Spotlight |h.s|

Thirty Four

Harry Styles

I've been hiding away upstairs with this damn cat for almost two hours. He's just sleeping by my feet as I sit on this bed. I don't know why he's following me around like this, but it's weird.

After a long while of obnoxious singing and laughter coming from downstairs, the newfound silence throughout the house grants me permission to get some water like I've wanted to since I walked in. I stand from the bed and avoid moving the sleeping cat, my sock-covered feet hitting the floor.

I walk out of the room and head down the stairs, going straight to the kitchen quickly in case they're still awake. I find a water bottle in her fridge and open it up eagerly, chugging it until it's empty due to the fact that I've been thirsty for hours now. I toss the empty plastic bottle in the trash once I'm done, my body feeling a bit more refreshed.

I peek into the living room from my spot by the counter. I see Jade asleep on the couch, but no Aubrey in sight with her or in the chairs next to the large piece of furniture.

My eyes fall to the floor in front of the couch, and there she is with her cheek smushed to the hardwood floor. The look of her sleeping face is amusing to me, her hair hanging in her face as her one cheek is puffed due to her pressing it to the floor.

I don't know what made me come here instead of getting what I want most. Maybe it was her text. She was congratulating me for doing well despite being upset with me, and there I was on my way to fuck it all up again.

I was on my way to Kyle's one minute, then here the next. I don't even know what my plan was once I got to Kyle's. He definitely hates my guts after what I did to him. I wish I could be sure of the fact that the action made him scared of me, but I'm not stupid. He deals with that kind of thing on a regular basis. Guns, people unwilling to pay, stealing, all of it.

He wasn't expecting it from someone like me, so the element of surprise really worked in my favor. If I wouldn't have changed lanes on the highway, I'd probably be in some kind of danger. He'd be more prepared for me this time, and stealing from him wouldn't have been so easy.

Somehow, though, all it took was a simple text from Aubrey to stop me. Even though I'm a complete mess at the moment. I'm sweating like a pig, trembling like one of those shaky chihuahuas the bitchy characters in high school movies always seem to have, and my veins feel like sandpaper. I don't know exactly how a two word text changed the course of my night so drastically, but here I am.

Maybe I don't like the idea of disappointing her more than I already have. Maybe I don't want her to feel the need to take care of me anymore. She doesn't have to, but she does and I let her. She knows how hard this is for me. She's just trying to help. I hate that she even knows about any of this in the first place.

I'm starting to let her in more than I ever intended to.

I watch as she stirs on the floor, moving to her back with her eyes still closed. Her movement quiets my mind as I observe her. She groans at the fact that she's still uncomfortable in her place, then attempts to sit up. When she does that, she hits her head on the bottom part of the coffee table.

"Fuck!" She speaks a little too loudly since someone is sleeping a few feet away from her.

She then successfully sits up with her eyes now open, shoving her hair out of her face and looking around the room sleepily. She catches my gaze, then grabs the edge of the table to push herself to a stand.

Her legs are wobbling like she's a baby deer taking its first steps, laughing a bit at her lack of stability once she's fully standing up. I stay still and watch her, wanting to see if she can pull it off with her current drunk state.