A Suicidal Boy and the Girl Who Could Read His Mind

22| the morning after

THE MORNING AFTER

Laura woke up the next morning with a heavy arm draped around her waist, keeping her firmly in place. Oliver was still sleeping soundly, but Laura had been awake for hours at this point. She didn't want to move and disrupt him, he looked so peaceful when he was like this.

She had turned to face him a while ago and had just been Edward-style watching him for the last few minutes. When he began to stir, she closed her eyes so he didn't think she'd just been laying awake this whole time, watching him.

Though, that's exactly what she'd been doing.

At first, his grip on Laura's waist tightened, then realising what he'd been doing, he retracted his arm and cursed quietly. she immediately missed his arm and fought the urge to move it back in place. She felt a fingertip brush the side of her face, pulling the hair away from her eyes. His thumb caressed her face lightly, with a certain gentleness she hadn't seen before.

Or felt, in this case.

She wanted to smile so badly at his actions, but instead, she took a long breath in and pretended to stir. Her eyes cracked open to see he was sitting up, looking around at her dimly lit room.

"Morning," Laura yawned, "have you been up for long?"

She knew he hadn't.

"Not really, no."

She stretched to grab her phone from her bedside table and checked the time. She'd obviously forgotten to set an alarm last night because the two of them had overslept...by a lot.

"We're gonna be late for school," Laura darted out of bed, Ollie watching her every movement.

She smoothed her pj's out and watched as Oliver fell back down and closed his eyes. She kicked his foot, "Get up!"

"I have no problem being late for school, or better yet, not going at all."

She kicked him again.

"I know you, you don't want to go either!" He pleaded loudly, to which Laura shushed him, "Oh, sorry."

"If we're gonna be late it's going to be for a good reason, now get in the shower."

He did as told and showered while Laura scrambled to pick out what clothes to wear for school. Any old clothes would do, but then again she didn't want to look like a slob. At least not when she was arriving with Oliver, likely in his truck.

Speaking of, she needed to text Kate and tell her that she didn't need a ride today. Best do it before she forgets. Opening her messages with Kate, she sat on the bed and typed it out, only looking up when Oliver was done with the bathroom.

"I may as well take a shower now, ri--" Laura choked on her words when she saw Oliver with a towel wrapped around his waist and nothing else. He was fit. Very fit. He wasn't chiselled out, but he had a really nice body. She looked at him for a while, taking in the toning of his abs and shoulders.

"Get a good look?" He asked, Laura's faced seeped red.

He turned around and Laura saw his back muscles which alone were enough to make her swoon, "You're the one who came out here like that."

Her ogling stopped when she saw the bruising that lined the side of his stomach. She stood up and walked over to him, lightly running her fingers over the green and purple spot, "I'm so sorry," she mumbled, "whoever does this to you...I'm just, I'm so sorry."

Ollie offered her a small smile before walking back into the bathroom. Laura got changed while he did, selecting baggy pair of jeans, an oversized long-sleeve and dr martins. She had just finished combing her hair when he walked out, she sent him a timid smile before shoving the mattress back under her bed and throwing her pillow back on her bed.

"Don't you wanna pack the bed away?"

"No, best leave it," she paused, "just in case." Oliver smiled slightly before collecting his bag from inside her closet, "Now, climb out the window and meet me by your truck. You parked down the street, right?"

He nodded.

"Okay, I'll meet you there in five. You want me to bring you something to eat?"

"Nah," he shrugged, "we can swing by somewhere on the way."

Laura rolled her eyes, "We're late as is, Martinez."

A taunting smile hinted at his lips, "So what's the harm in going a little later?"

"You're trying to corrupt me."

"Maybe," He winks, before slipping out the window and into the brisk morning breeze. Laura trotted down the stairs after brushing her teeth and applying a small coat of foundation, entering the kitchen to grab a glass of water before heading off.

"Morning," Ethan said, a spritely tone to his voice. Laura immediately knew what that meant; he was up to something, "sleep well?"

"Very," she sneered, trying to read his face before she resulted to reading his mind.

Ethan snickered, "Of course you did, I walked in to grab your phone charger last night cause mine broke, and you'll never guess what I saw—"

"You went into my room?" Laura accused, staring daggers at him.

"Uh-huh," he grinned, "wait till mom and dad find out you had a boy in your room!"

Laura folded her arms across her chest, "Ethan, I swear to—"

"and that you were sharing a bed." Ethan paused, sipping his tea, "all the attention will be on you, not me."

"You suck so hard," Laura gritted her teeth, "don't think I have nothing on you though."

This was all part of Laura's ploy, lead him into thinking of his secrets that she can later blackmail him with...and exploit if necessary. He played right into her hand and she smiled, "If you tell, I'll spill all the details about the spelling bee last night."

His face broke open.

"I know all about the little earpiece you wore. How did you connect it to google dictionary again?"

Ethan grunted, spitting, "Fine!" before scurrying out the door in a huff. Laura skipped happily out the door, wandering down the street to meet Ollie, who as promised, was parked down the road with the engine on. He noticed Laura in the rear-view mirror and honked the horn, causing her to flinch and jump.

"Screw you!" She shouted, hitting him playfully on the shoulder when she got into the truck. He pulled away from the curb and dialled the radio up, whilst Laura noticed the truck smelled of Mexican food, once again, "You must eat a shit tonne of nachos in here."

He chuckled, "Obviously."

"So, we stopping to get coffee?" Laura asked as he pulled out onto a major road.

"I was thinking something along the lines of breakfast," Oliver replied, flicking his indicator on.

Laura shrugged, "Coffee, breakfast. Same thing."

He rolled his eyes, "What's that place you're always talking about? The café."

"Oh, Lotus. They do a killer big breakfast."

"Should we go there?" Laura nodded eagerly, to which he continued, "Direct me then."

"Right," she said, with a glowing smile that she failed to cover by gazing out the window. Oliver turned right, "No! Not 'right', I just meant right, like yes, let's go!"

"Be a better navigator, coffee cart!"

"Shut up and turn around." 

authors note: 

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mads 🌻