"I MEAN, I love my parents, I really do, but sometimes they piss me off." Dylan said. He was sprawled along my bed while I tossed spare pillows towards him from the other side of the room.
"At least you know you love them. Sometimes, I'm not so sure myself." I muttered the last part.
"Yeah, I noticed the tension between you and your mom. Has it always been that way?"
"Kinda. I mean we have always clashed, but it's gotten worse lately. Way worse." I didn't want to mention the fact that I barley saw my mom growing up, as she sent me away most of the time, between Dr Lynn's establishment, the hospital, and my grandma's house before she died.
"Do you..." Dylan hesitated. "Do you like your stepdad?"
"Fuck no," I said, making him chuckle, "that's mostly the reason my mom and I don't get along."
"Oh," Dylan nodded slowly. I noticed him swallow. "Arlo, has he ever..." I stared at him.
"What?" I almost laughed.
"Has he ever hurt you?"
My eyes widened. "No!"
Dylan placed a hand on his heart and collapsed back. "Oh thank God." He said to himself.
"I mean, thanks for caring but he's never touched me." I walked towards the bed. "Still an asshole though."
I climbed onto the bed and crawled towards my usual spot against the wall. I pulled the blanket over my legs.
"Thanks for letting me stay the night." Dylan said, staring at the ceiling.
"Stop thanking me," I chuckled.
Dylan sighed. "I still feel awful about what happened to Bianca."
"We will go visit her tomorrow, okay? You'll see that she is okay."
Dylan nodded. "Okay. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
I laid down and rolled over, pressing my forehead against the wall.
"What are you doing?" Dylan suddenly said and I laughed.
"I like doing this, okay? It's comfortable.
"Okay then."
I COULDN'T FALL asleep, not because I wasn't tired or scared but because I couldn't stop thinking about her.
I felt the strong need to thank her.
I sat up and left the bed as quietly as I could. I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going, but let my legs take control of my mind.
I turned on the bathroom light downstairs, closing it behind me and locking the door. I kept facing it for a few seconds, not wanting to turn around yet.
"I need to talk to you." I said under my breath. It was dead silent, so I sighed and turned around, realizing how stupid this was.
She was leaning her back against the sink counter.
I flinched hard, hand over my heart. "Shit, you scared me." I said, feeling like my heart was about to rip out of my chest.
She gave me the lightest smile. I shivered at the sight of it.
"You saves Bianca's life today." I said.
"I tried to, but she still fell in." Ruby said.
"That wasn't your fault though. You couldn't have done anything else." I paused, twiddling with my fingers. "Do you know if she will be okay?"
"She won't be able to walk for a while, but eventually she will be back to normal."
I nodded, shifting my weight. Ruby's eyes glanced down at my feet, which weren't staying still, then back at my eyes. I forced myself to stop fidgeting so much.
"I'll be honest with you. I didn't care about the others today. I only cared about you. I didn't want you to get hurt." She said it so casually, like it wasn't a big deal.
My heart felt like it had burst into flames as soon as I heard that, and I let out a nervous laugh.
"Thank you," I blurted out. Ruby smirked. God, I wanted to kiss her so badly again.
Sometimes I forget she can read my mind.
"You're not so bad after all." I said. Now it was the nerves talking.
"I told you, I'm not a monster." She took a few steps towards me until our faces were inches away. I hesitantly brought my hands up, resting them against her chest.
"I know," her lips hovered over mine, which were parted and ready for her. I wanted her to lean in first, but she was teasing me and I couldn't resist it anymore.
I closed the small gap between our lips. They fit together perfectly like a puzzle.
As our lips moved together, electricity zapped through every inch of my body. My hands moved from her chest to around her neck, clinging to them to keep her from leaving.
The kiss slowed down and eventually we parted, our foreheads pressed together and the small gap between our lips returning. I didn't feel guilty about it anymore. I didn't want to leave that bathroom.
"I don't want you to go," I confessed, her plump lips lightly grazing mine.
"I won't," she said, her breath fanning me.
I closed the gap again.
A/N
I hope you liked this chapter! I had so many emotions writing it, and was so excited to post it for you guys.