Loving the Fighter

60

Jax's POV

"What did I miss?" I asked just as Liam left the room. Ryder seemed to be a bit flushed but Callum was as grounded as always.

"Nothing much but you missed the plot twist so the rest of the movie won't make sense," Callum mumbled as I got up from the bed and pulled a shirt over my head.

"We'll just have to watch it again some day," I say though I doubt I'd ever watch later. "What time is it?" I asked after a moment of silence and a quiet yawn from Ryder.

"About 10," Callum guessed as he picked up Ryder and carried him back to his bed before lying down. Ryder immediately cuddled closer to Callum.

I couldn't help but frown slightly at Callum, seems he won't be sleeping with me tonight.

"Will you hit the lights before you go back to sleep?" Callum asked as he puled Ryder closer.

"Yea," I said as I held eyes contact with him, walked to the light switch, before literally hitting the switch with a small smirk.

A small glare appeared on Callum's face, "You know what I meant you prick." He was still glaring but his voice was thankfully playful.

I couldn't help the small smile that crept on my face as I flipped off the light switch and made it back to my bed, which was now very cold.

Only a small lamp lit up mine and Liam's half of the room. I lay on my back as I stare up at the celling. My brain was wired at this point and I didn't see myself going back to sleep any time soon.

My fingers drummed against the bed while I thought about how I was going to make it through Abbott's class. It shouldn't be too bad now that Callum has pretty much been ordered to stay beside me that whole class but ignoring the tension in the room is hard enough when she isn't glaring at you the whole time.

As terrible as it is, all I could do at this point is wait for her to do something else to me or find someone else to antagonize.

"You're still awake?" Liam's voice asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

He stood at his sock drawer with nothing on but a towel. His hair was still wet, causing water to drip down his stomach and back. I couldn't help but watch as they raced down his skin.

"I thought staring was rude," Liam joked as he pulled a shirt over his head, blocking my view.

"I wasn't staring, I was zoning out," I say, hoping he buys it.

"Zoning out because of my godly body?" He teased as he lay on his bed.

"I mean, it's alright but I wouldn't go as far as to say godly," I teased back, causing a playfully offended look cross his face.

"You've wounded me," he said as he slapped a hand over his heart. A chuckle escaped me before I had a chance to stop it but Liam didn't seem to mind.

Silence wrapped around us, after a while I think Liam fell asleep but the constant shifting on his bed told me he was still awake. I stay quiet, just in case he was about to drift off but after another several minutes he was still squirming.

"Are you still awake?" He asked after a while.

"Yea," I say simply with a sigh.

"Am I keeping you up?"

"No, I shouldn't have fallen asleep earlier."

Liam hummed in response as he sat up and rummaged through his drawer again before pulling out a book. He angled the lamp so it flashed more on his side of the room rather than mine.

Soon the sound of pages flipping filled the room.

"What are you reading?" I asked after a while, it was getting boring to just lay here.

"Its called They Both Die at the End," he said as he flipped another page.

"Is it any good?"

"I don't know. I just started it."

"Oh, sorry," I said, assuming I was keeping him from reading.

"I'm not the best at reading," he admitted, making my eyebrow shoot up as I looked at him in disbelief.

"You're kidding right?" Liam only shook his head, his eyes still trained on the book but a slight blush dusted across his face.

"I read better out loud but when it's in my head it's like I make up words or add letters that aren't meant to be there."

We were quiet again before Liam sighs and puts the book back and down before flopping back on the bed. It seemed that reading wasn't working tonight.

"Will you read to me?" I asked as I rolled over to face him.

"Because you want to hear it or because you want me to read?" he asked with a skeptical gleam in his eye.

"I can't read nearly at all," I say with a shrug. "I mean I can read, but just enough to get through school. I like it when you read to me."

Liam looked like he was going to turn it down but sighed as he picked up the book again as started from the beginning.

I don't know how far we ended up getting but after a while my eyes started to get heavy. My eyes drifted over to Ryder and Callum who were both still very much asleep.

My eyes drifted back to Liam before I got out of bed.

Liam looked at me with a questioning look but kept reading.

Without a word I all but push Liam to the other side of the bed and lay down on his side, which was still warm from his body.

"So you steal my bed and my comfy spot?"

"I don't think that's in the book," I say as I turn towards him. Liam sighs as he turns around and moves back until his back is on my chest. 

"I thought you were done touching for the day?" He asks again as he set his book down.

"I'm touching you, there's a difference," I say as I wrap and arm around him and pull him even closer.

Liam only hums in response before soon drifting off to sleep.

I only lay there, feeling his chest rise and fall with every breath. Every part of my body told me this was wrong and that I needed to stop. I almost listened. Every time it screamed at me to let go I almost did but every time I backed away Liam would move back until his back was against me again.

It was still wrong. Even if I liked it, it was still wrong. The worst part was that even though its wrong, I didn't have any plans on stopping anymore.

I pulled Liam closer until I'm sure I was hurting him but I was latched on at this point, he wasn't going anywhere if I had a say in it. My head found its way to the crook of his neck where it stayed for the rest of the night.

I'll never be able to sleep alone ever again, and the worst part is I didn't mind it. This felt safe even if I was the one holding him. For the first time in years I actually felt safe as I slept, I wasn't about to let that go so quickly.

Last updated March 31, 2021