COMMAND

Thirty

I woke up different.

Sunlight streamed into my face, waking me from my slumber. Groaning, I craned my neck and opened my eyes, suddenly covering my eyes from the blinding sun that was directly on my face. When I shifted, I fell to my sides. I didn't realize I had been leaning against the wall. When I did, I remembered that I slept on the floor last night.

The memory of seeing Rogue, talking to him, and sleeping off beside me came back all to me. I felt it all over again—the emotions that had passed through me last night were going through me now, except, I didn't feel sad or hollow. I felt peaceful. At ease. Maybe it was because I had accepted Rogue back into my life again. I had decided I would rather be happy with him than torture myself without him.

I breathed that in.

I smelled coffee.

With a yawn, I stretched my muscles and rose from the ground. My clothes were still on me, and I felt a drool at the corner of my mouth, which I quickly wiped away, then rubbed my eyes again. I led myself to the kitchen, where I found Rogue. He was standing with his back to me at the island, reading on his phone. He wore a dark red T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Emotions rushed through my body like a tide that swept me off.

He didn't turn around when I walked in, though I was sure he heard my soft footsteps and felt my presence the same way I felt the heat radiating off him in my direction. He didn't turn around. Normally, he would have done that, walk up to me and plant a kiss on my lips, but not today. Today, he seemed resigned. His shoulders were bunched up with tension. I guess last night was still on his mind. How long would it take for him to be more comfortable around me like before?

"Morning," I greeted, coming to stand in front of him. Rogue lifted his head and set his eyes on me, letting his gaze linger on me.

"Good morning," he answered, crossing over to a cabinet and pulling out a coffee mug. He handed me the cup when he filled it, then quickly looked away to get back to his phone.

I wanted to ask him why he wasn't looking at me or be comfortable around me. I wanted to ask him why I woke up on the floor without him, instead of on the bed with his arms around me. I wanted to tell him that I was here to stay because it looked like he thought I was going to leave any second now. Last night may have been different, but today was another whole different thing because it was usually when common sense started to kick in—sort of like being drunk and waking up sober. I guess that was what he thought the situation was right now.

Idiot.

"Thanks to you, I'm going to have to get a neck brace," I teased to lighten the kitchen from the charged tension. "Seriously, couldn't you have put me on the couch or bed? My neck is sore."

"I didn't think about doing that, sorry." His tone was neutral and didn't give me anything to go on. "Does it hurt a lot?"

"Your neck doesn't?"

His chest rose and fall. He looked at his phone briefly. "I didn't sleep last night," he murmured.

"Not even a wink?" I questioned, receiving a shake from him. "Rogue, you should've woken me up. I would have stayed up with you." Thinking about him staying up all night without getting any sleep made my heart twist. Who knew what else he had gone through?

His voice came out faint. "You looked peaceful."

"That's what we think about dead bodies too until they wake up as zombies," I pointed out with a grin on my lips. Rogue lifted his brow and laughed. "I finally got you to laugh." I couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear.