CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I feel like I’ve only been asleep for a few minutes when something startles me awake. My eyes pop open and it takes me a few seconds to orient myself, despite the soft glow of my travel night light across the room. A quick glance at the glowing numbers on Hadley’s bedside clock tell me it’s just past midnight, which means I’ve been asleep for a little over an hour.
A flash of lightning illuminates the room, making me suck in a sharp breath. I’m still blinking from the sudden brightness when thunder rumbles, vibrating the walls. I flop back in bed, trying to regulate my unsteady breathing. Deep breath in through the nose, slow breath out through the mouth, just like my therapist taught me when I was a teenager.
The breath freezes in my lungs at a sound outside the bedroom door.Thatwasn’t the storm. My heart kicks into overdrive as I sit up in bed, clutching the sheets to my chest. Someone is moving around in the hallway. While the sensible part of my brain tells me it’s Jasper, the irrational part is flooding my body with adrenaline that’s making my fight or flight instincts kick in.
Heavy footfalls sound outside the door. Jasper wouldn’t make that much noise…unless he’s sleepwalking? Or has forgotten I’m here? If it’snotJasper, you wouldn’t think someone would stomp around after breaking in. Still. I throw back the covers and crawl out the far side of the bed, scanning the area for anything I can use as a weapon. A quick peek under the bed shows no room for me to shimmy underneath to hide. My eyes go to the closet. Memories of a dark night from my childhood scream through my mind and I snap my eyes shut, pushing the images away. I need to keep my wits about me.
I’ve just taken a step toward the closet when the bedroom door flies open. Lightning blazes through the room, shining like a spotlight on the person in the doorway. It’s like something out of a horror movie, as is the scream that rips out of me. A scream that’s echoed by the person standing at the door.
“What the fuck!” Hadley screeches, flipping on the overhead light and temporarily blinding me.
“I could ask you the same thing!” I yell, shielding my eyes and blinking away colorful spots.
A deafening boom of thunder has us both screeching again. The sound is followed by what I initially think is another clap of thunder but quickly realize is Jasper’s door flying open and hitting the wall.
“What in the blazes is going on?” he asks, stumbling into view behind his sister. “Hadley? What are you doing home?”
With a groan, Hadley leans heavily against the wall, clutching her head. “It’s a long story and I’m very drunk and I just want to go to sleep, but I seem to have stumbled into the real-life version ofGoldilocks and the Three Bearsbecause someone was sleeping in my bed.”
It takes my brain a minute to catch up with her slightly slurred string of words. Now that I know I’m safe and not about to be murdered in Hadley’s bed, I’m experiencing an adrenaline crash: wobbly legs, roiling stomach, and exhaustion. “You can have your bed and I’ll go sleep on the couch.”
Hadley stumbles forward and falls face first onto the bed. She mumbles what sounds like ‘thanks, sorry, good night’ as I join Jasper at the door.
“Sorry about that,” Jasper whispers, turning off the light and ushering me from the room. “Let’s get you set up on the couch.” His hand settles on the small of my back as he leads me down the dark hallway. The storm rages on outside. I’m grateful for the continued flashes of lightning that illuminate the hall, otherwise I might embarrass myself by asking Jasper to hold my hand.
“Are you all right?” he asks quietly when we reach the living room. “You’re trembling.”
We finally make it to the couch, which means I can let my shaky legs give out. I flop down, letting out a sigh of relief that has Jasper appearing even more concerned. Rather than answer his question directly, I say, “Will you sit with me for a minute?”
“Of course.” When he sinks down beside me, I inch closer to him until our sides are pressed together. Needing comfort, I silence the voice that tells me not to get too close. A second later, Jasper puts his arm around me. “Are you afraid of storms?”
“Not usually, although I think I will be now.” I laugh weakly. “Can you turn on the lamp?”
His chin brushes the top of my head as he nods. He shifts away to turn on the lamp on the end table, and I resist the urge to move with him. The full warmth of Jasper’s body returns a second later, the arm around me holding on tighter than before. I can’t seem to get my body to stop shaking, and now my eyelids are so heavy it’s a struggle to keep them open. I expect Jasper to ask again if I’m okay, especially when I lean more of my weight against him, but he just loosens his grip and shifts his hand to my back, where he rubs slow circles.
“Do you think you can sleep now?” he asks a while later, his warm breath brushing against my cheek. At my nod, he gives me a little squeeze and releases me. “I’ll get you a pillow and a blanket.”
He’s barely a few feet away when a flash of lightning floods the room, followed almost immediately by an earthshaking boom. The sudden brightness forces my eyes shut. When I open them again, the room is pitch dark. The air squeezes from my lungs as I rocket off the couch, reaching out blindly. My voice sounds high and childlike when I call Jasper’s name.
“Here, I’m right here.” His voice is calm and soothing as it moves toward me. I jump when his hands brush my arms and move to grip my shoulders. My grasping hands meet his chest and fist in his sleep shirt. “Let’s just give it a minute to see if the power comes back on.”
We wait in silence for what seems like forever but is probably only a minute or two. I keep my eyes trained on the faint outline of Jasper in front of me, grateful for every flare of lightning that brightens the room, even though they make me jump each time. Finally, Jasper says, “Why don’t I go get a flashlight?”
“Don’t leave me!” I yelp, tightening my grip on his shirt.
“Okay. Okay.” The hands on my shoulders give a gentle squeeze. “We can stay here together or you can come with me to find a flashlight. It’s up to you.”
“Flashlight,” I say quickly. “I can’t stay in the dark.”
He pries my hands from the front of his shirt. I wish I could see his face right now, although maybe it’s better I can’t since I’d hate for him to be looking at me with pity. With my hand firmly in his, he guides me from the living room and down the hall. His steps are slow and sure; it makes me wonder if he has amazing night vision or just knows his apartment well enough to navigate it in the pitch dark.
“Should we check on Hadley?” I ask.
“The fact she hasn’t surfaced makes me think she fell straight to sleep,” Jasper says. “Although thereisa faint glow coming from under her door…”
“That’s my night light,” I tell him. “It has battery backup in case the power goes out. Sure would be handy for us to have right now, wouldn’t it? Then I wouldn’t be clinging to you like a monkey.”
