In the Eyes of the Wolf

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

-Farley-

I had dreamt of Pax that night. I was unsure if it was because he was only a few feet away, or my mind was trying to tell me something. I dreamt that we were still in the forest, there was a bunny in Pax's lap, and I had my camera with me. There was a single scene in my mind as I woke up the next morning to some soft rustling. At first, I had thought it was the grass of the forest, but as sense came back to me, I realised that it was Pax.

"Good morning," I said, sitting up in my bed. "Did you sleep well?"

He had been up a while; his eyes were bright, and he didn't jump at my movements at all. "Good morning," he replied. His voice also told me that he had been up for quite a while. He turned in Rowan's bed and placed his feet on the floor. He didn't move from that position for a few minutes.

I started to chuckle lightly. "I know how you feel," I said. "That's the feeling you get when you have a sleepover at a friend's house. You don't want to get up and make a noise so you just stay as quiet as you can."

Pax ran a hand through his hair and huffed a bit. "You read me so well." He reached for the end of his bed, where his clothes were neatly folded. Even though they were incredibly creased, I got the feeling he didn't fold his clothes very often. "Can I use the bathroom?"

I snorted. "Nah, we're going to make you suffer now we have you here."

His hand which was holding his clothes dropped and he looked in my general direction with an irritated expression.

"Of course, you can use the bathroom."

He cracked a smile and exited my room, closing the door behind him softly. I waited until I could hear running water before I fell backwards onto my bed and put a cushion over my face. I felt like a teenage girl whose crush had winked at her. Pax was attractive, there was something about him which drew me in, but I didn't want to admit that he gave me butterflies. We hadn't known each other long, so it was probably me just thinking he was cute.

I flung the pillow back onto the bed and stared at the cracks in the ceiling. Not all of them were there when I had arrived at the house. The sound of water stopped and the clicking of doors. I sat up and grabbed my own clothes, quickly slipping my pants on before Pax came back.

I didn't know what the correct protocol was. I didn't even know if we would be considered friends at this point. I hoped that we did.

Pax poked his head through the door, looking like a puppy who thought he needed permission.

"You're not going to see anything there sweetie," I teased. "Come on, it'll seem strange if you're seen like that."

"I'm not gonna see anything anyway," Pax pointed out. He had turned bright pink. "Besides, what would I hope to see?"

I opened my mouth to reply but then closed it. I clapped my hands once. "Let's not talk about that then."

Pax nodded and sat back on Rowan's bed. "You called me sweetie." He rubbed the back of his head.

All the blood drained from my face and ringing filled my ears. I did. That was a mistake, that was a big mistake. It felt natural to me, but that wasn't right. I should've asked if Pax was comfortable with it. Hell, I don't think I've called anyone sweetie in my whole life, save for maybe a younger cousin I was trying to make like me.

"Your silence is worrying," Pax interrupted my internal dialogue. "You okay there?"

I cleared my throat. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that." My nails were digging into the palms of my hands. My voice sounded anything but fine as it cracked halfway through my sentence. "Are you hungry? Let's go downstairs."