Controlled

Chapter 8 - Sophie

He grabbed the DVD from the shelf below the TV and put it in the DVD player. I grabbed the remote as he sat back down on the couch. I skipped through all of the previews for movies that have already come out and hit play. The sun was going down and it was getting darker by the minute. I snuggled next to Justin, pulling the throw blanket over my chest. He draped his arm around me and rested his cheek on my head.

Suddenly, I remembered the array of gifts scattered along my bed. "Thank you," I whispered sleepily, closing my eyes.

"You're welcome," he said quietly, kissing my temple. The last thing I remember seeing is Kevin Spacey holding Brad Pitt at gunpoint before I closed my eyes and sleep swept over me.

~

When I woke up, I was on top of Justin. He was snoring quietly, and his hair was all messy. It was Sunday morning, and the sun was bright as it flooded through the windows. I blinked, then sat up and yawned. Justin stirred as I pulled myself off of him.

"Wha-," Justin yawned.

"Sorry, I whispered, glancing down at him.

He sat up, looking around with a sleepy look in his eyes. "What time is it?"

I looked over to the clock on the wall. "A little after nine," I answered. "I'm sorry I fell asleep on you."

He leaned over and kissed the top of my head. "Don't ever apologize for that."

I blushed and stood up. "How about breakfast?" I asked, walking to the kitchen. I opened the refrigerator and took out the carton of eggs and a gallon of milk.

"Sure," he answered, appearing at the breakfast bar on the other side of the kitchen. "Is someone blushing?"

"Shut up," I said quickly, trying to hide a smile. "I have eggs and bacon. I might have some pancake mix, too."

He moved around the breakfast bar and into the kitchen. "Sounds great. Let me help."

We moved around the kitchen together, him mixing the pancakes and me cooking the bacon and eggs. It was nice to actually cook with him again. The last time we cooked in my kitchen together was for a bake sale in the seventh grade. Once we were finished cooking, we sat at the breakfast bar and ate our food. It was quiet, so I finally spoke up.

"What do you have planned for today?" I asked. I took a sip of my orange juice and wiped my mouth with a napkin.

"Absolutely nothing," he sighed, shoving some eggs into his mouth. "Zoey wants to throw a party."

I rolled my eyes. "Her? Throw a party? What a surprise."

Zoey was the life-of-the-party kind of girl. She was so outgoing and was a star soccer player in school. She was always getting invited to parties- high school and college. She wasn't a drinker, she just went for the socialization and dancing. I never went to parties. We were complete opposites when it came to that. I was a movie and over-sized t-shirt kind of girl, and she was a party dress and high heels girl. I can clarify that opposites do attract.

Justin laughed. "Yeah." He ate the last of his pancakes and glanced over at me. "We should have one here."

I almost choked on my eggs. "Excuse me?" It took me a moment to register what he said. "Why here?"

"Well, your house is bigger than hers," he began. "Plus, your mom is away on that business trip. I'm sure Zoey would love to have it here."

"No one will come to my house. I'm a party-killer because I wouldn't allow alcohol. You know me, Justin," I pointed out. Alcoholism ran in my family- it was how my dad died. He drank himself to death shortly after my mom left him when he wouldn't sober up. I was only three-years-old when it happened, so I didn't know him well, and my mom would never talk about him. All I knew was that he was an alcoholic, which was the main reason I never liked alcohol.