Modern Day Santa Claus

MDSC [28]

Chapter 28

Tomorrow's finally the first day of college. For two days, Jae slept in her new apartment with the reason to get used to sleeping in a new bedroom for the next four years. She cried the first night when Maggie was already asleep. She was exasperated when her brother and her mom weren't at all worried about her moving out indefinitely.

She tossed and turned in her bed, looking up at a strange, unfamiliar ceiling. She sat up, frowning as her eyes darted around the dark room. Sera told them not to wait for her. Margaret was already sound asleep. Jae was alone.

She wondered if it might be a good idea to bother Sam at this time of the night. It's not like she can barge in and do whatever she wants in her friend's apartment. She didn't want to take advantage of him like that. Jae promised herself she'll only go down to Sam's room in an emergency. She has to learn how to be independent without relying too much on her friend.

Her gaze landed on the gold-chained bracelet she wore the whole day. She waved her wrist slightly to hear the clanging sound of the charms. How was Skye doing?

At that moment, she heard a sound outside their balcony. Her neck snapped at an incredible speed as anxiousness started to fill her. Was someone outside? She glanced back at Maggie who was still asleep. With her heart pounding in her chest, she got out of bed and sneaked up towards the window to the balcony.

She found a shadow of a hunched figure right doing something suspicious. Did a thief break into their apartment? What the hell, this apartment wasn't as perfect as she thought! She clutched onto a frying pan lying around and tiptoed her way to the window. The figure had his back turned so he wasn't able to see Jae.

Mustering up all her courage and strength, she slid the window open while she threatened the intruder with her frying pan. "Don't move! Or I'll call the police!" she hissed with her hands shaking in terror.

The figure jumped in surprise, slowly turning around to show his face.

Skye's burning sky blue eyes released all of the tension Jae was feeling. Afterward, she half-shouted, "What the hell are you doing here, Skye?!" She pursed her lips shut, entered the balcony, and then slid the window shut so they wouldn't accidentally wake Maggie up.

"I was just passing by," Skye answered with a forced innocent look on his face. "Also, stupid, don't creep up on an actual intruder next time and just call the police." He wasn't amused.

Jae sighed, putting down the frying pan somewhere before crossing her arms. "What if there wasn't actually an intruder? I needed to make sure before I do call the police."

"You're just putting yourself in danger," he retorted.

Jae squinted her eyes. "You're changing the subject. What are you doing here?"

He took out a small plastic bag. He couldn't look directly at Jae, "I was returning your clothes that got wet when we went to the beach." He handed it to her.

Jae took it, a little confused about why he was embarrassed about it. "Okay, thanks." The time at the beach was one of her most favorite summer moments ever. "You could've left it here and left, you know."

He scratched the back of his head while he gave her a sly smile. "I was also trying to see if you were awake."

Oh. There was an awkward pause that made Jae's cheeks heat up. "I'm here," she stated.

"Yeah, I see." He started to fiddle with his fingers. "Okay, goodbye. Good luck tomorrow," he muttered sheepishly.

"Am I going to see you tomorrow?" Jae asked. The question was supposed to be just a passing thought but she was surprised that it came out of her mouth.