Protecting Jennifer [COMPLETED]

Chapter 13

The next morning I found myself curled up in the space which Lance had been sat in before I'd fallen asleep. Now that I'd slept and thankfully had a good night's sleep, last night didn't seem as scary anymore. Having Lance with me must have definitely helped because I knew I would have had a nightmare if he hadn't been there.

Twisting in the bed,  looked up towards my mirror to see my face smeared with make up and my hair bundled on top of my head in what could only be described as a bird's nest. I groaned inwardly as I sat myself up, poking at my face. I must have looked a state last night, especially when I'd just stopped crying. The boys hadn't mentioned it but I must have had streaks right down my face where my tears had made their journey down my skin.

I rubbed my head groggily and looked around the room. It was light so I knew I must have slept in. My fingers moved over to the table but they paused as something crackled against my hand. Picking it up, I realised that Lance had left me a note across my phone.

I locked the door behind me and pushed the key back through the door. Hope you slept okay. L

I climbed out of bed to investigate and, sure enough, my key had been moved from the table to the floor just underneath the door handle. I smiled at his gesture; he must have known that sleeping with the door unlocked freaked me out, even without the threat of Jack.

Not wanting to look like a zombie for much longer, I unlocked the door and glanced out into the corridor. Instead of feeling scared like I thought I would when I stepped into the corridor, all I could picture was Lance carrying me to bed. My mouth automatically curled upwards at the thought. He'd helped me even without realising it, turning a nightmare into a good memory without even trying. He had to have a gift for making people feel better about themselves in tricky situations. 

I had to do something in return for him at some point.

Not wanting to dawdle for too long, I padded down the corridor once I grabbed my stuff, hesitating outside Lance's door. Just passing his door made me think about last night and what a great favour he had done for me. How long had he stayed with me last night? Did he know how much he was helping me? He probably had no idea about the impact he was making on my life and that's what made it even more special. I was so surprised at the progress I was making that I almost walked into the bathroom door as I thought about it.

Despite knowing that Lance could probably hear me singing from his room, I still hummed to the songs as I washed my hair, enjoying the feeling of the water relaxing my body. I was so wound up after last night that my neck was aching and my back had twisted uncomfortably.

Once done, I wrapped my towel around myself and looked around for my clothes. Unfortunately I'd brought in a top thinking it was a dress and now I had no bottoms. It was something I typically did whenever I experienced a stressful situation and this time was no different. Not wanting to stress myself out too much at the thought of potentially walking down the hall in nothing but a shirt, I put all the clean clothes I had on and wrapped the towel around my hips before I changed my mind, hoping that I'd be able to dash to my room without someone catching me.

Luck wasn't on my side this weekend.

As I opened the door of the bathroom, Lance was just coming from the living room with his hair all stuck up. We both froze as we looked at each other and I forced myself to give him a small guilty smile as he pulled out his headphones and stuck them in his joggers. He must have just come back from a late run because his arms were shining with perspiration and his breathing was laboured to the extent where his stomach pressed against his damp t-shirt.

"Hey, did you sleep alright?" He asked as he glanced down at my attire, pulling me out of my accidental staring moment.

I blushed at having being caught out and gripped the towel around my waist, ignoring his cheeky grin when he spotted me doing it. "Yes."