Always next to you

Chapter Thirty-One

NICOLE

A pit formed in the pit of my stomach. It wasn't from excitement but from regret. I allowed myself to take advantage of Halo's kindness towards me.

What have I done?

I pulled away in less than a second and Halo jumped away from the bed. He rubbed his palms against his thighs and touched his lips in disbelief.

This wasn't supposed to happen. Halo was only pretending to be my boyfriend. There was no way we liked each other. I hugged myself in denial. My body knew I did that out of curiosity.

It probably wasn't the same for Halo. If that was the case, why did he look so guilty? Why did I allow Halo to kiss me? What did the kiss mean? Did Halo like me more than just a friend?

"I'm so sorry," Halo said before running out of my room.

As he left, I slowly felt dizzy. My body felt icy, and I craved a particular warmth. I felt a fresh wave of guilt because it wasn't Halo's warmth I wanted.

But I let him kiss me.

Maybe I should run after him and apologise, but my body was too heavy. The pills Jessi made me take after eating were taking effect. My body fought the medicine. I wanted to do more than sleep.

Halo deserved an apology. He was probably wondering why I let him kiss me. I had all the time in the world to avoid that kiss. The look on his face before he ran out of the room told me how surprised he was. I blamed myself so much that I'd rather not sleep.

There was also a part of me that was afraid of falling asleep. The dreams I've had lately keep coming back. However, I was losing the fight. The pills were too effective.

My body relaxed on the bed, and I slowly drifted away.

When I opened my eyes, I caught my raging breathing. My body was covered in sweat. Did I have a fever? I tried moving my body, and I felt a figure next to me. I pushed my body up, and I saw that Aiden was sitting on the floor next to my bed, his head on the bed.

What was the time and how long was I asleep?

On the bedside stool was a bowl of water and a wet towel. I subconsciously touched my forehead. Did Aiden take care of my fever all night, or was he next to me because that was the only way he could sleep?

From the light snore, I realised everyone was sleeping on the floor of my bedroom. My eyes grew moist from the affection. They all stayed with me. I probably would have stayed up all night if not for the pills. I spotted Mia and Jessi on the right side of my bed, and Jonas and Oliver on the left.

Seeing this made me happy. I never got extra furniture and let the space stay empty. I never knew I would have people like them in my life. This was possible because of Aiden.

I avoided looking at him, but now that he was asleep, I could look at him to my heart's content. While I stared, the weight on my chest got heavier. I still remember my kiss with Halo, but looking at Aiden made me regret it even more.

Speaking of Halo, where was he? Did he leave already?

I climbed out of the bed to make sure. If he left after what happened, I would regret it forever. It was barely a week after I reunited with him and I used him for so many things. I lied that he was my boyfriend and kissed him when I had feelings for someone else.

My subconscious showed me that I was like that with Aiden too. I only got involved with him because I was lonely and I wanted to forget my Ex. I got what I wanted, but I fell for him. Now I can never have him because he was getting married to someone else.