Without Her ✓

As long As I'm Here

I nodded and went the way he showed me. I entered his bedroom and looked around a bit. It was really simple too, but his bed was very big and his sheets were silky and blue. His bed looked really comfy and it was already made.

I put the clothes he had on the bed for me. It was a big t-shirt and boxers. The clothes were big enough to cover what needed to be cover and then some more.

I went back to the kitchen to see him putting food on a plate.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I made dinner" He said before turning around. His eyes went a bit wide when he saw me and scanned me up and down in just a second. He cleared his throat.

"You didn't have to" I said.

The gesture is so sweet of him.

"You have to eat. I'm not as good at cooking as I am at baking, but I made something safe and good enough for you" He said with a nervous smile.

I sat down at the table with him and I was actually surprised that his cooking was so good.

"Do you like it?" He asked.

"You're definitely good at cooking too" I said.

"Not really, it's one of the few things I know how to cook" He said chuckling, "I had to learn how to cook only to survive. I don't like fast food that much and I had to teach myself how to cook"

"We can cook together too sometime" I said and he smiled.

"Do you know how to cook?" He asked.

"I know the basics, I'm still learning new stuff"

"We can try to learn more stuff together" He said excitedly smiling, but then added, "If you want"

It's crazy that he has to ask me that. Isn't it obvious I like spending time with him?

"Of course I do"

After we finished eating he washed the dishes. I insisted on helping him, but he wouldn't let me and told me to go to the living room and wait for him.

I sat on the couch. The TV was on and I was staring at it, but I wasn't paying attention to what was on. I was thinking about Leo and how oddly comfortable I felt around him. He'd been nothing but nice to me. He was a pain in the ass at first but as we got closer he showed his good side.

My thoughts were interrupted when he walked up beside me, "Hi" He said, "You must be tired, you can sleep in my bed, I'll take the couch"

"No, it's your home, I'll take the couch"

"You're the only guest I've ever had. I'm not letting you sleep on this uncomfortable couch"

His only guest. Does he not bring girls here? Or friends?

"Well I don't want to go to sleep yet" I said firmly.

"What do you want to do?" He asked  raising an eyebrow.

"Watch TV" I said and got comfortable on the couch.

"Fine" He said rolling his eyes and sat next to me, "What are we watching?" He asked.

"A horror movie" I said and kept my eyes on the TV.

__________

I didn't know when I'd fallen asleep, but when I woke up my head was on Leo's lap again and when I looked up, I realized he was sleeping with his head leaning back on the couch, his lips parted. One of his hands was on my head and the other was on my arm.

I sat up and realized it was was still dark outside.

Maybe I should wake him up. He must be really uncomfortable.

"Leo" I said softly and nudged him, "Leo" I repeated a little louder, but he didn't move an inch.

Is he even alive?

"Leo!" I said loudly and he jerked awake.

"What?" He asked breathing hard and looking around until his eyes fell on me and he breathed out a sigh of relief, "You scared me"

"I wanted to wake you up because the position you were in looked uncomfortable but you wouldn't wake up" I said.

He rubbed the back of his neck which was probably sore, "Yeah thank you for that. You should go sleep now, it's late" He said.

"You're coming with me then" I said and he raised an eyebrow, "We've shared a bed before and yours is much bigger than mine. It's fine" I said.

"I'm too sleepy to disagree right now" He said shaking his head as he stood up.

We both got on his bed and he stayed far away from me again. Despite sharing a bed with a man I barely knew, I was really comfortable.

"Goodnight, Leo" I said.

"Goodnight, Tess" He mumbled sleepily.

_________

When I woke up the next morning it took me a minute to remember how I ended up here and where exactly I was.

"Good morning" Leo said with a deep husky voice. it sounded like he'd just woken up and he hadn't moved at all from his side. I was thankful for that.

Even though I wouldn't mind cuddling with Leo.

"Good morning" I said and then remembered, "I have to go to school!" I said and stood up quickly.

"Hey calm down" He said holding my wrist, "Please don't hate me for this, but you missed school. I mean you could go now but you would be really late" He said nervously.

I sighed, "I didn't have my bag or my things anyway"

I felt a little bad because the girls would probably be worried about me. I didn't skip school often and everytime I did I texted them to let them know.

He let out a small sigh of relief.

"Do you have an extra toothbrush?" I asked.

He nodded and stood up, "Come"

He led us to the bathroom where he took out a new toothbrush from a drawer and gave it to me.

He waited outside while I freshened up and then went in and did the same while I waited for him.

"What do you want for breakfast?" He asked.

"Surprise me" I said.

I knew whatever he decided to do would be delicious.

Suddenly I got a thought. I could think clearly now that I was calm. Last night I was all over the place.

"Leo, why were you there last night?" I asked.

He paused for a second then went back to making breakfast, "Just for a walk with a friend" He said.

"Isn't it dangerous? I mean we both know what happened there" I said.

He let out a low chuckle, "Nothing I can't handle"

He was scaring me. I didn't know if I should be worried about him or worried about myself. Normally I would only be worried about myself, but I had gotten close to him whether I liked it or not.

I walked up to him and stood behind him, "Are you dangerous too, Leo?" I asked.

He paused again, then turned to look at me. He looked oddly calm, but the corners of his lips were turned up into a smirk and his eyes were slightly squinted as he stared at me intensely, "You don't have to worry about that. Trust me" He said before going back to making breakfast.

Despite me being nosy and asking him questions, he didn't ask me anything, even though I'd mentions the "bad guys" to him last night and he could ask so many questions if he wanted. I appreciated the fact that he didn't. I wasn't exactly ready to answer them yet. I didn't really have the answers myself.

But that only made it worse. I knew he was bad news from the start, but now I was becoming extremely aware of it.

Am I reckless and dumb for spending time with him?