breathe

ix

I didn't sleep long, but I was well rested.

Iwish I slept just a bit longer. At least long enough for Nolan and Leah to fall asleep.

Since Leah and Nolan were setting up for tonight's party, they also slept over. I felt bad for not being out there with Leah. She was pretty excited for us to actually hang out. I just couldn't bring myself to indulge in that festivity.

On a brighter note, the both of them seemed to be cool with it since they were up until 5 am. I know because that's when I woke up.

I battled with myself on whether or not I should go out to join them. I'm not sure if I'm happy that I chose the latter.

If I had gone out, maybe I would have laughed with them or just basked in the enjoyment of their company. Rather, I stood at the edge of my door eavesdropping. An action that had gotten me into trouble many times before.

"Are you even sure this whole thing is a good idea?" Nolan asked.

I could hear a muffled groan from Leah. It wasn't in annoyance but more of a sad one. Sort of discomforting.

"I was thinking that this entire time. Like you barely even know her and you could see it." She stated blatantly.

Are they talking about me?

"I won't lie she can really put up a face."

"What hurts is that she won't tell me anything! How am I supposed to support if I don't even know what's going on?"

They are.

Her voice started to raise, but the idea of me waking up must have quieted her. "It just sucks you know. Being a friend that's only good for freaking throwing parties. I can provide so much more than this."

That wasn't true. I put my hand on the door handle. I wanted to slide it open and tell her that she has done more than I could ever deserve. She was an amazing person.

"I feel that, but you can't go blaming her for not speaking. Opening up takes time. Even when you're close. "

"Thanks Dr. Nolan for that healthy spoon of advice."

I found myself holding in a laugh.

"Does that mean I get to sleep on the couch?" I could picture Nolan propping himself up from the floor with his arm; shining his teeth at Leah with hopes to convince her. There was no chance he's upgrading with Leah around.

"Don't act like you're not already acquainted with Naomi's floor. I was a first-hand witness of what went down that one night."

My cheeks caught on fire.

More like exploded.

I took my ear from the door to cool myself off. Despite being in practically nothing, I started to sweat. The memories of that night flooded my mind.

How he held and spoke to me.

Guided and supported me.

Entertained and hyped me.

How he looked at me before I went to my room tonight.

There has to be a medical term for getting flustered like that. I'll have to google that later.

I placed my ear back on the door to only hear one line.

"Good night, Leah."

I must have missed whatever words were exchanged during my cool off. I turned my body so that my back was on the door. I tucked my knees up to my chin to rest my head. After yesterday, I didn't want to think too much anymore. I knew that I'd be able to recall everything if I tried. Doing that would literally be self-destructing. So, I did the only thing I could do which was plan for tonight.