Chapter 22: Staying Out Late

"So you have no idea what they're going to tell you?"

I shake my head at Autumn's question. "Nope."

She makes a sympathetic sound. "That's tough."

"Tell me about it."

"What if," she says. "It's not something bad, and they just wanna tell you they, I don't know, bought you a car or something?"

I think that over before I shake my head again. "I doubt it. They seemed too...worried for it to be something like that."

My phone vibrates against the floor, and I pick it up to see yet another text message from my mom.

Mom: If you don't come back to this house within the next half hour, you can say goodbye to those dogs. All of them.

My eyes widen. She wouldn't do that. Would she?

"What's the matter?"

I sigh. "I got to go."

I send Mom a text saying I'm on my way––threatening me with my dogs, though harsh, was effective––and stand up from where I was sitting on Autumn's floor and looking to where she lays on her bed.

"Bye." I acknowledge her words with a nod, but I stop at her next ones. "It's not gonna be that bad, Cass. Okay? Don't do anything stupid."

That's really bad advice, considering I'm the dumbest person I know, but, you know, I'm not exactly sure if that's what Autumn wants to hear right now. "I'll try."

She nods, laying back down under her covers to go to sleep. It's not even that late; a quick glance at my phone tells me it's only eleven o'clock.

I head out of her room, closing the door softly behind me, and run into Aaron, whose brows are furrowed. "You're leaving?"

"Yeah. My mom kind of threatened me."

His eyebrows raise at that. "How'd she do that?"

I shrug. "Doesn't matter. I'll see you tomorrow, if I'm still alive." Mom is going to kill me for not coming home the first time she told me to.

He laughs, his eyes crinkling at the sides, a twinkle in both of his eyes.

And then he abruptly pulls me into a hug.

His arms wrap around me, his face burying into my neck. I feel him pull air into his lungs through his nose, and the action tickles my neck.

Why is this dude always smelling me?

Still, I put my arms on his shoulders and tangle my hands in his hair, my head resting on his shoulder.

This feels...intimate. And weird, considering we're just friends and the mere thought of his face causes me to roll my eyes in annoyance.

His face is cute though.

Obviously, I am at war with myself over how I feel about his face.

My phone beeps again, and I take a step back from Aaron, who seems to understand what that means and lets me go.

He gives me one last smile and a softly murmured goodnight before he turns away and goes through his bedroom door, shooting me one last look before he closes it.

The urge to sigh contentedly is overpowering, but I refrain from doing so once I realize that I'll be sounding like a wistful school girl in love with the mysterious bad boy.

Another beeps snaps me out of my thoughts and I move quietly down the stairs. "Damn, hold up, I'm coming," I mutter, annoyed with how much Mom wants me to come home.

I open and close the door behind me, and walk across their lawn to my front door.

I go to knock, but then I realize that, one, this is technically my house, and two, I still don't want to know what Mom and Dad have to tell me.

I test the door knob, and I almost scream for joy when it turns.

I ease the door open and close it softly behind me.

I feel like a spy right now, and, let me tell you, the adrenaline rushing through my veins makes me feel powerful, like I could do anything, and it's an addicting feeling, like a high.

One that comes crashing down once a light in the living room suddenly flicks on, revealing Dad sitting in an armchair and Mom perched on the armrest.

"Where have you been, Cassandra?" Mom questions, voice calm and face expressionless.

Okay, well, full name, that's not good, but it could be worse.

I transfer my eyes from Mom to Dad, only to have the look on his face send a spike of pain through me.

Well, would you look at that. It just got worse.

The look of disappointment on Dad's face is enough to make me want to burst into sobs. I hate when he's disappointed in me. It's worse than his anger.

"Answer your moth––" Dad cuts himself off. "Answer the question, Cassandra."

The look on his face and the tone of his voice is enough to make the lie I had planned to tell them fly out of my mind, replaced with a burning desire to tell the truth.

And I do.

"I was at Aaron's house. Hanging out with his sister."

My parents exchange a look between themselves, silently communicating, and then my dad clears his throat, opening his mouth to talk, but I cut him off before he can.

"I'm really tired, so is it okay if I go to bed and the whole disappointment speech thing could wait until tomorrow?"

They share another look before Mom nods. "Of course, sweetie. We'll talk to you in the morning."

I immediately dash for the stairs and head into my room, closing the door behind me.

I let out a relieved sigh and move backwards to my bed, still facing the door.

A decision I regret when a hand wraps around my waist and another covers my mouth, both pulling me against a hard chest.

I go to thrash around, but a familiar smell hits me. It's undescribable; it smells like...something masculine, and warm, and familiar.

The chest I'm pressed against vibrates with a chuckle, and a mouth lowers to next to my ear, warm air brushing over my right cheek. "Were you scared, Cassie?"

I jam my elbow back into Aaron's––the jackass'––stomach and I smirk happily when he grunts and lets go of me, moving away.

I turn around to see him eyeing me with a smile on his face. "Took you long enough to get in here." He flings himself backwards on my bed, throwing an arm over his eyes. "I was waiting forever."

I roll my eyes, and suddenly, Aaron's standing in front of me, pulling me towards me, his eyes staring deep into mine, a pout on his lips. "Why are you so mean to me?"

I push him away, walk to my bed, and get under the covers, getting comfortable.

Aaron comes closer to the side of the bed that I'm not currently occupying, and he takes his shirt off, revealing his absolutely delicious abdomen and upper torso.

If I could look at this for the rest of my life, I'm pretty sure I could be happy.

Aaron moves under the covers and props his head up on his right hand, staring at me. "What were your parents talking to you about?"

I tense up, hoping he didn't hear anything. "Nothing. Just expressing their anger over how late I was out, normal parent stuff."

He eyes me, scanning my face suspiciously, but he seems to shake whatever he's thinking off, instead moving closer to me. He pulls my body into his and rolls on to his back, taking me with him so I'm practically laying on top of him, his bare chest and abdomen brushing up against me.

He stares at me again, probably waiting for me to move away and back to our original positions, but, instead, I put my head on his shoulder, my nose brushing against the side of his neck.

He swallows, like he's nervous about having me so close––even though he's the one who initiated this position––but he pulls me closer and closes his eyes, gradually relaxing under me.

I pull back a little and watch him. He seems calm, breathing evenly, his chest rising up and down and moving me slightly in the process, and my eyes grow heavier and heavier.

Soon, I'm asleep, but not before I feel a light pressure on the top of my forehead.

---------

Surprise!!!

I was feeling a little bored, so I decided to go back and edit, and instead ended up writing this. I really should go back and edit, but...it's just so much work.

Bro, but guys, seriously, guess who just put up their Christmas decorations 🙋🙋🙋. For the record, it's December 22nd. I'm so lazy, I might need to be put in a mental institution, because it's seriously a problem. That and procrastination.

I hope I can have another chapter out on Wednesday, but, you know, Christmas and everything so I'm not entirely sure, but I'll try, because...I actually don't know why, but that's unimportant because I want to try.

Merry Christmas!

(And a happy new year; I saw your comment awesomeness383, thanks for making me laugh.)

––Rose