Everything I Didn't Say

t w e n t y - o n e

TWENTY-ONE

"ISLA"LINK REPEATED, taking a small step inside Jared's bedroom. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing" I automatically answered even though it was such a blatant lie, I wanted to face-palm myself.

His eyes travelled behind me to where Jared was snuffling into his pillow as he rolled over, still fast asleep. "What's going on?" he demanded.

"Um ... how long have you been standing there?" I mumbled, rubbing my arms anxiously.

"Not long" he responded. "I got bored waiting for you and when I went to find you in the kitchen, you weren't there. I've been looking for you for ages and then took a wild guess that you might be up here and ... you are."

"Jared was drunk. I had to take care of him" I said quickly.

"Right, of course you did" he replied in a way that coincided with rolling your eyes.

Hurriedly, I suggested "maybe we should go back to mine now? I'm sick of the noise."

"Okay" he shrugged, as if it didn't bother him either way.

I approached him cautiously, unsure of why he was reacting like this - unless he'd been there longer than he was letting on. "Shall we go?" I wondered.

"Okay" he said again, with another infuriating shrug.

Refusing to let him see how much he was making me mad, I gave him a small smile before leading the way back downstairs and through the party. He caught up with ease and fell into step next to me. Pretty soon, he'd taken over from me and began jostling through the crowd, making way for the both of us.

When we'd gotten out into the front yard, I inhaled a huge lungful of oxygen, feeling as though I hadn't breathed properly since I'd stepped inside that house. I felt free, lighter as I walked away and back towards my front door.

As I let us both in, Link was still suspiciously silent. I kicked off my shoes and turned around to face him. He was stood not far away, arms folded and looking off into the kitchen.

"Do you um ... want to watch another movie?" I suggested awkwardly.

"No. I'm not really in the mood anymore. Maybe I should just go-"

"No" I interjected hurriedly. I didn't want him to leave, not like this, when I didn't know what he knew or saw. "Please can you stay for a while?" I asked. "I ... I don't like being alone."

His eyes met mine and he held my gaze for a couple of moments. I really thought he was going to still leave but he finally let out a sigh and said "okay."

"Thank you" I breathed in relief.

"I'm gonna go get a drink, alright? Would you like one?"

"No. I'm just gonna go get changed, I'm sick of this outfit" I said and I was. I wanted to feel the familiarity of my cotton sweatpants and my stupid slogan T-shirts on my skin again.

"I like it" he spoke up eventually.

I hummed thoughtfully but still trekked upstairs to get changed, whether he liked it or not. When I was safely in my bedroom, I leaned against the wall and took a moment to regain my composure.

My eyes flickered sideways to glance out of my window at the party next door. Jared's curtains were drawn - but if he was still asleep in there or had gone back down to re-join the crowd, I didn't know.

I quickly slipped into something much more comfortable and wandered over to my nightstand. I accidentally knocked over my picture frame when I reached for my phone and cursed, stooping to pick it up off the floor. When I straightened back up, Link was approaching my room cautiously, a can of coke open in his hand.