UNEXPECTED | UNEDITED

09 | Something Borrowed

It was well past midnight when Milver pulled into the driveway, Carly had been laying across the single cab seat with her head in his lap. It was slightly ironic that Jason was allowing her to ride without a seatbelt or upright considering he was a police officer. Nevertheless, her tears had long dried and the only noise she made was when Jason hit a bump on the dirt road.

"Carly, we're here." He nudged her before opening the driver's side door and sliding out from under her head. She sat up, much to his surprise, " I thought you were sleeping."

She shook her head and crawled out his door towards him, she still hadn't said anything since they had left her home. Her eyes now felt heavy and dry after her emotional episode and internally she was a little embarrassed about her behavior. Jason swept her up in his arms like a child as if that made her feel any less bad about being a total crybaby. From the angle, she could see the muscles in Jason's jawline as he maneuvered the couple up the front steps and into his home.

When they entered, Carly noted a few things. The house had a masculine scent about it, like the smoke of a cigar and the night's drink. It wasn't overwhelming but you could tell how Jason spent a night winding down. He put her down in the entryway, turning to close and lock the door behind the two silent people. The sound of a jingling collar came racing down the stairway attached to a very excited German Shepherd.

"Hey, Eli." Jason patted the top of Eli's head before he turned towards Carly. "I hope you aren't allergic."

"No, not at all. He is adorable." It was met with a silent Jason who just made a gesture towards the stairs.

He placed his hand on her lower back, pushing her towards the dark staircase. "It's getting late and you have to work tomorrow. You should get some sleep." She nodded, quietly letting him guide the pair to the second level and down the dark hallway. They entered the door at the end of the hallway, a bedroom. Moonlight filtered through the windows as she took in the layout of his bedroom. His bed, that much larger than the twin mattress she had since being a child, was placed on the far wall taking up a large portion of the room. On either side of the bed stood identical nightstands which matched the matching dresser on the opposite wall. There were two other doors in the bedroom one was ajar and a tile floor peeked out from inside. Carly assumed that the second door was the closet. 

Jason led her across the room by the small of her back where she watched him take a seat on the edge of the bed. He pulled off his square-toed boots, each letting out a thud as he dropped them on the floor. Carly stood there awkwardly, unsure if she was supposed to be following his lead. 

"Come here," Jason pulled her to sit and reached for her shoes which were discarded on the floor with his. He stood up and undressed to a simple pair of black boxes before reaching to a pile of crumpled clothes on the bed. "Do you want to sleep in your clothes? You don't have to..." His eyes grazed over her quickly before he continued, "I can lend you a t-shirt if you want." 

Carly agreed to a t-shirt but it was more of a squeak. She would have never imagined herself in this situation in the first place. What was she doing at his house in the first place? A part of her wished she could just disappear and wake up in her own bed where the embarrassment would be a little easier to handle but asking Jason to drive her the whole way home would be rude. 

Milver turned his back to the young girl, opening the second to the top dresser drawer and digging around before passing on to her. Should I just get dressed here? Carly thought to herself as she looked away shyly before watching him pull up a pair of worn grey sweatpants that hung lower than the waistband of his boxers. Jason stood there silently, watching her almost expectantly. 

Shaking, not from fear but out of sheer embarrassment, Carly tore off her band hoodie and the tank top before shoving her head through the hole of the t-shirt. After this, she pulled off her bottoms and folded them neatly. She heard Jason chuckle before putting up her clothes and helping her to bed.  It didn't take long Jason had maneuvered the two into a spooning position and Carly had felt herself start to drift off before she shot up.

"Oh! I have to work tomorrow, I need to set an alarm" She reached for her phone that she had set on the nightstand sometime before they had settled. "Can you take me home tomorrow?" She asked Jason, who just watched her with curiosity. He nodded before pulling her back into his chest and holding her tight. Carly sat her phone down next to the pillows since there was no way Jason was letting her up again. After which Carly found herself drifting off once again.

Soon after, Jason laid there by himself in the darkroom. The sound of soft feminine breathing calmed him before being disrupted by buzzing. Jason glanced over Carly to see her phone light up displaying the name 'dad' over the screen. Quickly, careful to not wake her up, he snatched the phone where he declined the call and simply switched the phone completely off before setting it next to his. 

Jason didn't see a reason why she needed it anymore, she was finally where she was supposed to be. 

(A filler chapter...)