the girl with all of the choices

t h i r t y - o n e

8986 words

december twenty-second- going to london

~ Draco ~

I woke up with my arms wrapped around her waist as if my subconscious was scared to let her go. My head was nuzzled into the corner of her neck, her hair fallen to the side so her skin was bare.

Fuck, why can't I wake up like this every morning?

I craned my neck to be able to see the clock on the nightstand over her sleeping form. It read 8:27. I relaxed my neck and burrowed my head back into her hair. She was so warm, like a mug of thick hot chocolate on a winter day. She smelled so strongly of vanilla, as though she had worked in a sweet shop her whole life. It was intoxicating, and I never wanted to leave.

Suddenly, I heard the thuds of feet on the floor. 

Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit. She said she would wake up early and sneak back into her room before her parents got up. Maybe there's still time? Fuck, I really don't want to upset her parents in the first 24 hours I've been here. 

I heard her mother's voice out in the hallway. "Addison?"

I instinctively sat up and scooted away from her body. Addie must have realized I was missing from my spot and rolled over to find me again. Luckily, she was still asleep. If she was awake, I couldn't imagine what her reaction would be. She would probably be mortified, and I could just picture the red tint to her cheeks and her eyes as they found their way to the ground.

Her mum knocked on the door quietly and opened it without waiting for a response. Make sure you lock the door next time, you sodding idiot. She stepped in and her face was immediately filled with relief, but then contorted to be concerned. 

"Is she still asleep?" she asked quietly.

I nodded, not wanting to wake my sleeping witch. As if on cue, she snuggled into my side ever so slightly, causing my cheeks to grow hot. 

"When did she come in?" she asked

I hesitated. I wasn't sure how much to share with her. On one hand, I didn't want her to distrust me. But on the other, I wasn't sure how much she would have wanted me to share with her mother. 

"I'm not sure when it was precisely, but it was last night," I said quietly. "She was upset."

"Understandably so," she said. "Did you both get enough sleep?"

"Yes, yes," I stammered. I paused, meeting the mother's eyes. Her eyes were just like Addie's, bright and hopeful, optimistic when they shouldn't be. They looked so much alike, now that I was really looking at her. Yet, she looked concerned, like there was a thought, a worry irking at the back of her conscious. No duh, you absolute tosser. Her daughter just spent the night sleeping in your room, and she barely knows you. She's probably worried she's about to become a grandmother. Fix this, Draco. "Nothing happened. We just slept. We didn't-" I said awkwardly. "We haven't."

I could see the tension release from her shoulders. "That's okay, you don't have to explain," she reassured, her voice brimming with awkwardness. 

Almost as if on cue, Addie moved again, becoming more restless as the conversation wore on. I looked up at her mother, my face filled with worry with the prospect of Addison waking to realize her mum was standing in the doorway to my room watching her sleep in the same bed as me. 

"It's okay, I'll go. I won't mention anything if you won't," she said in a whisper, as to not further disturb her daughter. 

I nodded in agreement and she slipped back out of the room, closing the door quietly. I repositioned myself back under the covers and wrapped my arms back around her waist. I hoped that my touch might lull her back into unconsciousness, praying to a God I didn't believe in that I could have a few more precious minutes with this girl, in the blissful state that was our coexistence.