𝐔𝐍𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃

86 | in the clear

"Why am I still here Nox?" He sighs.

"What do you mean?"

Yoongi gets off the chair and leans against the table, crossing his arms. "It's nine."

"Do you have a curfew?"

"Most parents don't allow their kids to have people at their homes when they're not present." He states. "And I bet that your father could take one look at me and he'd know I'm not the best influence on his daughter."

I spoon out some dough and place it on the tray. "I think his observations would be proved incorrect once he found out that my grades are improving because of you." I put the spoon down a little harsher than I intended and look over at him. "What's this about?"

"I should be asking you the same."

"Yoongi,"

"What is going on here Nox?" He asks softly. "Shit, I don't want to sound weird or like a creep or whatever but what are we doing?"

A croaked laugh leaves my lips. "We're making cookies. Well, I'm making cookies and you're interrogating me. Is it bad that I want some company in this empty house?"

"Okay, so you want company so that you can kick me out when your dad comes back?" He pushes.

I clench my fists. "Okay, first of all if you want to say something to me Yoongi just say it and quit bitting around the bush and second, I wouldn't kick you out if my dad returned. In fact, I'd love it if you stayed for Christmas Eve."

I grab the spoon from the table and start scooping out more from the cookie mix. "It's not like you've got anywhere else to go."

His gaze drops down on the ground when I finish the last sentence and that's when I realize how wrong it sounded.

"Shit, that's not what I meant." I say softly. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine." He chuckles. "I know you didn't mean it."

When I shape the last bits of the dough into a circular lump on the tray, I proceed by gripping both sides of it and then carefully inserting it inside the pre-heated oven. I lean against the counter, shoving my hands in my pockets as I turn to Yoongi.

"The truth is, I'm scared to be alone in this house." I finally confess. "Ever since that night Elijah came here; it has never been the same since. It feels like he'll come banging on my door any minute and it terrifies me. I'm sorry I kept you here for so many hours. You've been here since like what? Six? Seven?"

"Six thirty."

"Yeah..." I fiddle with the sleeve on my left arm and sigh tiredly. "I've been avoiding him for several weeks now and it's only a matter of time before we encounter. I'm trying to prolong that for as long as I can."

"If you want, I can talk to him." He offers.

"And say what Yoongi? What are you going to say to him?"

"When I said 'talk' I meant 'talk'." The way he emphasizes on the second 'talk' sends shivers down my spine. "He won't dare touch you ever again."

Yoongi's eyes fall on my covered wrist, and he moves closer to me, his hand reaching out for mine, only to raise the sleeve a little.

"He was drunk." I say simply. "He didn't like it when you dropped me off and I think he started having these stupid suspicions about us when he saw you giving me that bracelet at the basketball game. He said I was distant, that all I cared about was our tutoring sessions, only to insinuate that I was fucking around with you behind his back."