Playing Evelyn

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

I was scared. The wind outside was howling and the storm was raging, the thunder seemed to shake the entire apartment building. Everything was dark but not because the power had gone out. No, our apartment hadn’t had electricity for a while now because mom had forgotten to pay the bill again.

I sighed and tried to huddle my already tall and lanky nine year-old frame into a tighter ball on the end of the couch. Mom was working another double and I was home alone again. Mom left me home alone a lot, not wanting to pay for a babysitter. I didn’t mind, I could take care of myself but on nights like this one, it would’ve been nice to have someone there with me.

I pulled a blanket over myself as a ray of light pierced through the clouds, its warm rays landing on my huddled body. I let some of the tension flow out of me as the light made me warm and suddenly a cozy feeling washed over me.

I moved my head on my pillow, trying to get to a less lumpy part and frowned, there was something weird about it. I opened my eyes and I wasn’t nine anymore, I was eighteen and my pillow wasn’t a pillow at all, it was an arm. My room was lit with sunlight and there was no storm outside. My head was resting on Gabriel’s arm and our legs were tangled together. His other arm was wrapped tightly around me and we were pressed close to each other, face to face.

I gulped, hoping that he wasn’t awake yet as I stared at his chest and tried to strategize a way out of this position before he woke up. I examined his arm, the upper part of it resting on my rib cage while his forearm wrapped around my back and his hand was tucked between me and my bed. Our legs were a tangled mess of jeans and limbs and I inwardly groaned realizing that mine were tucked firmly between his. My arms were tucked against my chest and pressed against Gabriel My head was resting comfortably on his arm and as I looked up, I could see a slight smirk on his lips. I darted my gaze up to his eyes to see that they were still closed, his chest rose and fell rhythmically and I breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn’t sure I was quite ready to face him yet.

If my memory was correct, I had asked him to stay there with me the night before. No, asked was too mild a word. I may have actually begged him.

I winced but I couldn’t deny that I liked having him there. I felt a small smile tug at the corners of my lips as I examined his sleeping face. He had a bit more facial hair in the morning, making it look like there was a dark shadow on his jaw and lower cheeks. His eyelids were long and lay like small fans against his skin. I hadn’t noticed before but he had a light spattering of freckles on the bridge of his nose. They were so faint that unless you were as close to him as I was, you would never see them.

His slightly too long hair was falling over one of his eyes again and I longed to push it back but I was afraid to move. I let my gaze wander over his face, my smile spreading into a goofy grin as I thought about how he was now my boyfriend.

It was sick how much I wanted to giggle and jump around my room but I couldn’t really muster up the energy to be disgusted about how excited I was. Even if I had a previously unmentioned grandfather and my mother had lied to me all my life, at least one part of me was happy.

“God, I love your smile.”

I jumped at Gabriel’s words and my eyes jolted to his. “You’re awake,” I whispered.

He grinned at me. “Yes so you don’t have to whisper.” I laughed lightly, my own smile widening at the sight of his.

His arm tightened around me and the one behind my head bent and shifted until he was rolling me so that I was on top of him. “Gabriel!” I gasped, trying to climb off of him.

“You don’t want to do that,” he said, his voice strained.

“What?”

“Wiggle around like that.”