A Proscriptive Relationship

:A Proscriptive Relationship: 53

When I woke up, I felt overheated. I stretched, yawning widely. My eyes shot open went I touched something— or someone warm. I sat up quickly, looking around at my surroundings. I was definitely not at home. There was a lump next to me, a person sleeping under the covers.

My mind was racing. What happened last night? After Mr. Heywood, Jeremy, and Casey had disappeared into the hospital I had gone back to Jeremy’s car… and then what? I couldn’t remember. When had I fallen asleep? I looked around the room again and realized with a jolt where I was.

Mr. Heywood’s house. So that meant…

Gripping the comforter tightly, I whipped it off the person next to me. When I noticed it was Jeremy, not Mr. Heywood, I shrieked, moving away from him. His eyes shot open, and he bolted up, looking around widely.

“Where’s the fire?” he shouted, his messy blonde hair everywhere, covering parts of his face.

“There is no fire!” I cried, grabbing a pillow and pulling it to my chest. “What are you doing in the same bed as me?”

Jeremy looked at me in confusion for a few seconds. “Holly?”

“That’s me,” I snapped, feeling my face heat up. “What are you doing in my bed?”

“Actually,” a new voice commented, “I do believe that’s my bed.”

My head snapped in the direction of the doorway, where Mr. Heywood was standing. He had large, white bandages wrapped around the top of his head, and a deep blue bruise under his left eye. He raised an eyebrow at me, taking a sip from the coffee cup in his hand.

“What…?” I trailed off, unsure of what I was about to ask.

Jeremy bounded out of Mr. Heywood’s bed, hopping to his feet. “Morning, Chris!”

Mr. Heywood gave Jeremy a hard look. “It’s afternoon.”

I climbed out of the bed as well, detangling myself from the sheets. Mr. Heywood smirked at me as I did so. I was about to ask him what he thought was so amusing when I looked down and noticed I was still in the boxers I was in last night. Flushing in embarrassment I quickly yanked the sheet off his bed and wrapped it around me.

“Casey and Lance are coming with clothing for you soon,” Mr. Heywood informed me.

“Casey and Lance?”

Mr. Heywood nodded. “We have a lot of explaining to do with Casey… And we have a few other things to discuss.”

“Like what?” I asked, narrowing my eyes in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Mr. Heywood ignored my question. “Want some breakfast?”

My stomach rumbled as if on cue, and I blushed again, causing Mr. Heywood and Jeremy to chuckle.

“It’s almost ready,” Mr. Heywood informed me.

“Then… can I take a quick shower?”

Mr. Heywood nodded. “Sure. You can grab some clothing out of my dresser if you want,” he informed me. “That way you won’t be changing back into dirty clothes.”

“Aw, you two share clothes?” Jeremy teased, grinning. “That’s cute.”

Mr. Heywood jammed his elbow into Jeremy’s side. “Shut up. Go check on the bacon.”

Jeremy grumbled, but left the room. Mr. Heywood stayed in the doorway, taking another sip from his mug.

“Um, what happened last night?”