Getting Chased

Chapter 18

There's only three more days until Thanksgiving.

This is the thought I get to wake up to, along with Sam lying next to me, breathing shallowly, indicating that he's about to wake up. I tuck my hands beneath my pillow and close my eyes to try and fall back to sleep, because I love it when Sam kisses me awake.

We've spent most days at each other's home, and when it's nighttime, I have never wanted him to leave. The blanket pulls off of my legs as Sam rolls over, beginning to wake up. My bed dips, then rises when Sam stands from the mattress. I frown, eyes still closed. He didn't kiss me.

He probably just has to go to the bathroom.

I start to open my eyes, but I feel Sam approach my bedside. I shut them immediately, relaxing my features. Sam kneels down, rubbing his thumb along my cheekbone. He brings his head down to mine, brushing his closed lips along my jaw and up to my temple.

"Good morning, beautiful. It's time to wake up," he whispers, running his hands through my hair that escaped my ponytail.

A lazy smile works its way across my face. I open my eyes slowly, so he thinks I actually just woke up and hadn't been up for ten minutes already. Sam smiles, touching my hand and stroking a line on the back of my palm.

Then, he completely ruins my blissful moment.

"I would love to stay here, but I have to pee. I will see you momentarily." He walks down to my bathroom in his sweatpants from the weekend, shirtless.

I stretch, yawning, then grab my phone to see if Miriam emailed me. Sam walks out of the bathroom to the living room where his phone is at, since it's the only place in my house that has an outlet in the wall, besides the bathroom. I hear him unplug it and sigh, just like he always does when he checks his messages. He always has more work to do.

I feel bad for how much he works; ten hours a day is a lot, plus the frequent overtime. I have come to love Thursdays, though, because those are the days he has scheduled board meetings, so he always wears a tie.

I had never known it before, but apparently I'm a sucker for a guy in a tie. Or, more specifically, Sam in a tie.

It's hard to balance this relationship we have while still maintaining some self restraint. I haven't been drinking half as much as usual, because Sam is always around. It's not that I'm scared of the bad side of myself -although I am-, it's that I just don't want him to know that part of me even exists. I don't feel like it exists with him. I feel like Ava 2.0: sans alcohol and plus Sam.

A faint pang of worry fills my chest when I think that he's got to know at some point.

I clasp my hands beneath my head, staring at the ceiling and going through all possible reactions. He could leave me. That thought hurts all on its own. He could help me, which I wouldn't want to put him through.

I sigh, forcing the thoughts out of my mind and shutting my eyelids again, since I don't have to be at work for another two hours. A loud slamming noise jolts me up. I exit my cocoon of blankets, staring out into the hallway.

"Ava?"

I hear Sam calling my name, but something in his voice makes me walk a little slower. I wonder what he broke.

I peek my head out of the hallway into the livingroom, but Sam isn't in his normal spot, sprawled out on my so-called "uncomfortable" couch. I step out, observing the area. I turn around, glancing over the half wall.

My heart stops. My stomach clenches in panic and I feel like puking. My hands shoot up to cover my mouth on their own accord. Tears instantly start to burn my eyes, blurring my vision.