Better Things

Chapter 9

A/N:  Thank you all so much for your reviews!  They warm my little heart.  I'm down with a freaking cold, yet again, and I gotta say I'm sick of this winter.  Just when things were looking like spring, it snowed again.  Huge thanks to Heather for her amazing beta skills.  

Just a reminder..... slow burn.  Bear with me.  *This saying cracks me up because, you know, I don't actually have a bear with me.  I think that could be dangerous*

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Sleep didn't come easily for me that night, and when it did, my dreams were rough. In them, Mike was coming after me again, but this time, there was no stopping him. Alice shook me awake after my whimpers had woken her.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly, rubbing a hand over my shoulder as I wiped the sweat from my forehead.

"I think so. It was just a really bad dream," I told her, rolling over on my back and staring at the ceiling. "It was about my ex, Mike."

And so, I began to tell her about him and everything that had happened with him. By the time I was done, I was so mentally exhausted that I let the tears fall. Alice leaned over and gathered me to her, giving me a hug. She was quiet as she held me and eventually she pulled away.

"I know just what we need to cheer you up. Will you be okay if I step out for a second?" she asked, getting up from my bed. I nodded as I told her I was going to take a shower to help me relax.

"Okay. I'll be back in a few," she said, dropping a kiss to the top of my head.

After Alice left the room, I got up and headed to the bathroom to start the shower. Within minutes, I was soaking under the hot spray, and I could feel the tension leaving my body. Twenty minutes later, I was back in my pjs, and I had climbed into bed. Not long after that, Alice opened the door and came in carrying a plastic grocery bag.

"Here," she said, pulling out a tub of cookie dough ice cream and a spoon.

"Thanks," I said, taking both of them from her and prying the lid off the carton. Ice cream always made me feel better, and Alice knew it. We ended up staying up until three, eating our ice cream and talking.

My alarm went off at seven-fifteen, and I scowled as I slammed my hand down on the offensive thing. I didn't want to get up. I wanted to stay in bed all day, but I couldn't afford to miss any more classes this late in the semester. I groggily got up, took a quick shower, and threw on a pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt. I threw my hair into a messy ponytail and grabbed my bag. I knew I looked like shit, but I couldn't find it in myself to honestly care. At least I wasn't showing up to class in my pajamas.

My first class of the day seemed to drag on and on. It was already a long class, being ninety minutes, but today, it seemed twice as long. It didn't help that I couldn't concentrate, and I was fairly certain I missed half of what the professor talked about. I sighed with relief when the clock on the wall hit nine-thirty. One class down, one to go. I went to my next class which lasted until eleven-thirty. I was so ready for the day to be over, and I'd never been so glad for my classes to end.

I made my way over to the cafeteria and smiled when I saw the gang seated around our table. I wasn't really hungry, so I grabbed a bowl of soup and a Coke and made my way over to them.

"How you feeling?" Alice asked me quietly as I took a seat.

"Meh," I told her. "I think I'm gonna spend the rest of the afternoon reading and just relaxing."

"Okay. Rose and I are hitting up the mall. Is there anything you need?"

I thought about it for a moment, but I couldn't think of anything that I really needed, so I told her no, but thanks.