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29 - Promise

short boring chapter to calm things down

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29 - Promise

Maya Sumedh 

I got back home close to eleven – the house was quiet as I entered, chucked Sam’s keys back into the drawer and kicked off my shoes. The living room was now abandoned, the cushions still all over the floor, but the AC was put off. The kitchen was empty too – I stood in its emptiness and had a drink of water, listening to the faint sounds coming from upstairs, where Luke and Sam probably were.

 “Have you guys talked about it...?”
 “No, I guess we will, tonight.”

 Puffing out a breath, which could be heard audibly in the silence of the house, I climbed up the stairs. Luke’s room door was shut but the light underneath was on, and I could hear voices.

 I cracked it open and stuck my head in, a cool blast of air hit me and Sam and Luke turned around.

 “Hey guys,” I said, slipping inside and shutting the door behind me.

 They mumbled hello’s and I went over and flopped down on the bed next to Sam, who was lounging with Blu fast asleep (as always) on his stomach. Luke was sitting at his desk, swinging around in the chair with a pensive expression on his face.

 “You can continue with what you’re talking about, you know,” I said, rolling my eyes when silence fell upon the room.

 “No, we’re done anyway,” Sam said, getting up abruptly, causing Blu to tumble down onto the mattress – he kept sleeping as if there was no disturbance. “I think I’m going to bed.”

 I frowned at his retreating figure.

 “Okay...goodnight Sammy.”

 “G’night,” he mumbled in my direction. He and Luke nodded at each other and then he left the room.

 I flopped back against the pillows on the bed, watching Blu sleep as silence seeped into the surroundings again. The keys of Luke’s laptop clicked infrequently – he wasn’t doing anything on it. After a minute or so he shut it and I felt the bed dip down as he lay down next to me, side pressed up against mine, his hair ruffling against the pillows.

 We didn’t say a word for some time.

 “I should go shower and change,” I said, attempting to move.

 He caught hold of my wrist and gently pulled me back down.

 “Don’t go.”

 I rolled onto my stomach, my chin on his chest. He looked down at me, brushing the hair away from my face. Then he gripped my elbows and pulled me up so I was on top of him.

 “I’ll shower right here,” I told him, tangling in my fingers in his hair. “Then we’ll talk, okay?”

 He nodded, letting go of me. I gave him a quick kiss and rolled off the bed.

 *

 I showered in Luke’s bathroom and used his toothbrush because I didn’t feel like getting mine from my room. When I was done I dressed in his t-shirt, which hung till mid-thigh for me, its soft fabric cocooning me in the softest embrace, much like his. I loved that feeling, of being surrounded by something that was just...him.

 He was still stretched out on the bed on top of the covers, already in his night clothes, the bedside lamp on, with Blu on his lap, tickling him between the ears.