The Cliche Gone Wrong

Chapter Thirty-four

A shower has never felt so good in my entire goddamn life, but I could do without all of those intrusive thoughts which come along with it. I rub the towel roughly over my dripping hair before I wrap the towel around my waist and walk from the attached bathroom into my room. But I'm not expecting to see someone sitting on my bed.

"Ahhh!" I screech, almost tripping over my own feet as I dance back a couple steps.

Killer giggles as she quirks an eyebrow at me, while petting the squirming ball of energy on her lap.

"Aw did I scare you, Shills?" Her teeth sparkle despite the dim lighting in my room.

I want to smile back at her but I can't force the muscles in my face to twitch. She's here! She's in my room. She's in my house!

Holy shit she's in my house.

"You can't be here," I rush out, my eyes darting nervously to the door and then back to her.

Why couldn't she have shown up any other day? Why did it have to be the day my parents come back into town? Why couldn't they have come back tomorrow, or better yet, never? I can't let them see her.

"Nattie let me in," she shrugs. "Told me to come right up."

"No, you don't understand." I walk over to Killer quickly. "My parents just got back; you have to go."

"I'm here for a reason, Shills," she bites, a hint of anger in her tone. "But I'd think you'd be happy that I'm here regardless."

I try to suppress my anxiety, drawing a smile onto my face as I take a second to just look at her. Her hair is wild around her face random curls pointing every which way, held back from her face only by a solid black headband. Her face looks deliberately plain, absent of the makeup she sometimes wears to school. Yet there is still a natural flawlessness there, the spare lighting in the room finding its way to her as it highlights her bronze cheeks. A warm feeling spreads from somewhere in my chest as my smile spreads even wider.

She's really here.

"If I had known getting you a dog would have made you talk to me again I would have done that last Wednesday."

"I bet you would have." She rolls her eyes as she kisses the puppy, giggling as the dog starts lapping at her face. "What on Earth made you think to get me a dog? Why didn't you just get me flowers like normal people do?"

"Because you deserve more than normal," I respond immediately.

She starts at that, her eyebrows shooting up as she stares at me with something there in her eyes. How I've missed those eyes.

What the fuck? Where the hell did that come from?

I laugh awkwardly as the silence stretches out between us. But as I shift from foot to foot I feel a breeze run between my legs. I look down, expecting maybe my fly to be open, but instead I see a broad expanse of tanned and glistening skin.

"Why didn't you tell me I was still naked?" I yell, yanking the towel tighter around my waist as I step backward again.

"I thought you knew!" She laughs, joy spread across her face as the puppy jumps out of her lap. "I thought you were just giving me a little show! And who am I to stop you from showcasing your assets? We're all about body positivity here boo."

The dog starts running around the room, sniffing at my dressers and chewing on the clothes I threw on the floor. She doesn't make any move to grab the puppy, letting her roam free around my room, gnawing on the legs of my expensive furniture.

"Let me go get dressed," I murmur as I turn to walk to my closet but she waves me off, that same carefree smile on her face.

"Don't bother, I'm not sticking around for long." She cocks her head to the side, her thick bush of hair spilling over her shoulders. "I can't keep the dog."