Chapter 25
-Pax-
It was like all my worries had been wiped away with the sound of the music. That evening went by faster then Rowan could set a house on fire, and he got pretty close. Luckily, it wasn't when he was cooking. Iris was the one doing the majority of the meals. I had wondered how Iris could cook so well and Rowan couldn't, but I saved the question for another time. I was actually allowed to help with the dishes, something Clementine scolded Farley for.
By the time it had came for us to sleep, I had completely forgotten that Farley and I were supposed to be sharing a bed. I didn't see any issues with it, so I was confused when Farley pulled me to the side.
"Usually, I would suggest me sleeping at one end and you the other, but I don't want to accidentally kick you." Long pauses split up the sentence. His foot scraped against the carpet, making a very strange noise.
"I'm not a fan of being kicked either," I joked. "I don't mind, whatever you're comfortable with." I felt like I was missing something, a thing which I'm not sure I'll ever find.
"Okay," he replied. He sounded breathless. "We'll just see how it goes."
I didn't know how it could go badly, other than just not being able to sleep. The worst thing I could imagine would be him not being able to sleep and needing to crawl on top of me. I didn't want to make him uncomfortable in his own bed.
After a shower left me smelling of mint, I let some of Farley's clothes hang on me. I shuffled into his bedroom, only to be greeted with snoring.
"Hey," Farley whispered. "Rowan's asleep."
I nodded. "I can tell," I whispered back. "He's loud." I found my way to his bed and sat on the side. I had been given my own cushion, letting me assume that was how much space I had been allocated for the evening. "How do you manage to sleep?"
Farley must've been laying with his back against the wall, his minty fresh breath hit my face, letting me know he was facing me. "I got used to it, I suppose." The only sound in the room became Rowan's snores.
"Are you awake?" Farley whispered. I hummed in response. "I just wanted to say, I'm sorry for what happened."
I hadn't realised that my eyes were still open, but they darted to Farley uselessly. "There's no reason for that, you didn't do anything wrong."
Cool air hit my face before he spoke. "Well, I guess it could be an expression. But I am sorry that you had to go through that for years."
I didn't want to think about it, I could go very deep into my own thoughts when I was able to. "It's okay, I'm here now."
"Yeah," Farley replied before yawning. That was the last words that I heard from him that night.
It wasn't an easy night for me. I struggled to get to sleep with Farley's movements, but I got used to it eventually. It was still an annoying amount of time spent trying to get to sleep. Rowan's snores were at least consistent; they weren't much of an issue.
I was disturbed before the sun could make its way into the room. Farley was moving on the other side of the bed, trying to creep around me. I turned my head to look at him. He stopped moving.
"Sorry," he whispered. "I've got work today." He had told me about his work before, working in a gym where people do things to keep fit.
I moved to the side of the bed so that he could get past me with more ease. The dipping of the bed made me feel a little nauseous. We didn't make another word as we each got ready for the day. I next met Farley in the living room, where he handed me a bowl.
"Iris said that I should let you try granola the way I eat it," he told me. "I'm not so sure you'd like it. There's not a lot of sweetness to it."
He was right, it wasn't as sweet as I would usually make it. It wasn't bad, there was still fruit in it, blueberries and raspberries. It was tarter then I would have previously had. I hummed in approval.
"It's not bad," I told him. "Just unusual, I haven't really tried anything outside of what I'm comfortable with." That wasn't necessarily the truth. Over the past few days, I had tried so many new things, from food, to music, to little gadgets. It was a little overwhelming.
"Would you like to come to work with me today?" Farley asked. "I'm not sure that it's the smartest idea, but I don't think that Kian would come to the gym."
That's true, I doubt that he would visit a gym. I was surprised that he had followed us so far. "I'd like to, but I'm not sure. I haven't been to one before and I don't want to get lost or left alone for long."
He snorted. "I appreciate the honesty," he told me. "I promise that you won't be left alone."
I straightened my back, continuing to eat the granola. "I'll go," I state firmly. "I want to know what it's like."
I could imagine him smiling at me. I couldn't see the colour of his eyes, but his hair style and cheekbones were clear in my mind's eye.
"Right, we'll be leaving in about an hour," he declared.
"Enough time for me to change my mind thirty times over?" I joked. He nudged me.
"Well, even if you're considering it now, you may as well stay back and play schools with sleeping beauty."
I snorted at his words. Rowan had work to do today then. I wasn't particularly fond of the idea of shadowing Caspian. I would be going somewhere new.
I wore shorts which were a little too baggy for me, Iris had to create a make-shift drawstring to make sure they remained on my body. I also wore a vest which Farley states is too small for him. He had instructed me to wear trainers, which was handy as they were the only shoes I owned.
Farley and I had our arms linked. He said that's how a lot of blind people navigated without actually holding hands. It was probably for the best that he was somehow touching me. I wasn't familiar with the streets, the ground itself was unusual. It was made of big squares which weren't even. You could trip up at any moment with no hope to save yourself. If I had my stick, I'd be able to navigate just fine.
We stood at a bus stop, letting some go by. I just though that it was because they weren't the right bus, but I was wrong.
"Kelsey!" Farley exclaimed, swaying right to left. "How are you?"
Footsteps approached us, they were light and quick. "Alright, you?" a feminine voice asked. I'm assuming that this is Kelsey. "Who's this?"
Farley tapped my hand, causing my head to turn to him. "I'm not bad, thank you. This is Pax, he's never been to a gym before, so I'm showing him around."
I gave a small smile, so that I didn't seem too hyper and yet still seemed friendly. "Hi," I greeted.
"Hello, I'm Kelsey," she said cheerfully. "So, you've never been to a gym before? Why the sudden change?"
"I like to run?" I offered. "I wanted to know what it's like I suppose." I ended it with a shrug.
"Running's fun," Kelsey said. The noise of a large vehicle started to approach. "I've got good timing."
"You always do," Farley agreed. Though that made me wonder why we had been standing outside for a while before she came. "Seems like the seats at the side are free too."
"Awesome, that never happens." I didn't know what seats they were talking about but sitting where we sat wasn't as comfortable as where I had sat the day before yesterday. There were no seats in front of me to catch myself if I was jerked forward, instead I was jerked to the side.
Kelsey and Farley chatted throughout the bus ride. I didn't mind listening to them complain about the work they had to do, it gave me a better understanding of what I was getting myself into. Kelsey was looking forward to seeing her class again, but she wasn't looking forward to her classes after lunch. Apparently, some parents can be really irresponsible with what they feed their children.
The bus ride didn't take long, it felt like as soon as we sat on the bus, we were off it again. I wasn't sure if the bus ride was for my benefit or not, as it was just a few feet away from the gym.
"Ow," Kelsey exclaimed, causing Farley to giggle.
"It's a glass door, how many times are you going to do that?" Farley questioned her before addressing me. "She walked into the door."
"It's not my fault it's glass, that's the point. They want you to walk straight on into it." A blast of cool air washed over me as I stepped into the building.
"Right, so I'm going to fill this out for you, Pax." The noise of paper being moved indicated that he was going to be writing something. "I'll just use my details, I'm sure they won't notice."
"They're going to notice," Kelsey said. "Just say you're cousins, that's the best option."
"True, but then why would he stay with me?" Farley asked, silencing Kelsey. "Right, done."
He sounded stressed, something I didn't like. For starters, I felt like I was the one causing him to stress, simply by being there. Secondly, I didn't know what was wrong. It was strange for me to care, but I didn't want him to go out of his way in order to help me.
"Pax?" Farley asked, giving my arm a tug. "We're going to the changing rooms."
I nodded, even though I was unsure of why we were going there. I was told to sit on a bench and wait for him. I did nothing until he came back. He smelt different, more like freshly washed clothes. I mentally face-palmed. Of course, he went to the changing rooms to get changed. Why did I think he could be doing anything but?
"Ready to see where I work?" His voice was louder, and he spoke quicker this time.
"That's why I'm here," I joked. "I'm here to find out all the secrets of your trade."
He snorted. "Secrets? We have no secrets. We most definitely do not have any kind of secrets. Don't turn around."
I couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but I let out a laugh. I was led to another door, Farley letting me go in first. I stood awkwardly in the doorway, awaiting any instructions from him.
"I really should see if I can get you a cane," Farley said.
I shrugged and bit my lip. I didn't want to be any trouble to him. "It would be helpful." I tried not to give my emotions away, acting like I didn't care too much. I could take or leave a cane, but it would be a godsend.
"Come here," he told me. He was still holding my hand, so I didn't have any choice as he moved me to the left. The noise of metal on metal pierced my ears, again. "Try there, they're brand new, because I don't like them."
That was a little bit blunt. Though I held my hands out and frowned in confusion. My fingers were met by a thin rubbery texture. "What are these?" I asked.
"Headphones," he said and took them out of my hands again. I flinched as the cold rubber met my warm ear. "You do it."
He waited until I lifted my hands to adjust them before letting go. I put the headphones in my ears and played with the wire, testing how much I could move with them in. "I think it helps."
"We'll see throughout the day. You can keep those darn things." I chuckled as he picked up the metal object again. "These are weights, have you used them before?"
The day was strange, overwhelming, and brilliant. I didn't have to do a lot at the gym. I tried each machine for a few moments, but that was it. I enjoyed talking to the customers, some more than others. There was a kind lady who was recovering from giving birth, wanting to get back into shape as soon as possible.
We went out for our lunch, not far away from the gym. The cafe, as Farley called it, was nearly empty. He sat me down at a table and picked the food for me, based off the various conversations we had about food. It was something that united us in a way as most people could eat food. It was a simple cheese and salad sandwich with a cookie, but it was still nice to sit there and have a cup of tea with him.
Meeting Mrs.Hubert was a nerve-wrecking delight. She asked if Farley and I were dating as soon as she saw us. It had caused my cheeks to be as warm as a stove getting ready to cook.
The night was the same as it was last night. I realised when I was lying in bed that I hadn't thought about Cedar, Alder, or anyone else from Kian's pack for the entire day. It was one of the most blissful days I have ever had.
I turned to my left, where Farley was resting. He had stuck by me the entire day, just like he promised. Apart from when he was getting changed, even then I sat on the bench around the corner. I think I would be able to recognise his hand and arm immediately at this point, the amount of times he let me hang onto him whilst walking. He didn't seem to care, but I wouldn't really put all too much weight on my judgement.
I rolled onto my side, I didn't want to disturb him, but I wanted the comfort that he had given me all day. Rowan's snoring had faded into the background by now. Farley's breathing was the main sound in the room. It was calm and even, suggesting he was in a deep sleep.
I felt my lips twitch upwards. This moment, this day was one of the best I had ever experienced. It introduced me to many new things, which I'm not willing to let go of.
I drifted off at some point and woke up to light shining on my face.
"At least I didn't wake you up this time," Farley said from next to my head.
I leaped awake and looked around, he was still on his bed. He seemed extremely close to me. My left arm and my right hand felt warm. I couldn't form any words as I realised, I had been cuddling up to Farley.
Hello everyone! I hope that you had a good weekend!
We're going to be a bit busy this week-so of course I decided to maybe change my uploading schedule a little bit. I'm not sure when I'll be updating, but it will be more often! -I hope-
So, question of the chapter.
Based off the cliche 'staying in the same bed', did you guys share a bed with anyone growing up?
I did...pretty much all the time XD When I was young I used to have nightmares and sleepwalk, so I had to stay with my parents. And I would always be sharing when I slept at other's houses. I don't think sharing a bed changed my sleeping habits, I didn't like sleeping anywhere outside of my house though. :')