Chapter 14: 11. Mochaccino

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mochaccino

MY HEAD POUNDED and my eyes felt glued together. I groaned, turning and bringing my hands up to rub at my eyes.

My eyelids fluttered open and, for a moment, I felt disoriented. I sat in a large room with bare walls and a large bed that I didn't recognise. I blinked, confused, until my eyes landed on the tuft of brown hair at the edge of the mattress.

Then, the events of last night came flooding back.

Flashes of me hyperventilating and crying ripped through my mind – images of Isaac hugging me and tucking me into the bed.

My heart sank into my stomach and I bolted upright to find Isaac asleep, sitting slouched on the floor against the edge of the bed.

He had slept on the floor – he had really stayed with me all night.

His eyes remained shut, his neck tilted at an awkward angle against the mattress. His lips were slightly parted, and his chest gently rose and fell. His dark hair was tousled and fell over his brow messily. How did he manage to look so perfect sleeping on the floor?

I turned, my heart thumping, to find my phone sitting on the bedside table. I quietly slid across the covers to grab my phone. It was plugged in and charging. I smiled at the thought of Isaac charging it for me and moved to turn my phone on.

It came to life and immediately the screen was filled with notifications – texts and missed calls from Riley and William. I glanced at the time – seven in the morning – and sighed. I'd fallen asleep all through the night and forgotten all about Riley.

I tapped onto our group chat, finding hundreds of texts ranging from 'Oh my Gosh, Arthur Andrews asked me out on a date!' to 'Aspen, wya?' to 'ASPEN WHERE ARE YOU'.

Guilt washed over me, and I quickly shot them back a text message explaining I was safe, I was sorry, and I'd call them back later.

I swallowed, my mouth feeling extremely dry and my head pounding harder from the bright sunlight flooding the room. I had slept all night, yet I felt exhausted. My body was sore and sluggish, and my throat felt dry. I opened my phone camera and switched it to the front facing camera, quickly cringing at my face.

My eyes were swollen and red. All of my mascara had been rubbed off, leaving dark smudges beneath my eyes. My hair had frizzed on end and the elegant waves had turned into knots.

With a sigh, I turned my phone off, sick of seeing my terrible reflection. I spotted my sneakers across the room beside the door. I had to leave. My mom would be home from her night shift soon. Unplugging my phone, I carefully pulled the sheets off me, trying to keep quiet and not wake Isaac.

I turned, quietly sliding off the bed, when the frame suddenly creaked loudly. I froze, my eyes darting to Isaac as he stirred.

He turned, his eyes fluttering open and his neck craning to face me.

"Aspen?" His voice was so croaky, I thought my heart would explode out of my chest. He was so cute.

"Morning," I squeaked.

He groaned, rubbing at his eyes. "What time is it?"

Before I could answer, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. His brow furrowed and he turned back to face me.

"How are you feeling, Aspen?"

My heart fluttered at the sound of my name – my real name – on his croaky morning voice. His eyes squinted through the morning light as he scanned me. I clung to the bed sheets.

"I'm good," I sputtered. "Uh, and you?"

The corner of his lips twitched up in a smirk. "Tired."

"Look, Isaac, I'm so sorry about last night," I began, my voice quiet and body stiff. "I just got so panicked and I really thought I just needed a minute,you know? And then – And then you slept on the floor all night, and I'm so embarrassed. Oh God, I'm so –"

"Aspen!"

I paused, turning to see Isaac's sharp stare focused on me. I melted under his gaze, suddenly insecure about my running makeup and messy hair.

"It's fine. I get it." He offered, smiling lazily.

He turned, stretching his back and cracking his neck, letting out a groan.

"Besides, I didn't sleep on the floor all night." He paused, turning to spot my wide eyes before letting out a nonchalant laugh. "Because I was awake most of the night. Party ended at three, then I stayed up a bit longer to make sure everyone left. Didn't want to leave you totally defenceless."

I narrowed my eyes at him, my brows drawing together.

"You stayed up all night?"

He nodded halfway through a yawn. "Well, I was going to wake you up, but you seemed totally out of it. I thought I'd just let you rest for a few hours, and then before I knew it, I fell asleep too."

I fell quiet, my mind whirring. I'd embarrassed myself last night, had a panic attack for the first time in a month, cried in front of the most popular boy at school, and yet he'd stayed up all night watching me sleep.

"I'm sorry," I said again. "Since I began taking my –" I paused, my eyes widening in realisation. "Shit. I need to go home."

Isaac furrowed his brow as I slid out of the bed, racing to pull my shoes on.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm supposed to take my medication every morning," I sighed, tying my laces. "I mean, it's not a huge deal if I miss it once, I guess, but it was just starting to work. I've never missed it before, and my mom will be home soon, and –"

I paused, my cheeks tingeing red in a blush. I glanced at him meekly to find him grinning teasingly at me. "Sorry," I muttered sheepishly. "I just need to go home."

He nodded, deep in thought, before standing from his seat and shaking his hair out. "Alright, we'd better get going then."

"What do you mean we?"

He raised a brow, pulling out a set of keys and twirling them around his finger. "Your ride left last night, didn't she?"

I sighed. Right. I'd left Riley without a word. I was supposed to be gone for only a minute, but instead ended up spending all night sleeping beside Isaac.

He slid past me with another yawn, pulling the door open.

"You coming?"

I pursed my lips – it wasn't like I had a choice. I trailed after him, following him through the hallway and down the stairs. The floor was littered with all sorts of trash, from beer cans to red cups to – I paused. Was that underwear?

"Isaac!"

I bumped into Isaac's back as he came to a stop and I staggered back. He turned, a hand reaching out to grab my arm while his eyes drifted to the kitchen.

My stare followed his to find Arthur Andrews, Sebastian Georges and three girls gathered around the kitchen holding trash bags. The girls somehow managed to look gorgeous despite having knotted hair and smudged makeup to match my own.

"Where'd you go last night, man?" Arthur Andrews asked, stepping forward. His eyes drifted to me, his brows furrowing in confusion. "Hi."

"Hey," I muttered awkwardly.

His eyes moved back to Isaac and he tilted his head inquisitively, as if to ask why I was there. Or more likely, why I was with him.

"Hey man, I'm just going to drop Aspirin home. I'll be back in a few minutes," Isaac avoided the question, smoothly falling back into my stupid nick name. He tugged me forward, moving towards the door.

I turned, watching Sebastian Georges' smirk and the girls' glares as we moved. I narrowed my eyes, noticing Chloe sitting amongst the girls, her eyes trained on Isaac's hand gripping my wrist. She scrunched her nose in distaste and I gulped, my stomach turning.

Isaac began leading me through the house and I swallowed thickly.

"I think she hates me," I murmured, still thinking of Chloe's glare.

"Who?" Isaac asked, glancing back to see Chloe behind me, still shooting daggers into my back. He laughed lowly, shaking his head. "Chloe?"

I nodded and he pulled the front door open, dropping my arm.

"She doesn't hate you," he said, though I was unconvinced. His voice grew quieter as he stepped over the threshold. "She just doesn't want me to be hurt again."

I quirked a brow, opening my mouth to ask 'again?' when he stepped forward, unlocking his car. My mouth fell shut as I trailed after him.

The road had been cleared of cars, leaving Isaac's own black sedan in the driveway. He gripped his keys, sliding into the driver's seat. I followed, slipping into the passenger seat and buckling my seatbelt.

"So," he started the engine. "Where do you live?"

I mumbled my address and he reversed out of the driveway. We were far uptown, meaning it'd take about 20 minutes before I'd arrive back home. That meant 20 minutes in a car sitting beside Isaac Hensick.

I stiffened.

His car was nice. Despite knowing nothing about cars, from the black leather interior and touch screen, I knew it was expensive.

"About last night," he started, and my heart began racing all over again.

Last night was the last thing I wanted to talk about. I still hadn't gotten the embarrassment out of my system yet.

"What do you normally do? You know, if no one else is around?"

I blinked, turning to face him. It took me a second to realise he was talking about my panic attack. His face was crinkled with genuine interest.

"I just ride it out," I said finally. "It always settles down eventually. Some last longer than others."

His eyes widened. "You mean longer than the one you had yesterday?"

I snorted, "I've had anxiety attacks that last an hour."

He released a breath at that, his face riddled with shock. It was true, though. I'd been diagnosed with anxiety years ago following a trip to the emergency room when I had an hour-long panic attack. They'd given me Valium to calm me down and ever since then, this had become my life.

"My pills help, though," I continued. "I used to have them every other day, and we finally found something that works. I've been taking them daily for a month and haven't had a panic attack since. They're great. They mess with my sleep, but they're great."

He was quiet a second, the only sound being the hum of the car beneath us.

"Right," he said finally, his brow furrowed in thought. "I thought so. I mean, I Googled it last night while you were sleeping, and it said that insomnia was a common side effect, and it made sense. You know? Because you nap in the library, and –"

"You Googled it?" I interrupted.

He glanced at me, blushing slightly.

I shook my head, my eyes wide at the idea that Isaac had tried to learn about my anxiety after seeing me panic like that. Instead of thinking I was weird, or pretending, he'd researched it. He'd tried to understand.

His hands gripped the steering wheel uncomfortably and I smiled, slightly amused that he was feeling awkward for once instead of me.

"It's fine. I should be thanking you for calming me down," I spoke sincerely, my voice soft. "Besides, that was the best sleep I've had in a while."

He raised his eyebrows with a smirk, immediately reverting to his usual self. "I get that a lot."

"Isaac!" I gasped, whacking his arm.

He chuckled, his chest vibrating as he glanced at me. I giggled alongside him. He was great at lightening a conversation – at relieving my anxiety. I found my mind falling silent around him, like it did around Riley and William.

My heart glowed, and I bit my lip, turning to face the road.

"Isaac," I spoke, suddenly feeling confident. "Thank you."

I faced him, catching his eye as he glanced back at me.

"Seriously, thank you. For staying with me, for comforting me, for driving me home," I continued. "For watching me sleep."

He laughed at our stupid inside joke, and my smiled softened.

"Anytime, Aspirin."

He threw me a smirk and I grew warm.

Oh, God.

I was really falling for him.

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a u t h o r ' s n o t e

Damn took Aspen long enough to realise right lmao

I've also uploaded another original story called 'Playing Perfect'. The first chapter will be up soon! It's a bit more mature and, ahem, steamy than this story, but I really wanted to write an enemies-to-lovers story cause I'm obsessed, so check it out if you're into that too!