The Boyfriend Tag

Question 18 - Part 2

I awoke feeling grotty, and gross, my throat still hoarse from the ordeals of the night before. It was just after sunrise then, and since I'd fallen asleep very early the night before, I felt replenished. Beside me, my fake beau, Brayden, slept cosily, snoring very lowly with every intake. I watched him for a few moments as he slept, and the sense of utter guilt over swept me once again, as I completely ignored him the night before when I ran to bed. He was such a wonderful human, who'd helped me out at my lowest points, and he deserved someone far better than me, a real girlfriend. Everyday, this facade of a fake girlfriend began to feel more and more uncomfortable.

I decided to get out of bed, seeing as I couldn't fall back to sleep, and carefully stepped out of the room, yawning broadly, stretching out my stiff limbs. No one else seemed to be up when I walked into the kitchen and poured myself some cereal. I took a seat on one of the couches and turned the television on to a low volume, flicking through the channels to find something good to watch.

"You're up early." I slightly yelped and spilt a bit of cereal on my lap at the sound of Willa's voice entering the room also.

"So are you." I mumbled, hastily wiping the stains off of my pyjamas. She shrugged and slumped into the seat beside me, throwing an arm around my shoulder. I frowned and looked at her as she leant her head against my shoulder.

"Brayden and you make a convincing couple." she suddenly commented, causing me to freeze up. I put my cereal onto the table.

"What do you mean?" I responded, suddenly too aware of my body language. I tried to sit in a manner that conveyed a 'chill' sort of mood, but the stiffness in my posture held me back. She shrugged and then smirked at me.

"You know, you're his 'fake' girlfriend, but I almost believe it."  she said again, but there was an obvious sense of mockery in the way she said it.

"I'm just a good actress." I rebutted, shrugging her hands off of my shoulders and moving to take another gulp of cereal. My body heat was rising  amidst the conversation, and the redness in my face would surely lead to more questions on her part. In my peripheral vision, I could surely tell her eyes were watching me closely.

"Riiight, acting." she replied, and I could almost hear her eyes rolling. I was too afraid to speak, because the truth was, I had the most platonic feelings towards Brayden. It was someone else that had been worrying me...

"So what do you think of my brother? He's a nerd, but he's a cool dude, right? I'm just so happy Warnie could be here to be honest, it's been so long since I've seen him. I was actually surprised to see his new hair cut, it really suits him, don't you think?" Willa beamed as she spoke of her brother and it warmed my heart. I gave her a pleasant smile and nodded.

"Warner seems nice." I said shortly, not really wanting to delve more into my opinions of him, knowing that would not end well. I'd become too acquainted to him in a short amount of time, and realised that he knew too much about him. He was Willa's brother, and out of respect I'd decided I needed to distance myself from the boy. It was for the best, for everyone. That way no one would get hurt, and I could return to my messed up home life and go back to my usual life.

"Yeah," she said, but then looked at me as though she contemplated saying something, but then shook her head.

"What?" I pushed her. She sighed.

"Remember when you told me about Flynn?" she mumbled lowly, and my throat suddenly felt drier, my heart skipped a beat. Stiffly, I nodded. "It hurts me to think of losing Warner, and your story just made me cherish my brother even more. I'm always here for you, Aurora, because the loss of a sibling isn't a pain that I can imagine. So I just want you to know that I think of you as part of my family. Maybe even a sister from another mister." She said gently, from a place of pureness. My eyes watered slightly, and all I could do was give her a tight hug. She held me tightly.