on the television. She finally looked over her shoulder at me and spoke. "Does he scare you?"

"Charles?"

She nodded, and I thought about it. "Well yeah, I mean look at me. I probably weigh sixty pounds less than him and I honestly can't put up much of a fight, so sure, he scares me a little bit, but not like he scares my adoptive mom."

"Does he... abuse her too?"

"No, he doesn't. He might have a couple days ago if I hadn't intervened, and but as far as I know, he hasn't. She's just... so fragile. I don't think she'd be able to handle it."

"You intervened? You're telling me you willingly put yourself in a situation where he could do this to you?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Well I wasn't just going to close my eyes and pretend that I didn't see him hurting her, Lisa."

"Right," she answered, sighing. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"You're so calm. I mean Jesus Jen, take another look at your stomach. That is not okay. Why don't you.. cry? I mean.. you act as if this is normal for a seventeen year old girl to be dealing with.."

"I haven't let myself cry because of Charles in the year that I've known him and I don't plan on doing so. And... this is normal for me. It's not like this is the first time I've been exposed to violence."

She again stayed silent for a while, but then completely turned her body to face me, the both of us extremely close at this point. "You don't by any chance want to elaborate, do you?"

"No, I do not."

"Can I just ask you... one more thing?" Her tone had shifted majorly, and though it was serious before, now she also seemed to be deep in thought.

"I guess."

She seemed to be trying to choose her words carefully. "Are... your birth parents-"

I already knew what she was going to ask me, and I honestly didn't think I could handle it. "No," I stopped her, standing up to make my way to the bedroom. "I don't want to talk about my parents. Please, do me a favor and never bring them up again."

She rushed up from the couch and grabbed my wrist, the only thing she ever seemed to be capable of doing, and pulled me back into her. She held my arms and shook her head, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

I didn't know what to respond to her with, so I let whatever words I had prepared die in my throat. She didn't release me but instead pulled me closer, and I found that I was having difficulty breathing. I looked up at her to see her bright brown eyes trained on my face, and even through the dark, I could clearly make out hers. She searched my eyes but I had a wall built in front of my emotions. If it wasn't there, I probably would've broken into tears the minute she mentioned my parents. I hated the fact that it seemed impossible to move on. I didn't want to push them out of my mind forever, but I also didn't want to feel like crying every time they were mentioned. It was simple to me; if the fire never happened, my parents would never have passed away and I never would have gone through any of this.

So how could I not get upset every time I thought about them? They were gone, they would always be gone. And as sad as it made me to think about, I would never, ever see their faces again.

The same with my sister.

I could tell Lisa had no idea what to say, and as her eyes searched my own, I stayed silent too. I wanted to pull away but her grip on my arms was tight, and I figured I'd let her do the honors. But she never did, and I was growing nervous under her stare. It was only when I felt her face moving closer to mine that I realized my nerves weren't because I was uncomfortable; I was nervous because I wanted her to kiss me and I highly doubted she would. I noticed her hand raising to my cheek out of the corner of my eye, but before it got there, I heard a cell phone ringing.

It seemed to bring her back to reality and her expression hardened, not surprising me in the least bit. She separated herself from me almost instantly and turned to the couch, picking her cell phone up off the coffee table.

She put the phone to her ear, "Hello?" She paused before answering the person on the other line. "Why are you calling me this late Ash?"

"No," she answered, as I leaned against the wall, unsure of where to go. "I told you he hasn't reached out to me in months. That couldn't have waited until tomorrow morning?"

"No," she said, turning so that her fierce brown eyes connected with mine. Her expression had shifted greatly and I didn't know why. "No, I am not with anyone. I need to go Ash.”

"I am not with Jackson."

"No, I'm not with either of them. Will you stop? Save the lecture for tomorrow, okay? Goodbye."

With that, she hung up the phone, leaving me to wonder what the hell she had been talking about on the phone and with whom. Lisa turned to me, seeming to pretend that we hadn't just almost kissed. "I'm going to bed, so try not to make too much noise."

She started toward her bedroom, I assumed to get to the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and I sighed and sat down on her bed. It had to be her to notice my bruises, didn't it? It could have been some other teacher that I hadn't slept with.

It just had to be her.

She came out of the bathroom a little while later, and I sat up immediately. "Do you uh.. have something I could borrow for tonight?"

She eyed me for a while before silently padding to her dresser, pulling out blue shorts and a loose white tank top, tossing them to me. "Here."

I caught them. "Thanks... uh, look, I know you're dead set on me never going home, but even if you're going to make me stay here, I still need to get clothes and a few other things."

"Fine," she said, clenching her jaw. How could she go from concerned to stone-cold in a matter of seconds? "But I'm driving you, and I'm not letting you tell me no."

I sighed, sinking into her bed. I could only hope Charles wouldn't be home. She went to exit the room but my voice stopped her. "You can force me to stay here Lisa, but I'm not kicking you out of your bed two nights in a row, or for any longer than that for that matter. I'll take the couch."

"Jen I told you once and I'll tell you again, you're not sleeping on the couch and there's nothing you can say to change my mind."

She crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame, and I sighed. "Uh... fine well.. it's a big bed. I promise to stay on the left side..."

"No," she answered, her voice tense. "I am not sleeping in the same bed as you."

"I'm already in your apartment," I protested. "Look, I'm not letting you sleep on the couch again, and you might be used to getting your way but I don't like taking no for an answer either. You'll either share the bed with me or I'm taking the couch."

She raised her eyebrows, seeming to find my words amusing. She smirked, "Is that right?"

"Yeah. So pick one."

She stood in the doorway for a while, smirking noticeably, before she shook her head and turned toward the living room. "Goodnight Jennie."

I jumped off her bed and rushed in front of her, sitting on the couch before she got the chance to. "Okay, suit yourself."

"God damn, you're just as stubborn as I am."

I shrugged and she leaned against the wall behind her for a while, arms crossed. I started to lay down and she finally sighed. "Fine. But I swear to god Jen, if I find your hands anywhere they shouldn't be tomorrow morning, you and I are going to have a problem."

"I'm pretty sure I'll be able to control myself."

She shook her head, waiting for me to start toward the bedroom before reluctantly following me. I'm sure she wanted to sleep in her bed, she just, for whatever reason, didn't want me sleeping on the couch. I sat on the left side of her queen mattress and she ran a hand through her hair before sitting down on the right side. "You're not so hard to say no to when you're not threatening me," I whispered.

Lisa turned to me, lowering her eyes and shaking her head. "I never threatened you, Jen. I honestly believe calling child protective services would be in your best interest."

"Yeah well, no offense, but you don't know what you're talking about."

She exhaled deeply. "I know, you obviously know a lot more about this than I do. Please stay on your side of the bed, okay?"

I narrowed my eyes in her direction, "Alright Lisa, you're attractive but you're not exactly irresistible. I should be telling you to stay on your side."

She shook her head, "I don't think you have to worry about that."

"Well then."

I played with the clothes she'd given me in my lap, before standing up and lifting my shirt over my head. I could feel Lisa watching me but I hardly cared, in fact, being completely honest, I enjoyed the fact that her eyes seemed glued to my skin every time I exposed it. I turned back around to face her in only my bra and jeans, and she caught my eye.

"You really aren't shy, are you?"

"I told you, you've already seen me naked so I really don't find reason in hiding my body." I pulled her tank top over my head and started on my jeans, concealing my smirk as her eyes traveled over every inch of exposed skin.

"I'll give you one," she sighed, "I'm your teacher and I shouldn't even have seen you without clothes on the first time."

I succeeded in pulled my jeans off as I answered her, "Well you did, and we can't change that. If you really don't want to look at me, then close your eyes."

She shook her head slightly, resting her arms on her knees and sighing. I turned back around to face the window and she lowered her voice, "That is definitely not what I said."

As soon as I had both articles of clothing on my body, I turned back to her and sat on the edge of the bed, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing. Goodnight Jennie," she said, shutting off the lamp and slipping into the covers a foot or so away from me. "Thank you for talking to me."

I slipped under the covers, somehow unable to wrap my mind around the fact that for the second night in a row, I'd be sleeping in my teacher's apartment. Only this time, she'd be in the bed with me. "I didn't exactly have a choice."

She turned away from me, but I heard her voice as she spoke, "Well thank you anyway."

"Yeah.." I said, sinking into her pillows. I could only hope that I didn't have any nightmares tonight, because I really didn't need her waking up to me screaming or crying. "You're welcome."

****

As soon as I woke up on Saturday, I knew that I hadn't gotten as lucky as the day before. It was still dark outside and Lisa was still in bed next to me. Or rather, she was still in the bed on top of me.

I had kept my promise and stayed on the left side of the bed, but she apparently had moved during the night. I was lying on my back looking at the ceiling, or well, I would've been looking at the ceiling if her arm wasn't draped over my face. Her leg was situated so that it was across my entire body and bent so that it was wrapped around my legs, and I was stuck. How the hell did she manage to do this unintentionally? It must have been eight hours ago that she was warning me not to get too close to her, yet here we were, the exact opposite happening.

I tried to bring my right hand up to remove her arm, but I realized it was underneath her thigh. Her exposed, bare-skinned thigh. And just like that, I suddenly couldn't breathe. I started to shake my head but the ringing in my ears came back and I immediately stopped.

I debated with myself on what my next move was, and instead of just sitting there underneath most of my biology teacher, I stretched out my finger and poked her in the ass.

Needless to say, it was quite possibly the best decision of my life.

She stirred, and then her eyes shot open. She was facing me and I think she instantly realized where my hand was and where her entire body was situated. She immediately jumped off of me. "You did not just poke my ass."

"Hey look I was suffocating, you brought that one upon yourself."

She squinted in the darkness and then looked at her phone. "Why are you even awake? It's four am."

"Well," I answered, "my immediate response would be to say that I just couldn't sleep, but thinking about it, I might've woken up because your entire body was on top of mine and I couldn't breathe."

"This is exactly why we cannot sleep in the same bed together, Jennie."

"I was doing just fine on my side of the bed.. I don't know how you unintentionally got into that position but as long as you stop yourself from doing that again, I think we'll be okay."

She sighed heavily, leaning against the headboard and pulling her long legs into her chest. "You could've just woken me up with your voice."

"But then I wouldn't have had the opportunity to touch your ass."

She groaned, putting her head in her hands. "You're a piece of work."

"Great so I can go home now? This sleepover has been fun Lisa," I said, starting to get out of the bed, "but I'm sure Cate is expecting me home any minute now-"

"Don't be ridiculous Jen, you might be difficult to handle but it doesn't change anything. You're not going anywhere."

"I had to try," I sighed. "And I don't understand how I'm difficult to deal with, you're the one that got a little too close to me."

She shook her head and closed her eyes, tilting her back as we settled into silence. I could tell she was tired and I was exhausted, even with those extra hours of sleep yesterday. "Who's Cate?"

I looked over at her and answered honestly. "My adoptive mom."

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, stabilizing herself against the wall. "Well I'm not going to be able to go back to sleep, what about you?"

"Not a chance."

"I'm going to go watch TV.. you're welcome to join me as long as you promise to keep your hands to yourself."

"Where's the fun in that?"

She rolled her eyes and tilted her head, awaiting an acceptable answer. I moved off of her bed and ran a hand through my straight brown hair, sighing. "I suppose I promise, as long as you stay on one side of the couch. These things don't work one-way Lisa, you can't touch me and expect me not to touch you back."

Her eyes closed briefly, before she reopened them and shook her head. "I didn't touch you intentionally."

I smirked, walking towards her. "You might not have, but I think you subconsciously really wanted to feel me up again, and that little devil inside your head encouraged you."

"I think you're full of yourself, because I have no interest in," she paused, holding up her fingers in air quotes, "feeling you up."

I followed her out of the bedroom and sat down on the couch, leaning my back against the couch and letting my feet rest on the cushions she wasn't occupying. "If you say so."

"I'd really prefer you not to put your feet on my furniture."

She started scrolling through the channels on the television and I scrunched up my nose in distaste. "Oh come on, you're one of those people?"

"I am not one of anything, I just don't want your feet one, on my furniture, or two, on my lap."

"Someone's uptight."

"Well when you wake me up at four o' clock in the morning on a Saturday, I might be a bit grouchy. There's a tip you might find useful in the future."

I decided against answering, instead resting my head on my palm and staring at the TV. Slowly, light started to leak through the only other window in her apartment, and I realized that I'd dazed off. How was it possibly that I was continuously able to fall asleep in Lisa's presence? I looked over at her to see her still on the couch next to me, and she was still awake.

I felt my stomach grumbling and I absentmindedly spoke, "I'm starving."

She looked over at me, raising her eyebrows. "I'm not surprised, you barely had anything to eat yesterday. Do you normally skip meals like that?"

"No," I sighed, "Just recently..."

"Well... how's a big breakfast sound?"

I nodded and watched as she stood from the couch, pulling on her arms as she stretched. I adverted my eyes from her backside until she was done, and then watched as she started toward the kitchen and pulled a skillet out of a cabinet.

"Why do you do that?"

She finished cracking an egg into the bowl she was holding, before looking up at me. "What?"

"You're worried.. and concerned one minute, and then.. just like last night, that disappears and you act like you don't have feelings."

"I don't have feelings."

I scoffed, "Please Lisa, that's a load of shit. I've seen you care and I've seen your feelings, so why don't you give me a real answer?"

She shrugged, mixing the contents of the bowl. "I honestly don't know what you're talking about. My mood shifts sometimes, as does yours and every normal human being alive."

"Whatever, I'm not going to press, but realize that you can't ask me to open up to you without you doing the same to me."

She looked up at me and her brown eyes connected with mine, maintaining contact until she finally broke away and started pouring a thick liquid into the heated pan. I stayed quiet until she gestured me over a little while later, putting a plate of pancakes and eggs in front of me. It was nine am now and we'd spent a considerable amount of time on the couch, though I'd slept through most of it. I knew I would have to go to work in the afternoon but I was curious as to what I'd be doing until then. Watching TV? How did she usually spend her Saturdays?

I pushed around the eggs on my plate, very aware of the fact that her eyes were on me as she braced her arms on the counter and waited for me to eat. "Do you have plans?"

"How about you eat instead of worrying about what I'm doing? The only thing you've eaten in two days is chicken and pasta."

"Chill out, I'm going to eat. I was just curious. What do you normally do on Saturdays?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Sleep."

I raised my eyebrows as if to say 'really'? She sighed, "And then I go out."

"Specific," I said, taking my first bite of food.

"I know," she nodded, putting the skillet in the sink. "I'm going to get in the shower, please don't break anything."

"I'm seventeen, not five."

She shrugged and started towards the bedroom, leaving me to do the only thing I could do- watch her. I let my eyes rest on her as I ate, until she was completely out of view and I was left in the kitchen in absolute silence. That is, until I heard the shower running and somehow my mind shifted from the food in front of me to the fact that Lisa was stripping in the next room over. I groaned internally at my train of thought, pushing her blurry image out of my head and finishing my meal.

About twenty minutes later, I was bored out of my mind. If I wasn't occupied at all times, it Jenme a problem for me, which is why I honestly didn't mind working for five hours everyday. It kept me busy and since I didn't want to be frequently hanging out with Jisoo, I would undoubtedly have a lot of time on my hands that I wouldn't know what to do with if I wasn't working.

I could always draw, but I'd recently been lacking inspiration.

The door bell rang then, saving me from staring at the wall any longer. I doubted Lisa wanted me to answer it but she was still in the shower, so I quickly padded to the bathroom. I knocked on the door multiple times but she never answered, so I assumed she couldn't hear me over the shower's noise. I opened the door slightly and spoke, "Lisa?"

I was again responded with silence, so I continued to open the door until I could make out her figure standing in the shower, though any details were blurry ecause of the glass between us. I didn't want to overstep any boundaries, and considering the fact that I'd already seen her naked and that I really couldn't even see anything from this angle, I stepped forward and spoke again. "Lisa?"

This time she turned, allowing me to make out the voluptuous curves of her body. Knowing she was probably going to throw a fit with me being in here, I took one last look before closing my eyes. She spoke, though her voice was muffled by the water beating down around her. "What the hell are you doing in here Jennie?"

I held my hands in the air and backed up against the door. "I... your doorbell is ringing. I tried knocking but..."

I heard her groaning, before she responded. "I'll be out in a few minutes.... just... tell whoever it is to wait out there for a second."

I nodded and rushed out of the bathroom, finally being able to breathe. I made it to the front door and pulled it open, revealing a tall, muscular man with flowers in his hand. His eyes fixated on me and narrowed, and I stayed quiet until he spoke. "Who are you and where is Lisa?"

Knowing she wouldn't want me telling anyone that I was her student, I opted for a different answer. "A friend.. and... in the shower."

"Great," he muttered, pushing past me and into her apartment.

"Uh... I think she wanted you to wait in the hall.."

He set the flowers down on the counter, slowly turning around to face me and narrowing his eyes. "Excuse me?"

I took a step back. This guy was almost as intimidating as she was, if not more. Not a moment too soon, Lisa stepped out of her bedroom, clutching a white towel to her chest as her blonde hair, which was now considerably darker, dripped around her. She took notice to me standing by the front door and then re-focused her attention on the man standing by the counter.

"Jackson... what.. what are you doing with those.."

He leaned against the counter, looking from the flowers to her. "You're smart Lisa, I'm sure you can figure out that they're for you."

Her voice hardened, "I know what you intend to do with them, what I don't understand is why you bought me flowers."

I awkwardly stood by the door and watched as quite possibly the two most intimidating people I'd ever met stared at one another, until Jackson finally responded. "Do you really want to do this in front of your play toy over there?"

Lisa tightened her jaw and looked over at me, and I tilted my head. "Excuse me? Her what?"

Jackson gave me a blank look and raised his eyebrows, "I'm sorry, did you not realize that you mean absolutely nothing to the woman standing in front of me?"

I stood there, dumbfounded with absolutely no fucking idea as to what was going on right now. Lisa clutched her towel to her chest and spit back at him, "Stop Jackson, Jennie is just a friend."

He frowned in distaste, "That's bullshit, you and I both know that you don't make new friends anymore and I haven't seen this girl once in the three years I've known you."

She shook her head, "Okay, let me rephrase that sentence. Jennie is just a friend, but even if she wasn't, it would not concern you at all."

Jackson narrowed his eyes, picking up the flowers and walking towards her. "Look, I did not come to pick a fight with you. Lisa, you can't keep doing this-"

She cut him off and looked at me before returning her gaze to him, "Let's do this another time. Please, Gav."

He sighed and look over at me "Fine, I'll be back tomorrow. Seriously though Lisa, have some self control for one night."

With that, he turned away from her and pushed past me into the hall, slamming the door behind him. Lisa released a shaky breath and placed the flowers on the coffee table, taking a seat next to them. She was still in nothing but a towel and I honestly couldn't have kept my eyes on her face even if I tried.

She looked up and caught my gaze. "Eyes up here Jennie."

I folded my arms across my chest. "Care to share why I was just referred to as your play toy?"

She stood up, walking toward the bedroom. "No."

I followed her, leaning against the doorframe with my eyebrows furrowed as she held onto her towel and started going through her dresser. "I told you more about me last night than anyone besides maybe three people know, I think I deserve a little honesty from you. So what, you have a boyfriend?"

"God no," she answered, looking up.

I raised my eyebrows, "Well?"

She shook her head, "It's none of your business. Please get out, I need to get dressed."

I stared at her for a while, before turning and walking out of her room. I left the door open but she immediately stood up and shut it, and I was left in the living room wondering what the hell I'd gotten myself into by agreeing to stay with Lisa. I couldn't help but wonder who Jackson was to her, and why they seemed to have such a tense relationship.

But the thing occupying my mind the most heavily as I sat down on the couch didn't come from what Lisa had said to me, it came from what Jackson had just said.

Play toy

I repeated the words over and over again in my mind, wondering if Lisa was the type of person to sleep with a lot of people. Had that been what he meant? That I was just another girl on her list of people to fuck?

I planned on pestering her about it, but she didn't come out of her bedroom. I sat on her couch and trained my eyes on the TV, but my mind was elsewhere. Eventually it was time for me to go to work, and I was fairly certain Lisa knew that, but she didn't come out of her bedroom.

So I picked up my bag and left her apartment, desperately hoping I could find my way to the grocery store before four.