Stay

40

NIALL

Waking up with her in my arms was something I’d never thought would be possible. Her messy blonde hair tickled under my chin as her dainty hands grasped onto my arm. I could feel the hot spurts of her breath touch my chest as she breathed in and out… still caught up in her deep slumber.

Evie Jones was a dime a piece, and I couldn’t believe she was mine.

There were so many times when I found myself thinking about her… even when we were just friends. She had this spunk about her that was infectious. Evie kept me on my toes. Her consistent banter and quick wit was just as entertaining as it was endearing. I don’t know if I’ve ever met someone that’s as beautiful as she is.

But even in the midst of her contagious laughter and beauty, I couldn’t help but worry about her. I don’t know if it’s my own personal anxiety that’s kept me up at night wondering if the girl I cared so deeply for was all right. There was this gut feeling that kept gnawing away at my gut, telling me that something wasn’t exactly right. The spark that was always lit up behind her bright blue eyes had begun to dim. She wasn’t as quick with her comebacks. She always seemed tired… rushing to the bathroom whenever she had the chance. I wasn’t one to jump to conclusions, but I couldn’t help but wonder if the wretched dry heaving that I could hear whenever she’d be behind the closed door of my bathroom was because she did eat a bad piece of chicken, or it was actually self-inflicted.

I didn’t want to jump to that conclusion. I don’t know if I could handle it. I didn’t want to see her stoop down to that level. Evie was beautiful – not only on the outside, but on the inside as well. She had this air of confidence that went along with her that was so hard to find in other girls. She wasn’t like other girls. I think that’s why I was so drawn to her from the start. But to think that she might not feel the same way… that she’d need to force herself to become something that she wasn’t to actually feel some form of worth, broke me more than I thought was imaginable.

Evie began to stir against my chest. Her laboured breath began to pick up. She buried her head against my chest before a small yawn escaped her pink lips.

I tightened my grip around her waist, pulling her closer to my body… not wanting the heat that was radiating off of her small frame to leave just yet.

“Mornin’,” she mumbled quietly, stretching her arms out to her side. “What time is it?”

I reached out to my bedside table and pulled my phone out of its charging dock.  “It’s only eight,” I told her and dropped the phone back on the table.

“Ew – it’s too early,” she said and wrapped her arm tighter around my waist. “Wake me up when it’s at least noon.”

Chuckling, I pulled the fallen duvet up and wrapped it tighter around our bodies. My hand fell to the small of her back, tucking itself under the fabric of her shirt… my shirt. God she looked so sexy in my clothes… as cliché and obnoxious as that may sound. I never thought it was possible for someone to look so good in a simple t-shirt.  But somehow she made it look like fucking couture.

We fell back into a deep slumber, her body wrapped around mine. My hand tucked under her shirt and her fingers intertwined with my hair.

When we woke up a few hours later, the bed beside me was cold. I felt groggy. The bedroom was cold – as it usually was. I really needed to get that fucking heater fixed. I thought I did but for some damn reason it kept on breaking.

I looked around the bedroom to see if Evie was around. Her clothes were still in a pile on the floor near the closet, but she was nowhere to be found.