The Deal (ON HOLD)

Chapter 13: From Time

As the night winds down, the party starts to dissipate. I grab Axel's arm to get his attention, since he was in a deep conversation with Darnell. Axel quickly turns his attention towards me.

"You ready to go?" he asks me.

"Yeah, it's late and alot of people already left."

"Ok," he nods.

"Say goodbye to Darnell, I'm going to go get Nzuri."

I walk out of the patio door, expecting to see Javier and Nzuri where I last saw them ten minuets  ago, but I see nothing but empty space. In a panic, I hurriedly get my phone and call her. The phone rings for awhile, before someone finally answers it.

"Hello," the sound of an out of breath Nzuri says.

"Girl, where the hell you at? You got me over here about to have a panic attack."

"I'm," she pauses, "upstairs."

"Oh, well, Axel and I are about to leave, come down here."

"It's ok, I'm going to stay here."

"I'm not going to leave my best friend alone at some party," I say.

"I'll be fine."

"We came together, we leave together."

"I'm trying to at least" a slight gasp leaves her mouth.

"Hang up the phone," a male's voice is heard in the background.

"Bitch, I know you ain't upstairs getting dicked down!"

"See, I'm not," she moans, "alone."

"You a nasty hoe," I shake my head, "fine, if you are sure you're safe, I guess we can leave."

"Ok, I promise. I'll call you first thing in the morning."

"You better."

"I'll, mmm, see you tomorrow, but right now I have to go."

"Fuck you bitch," I say, "I want every last detail."

"Of course," she says before hanging up.

I put my phone back into my purse and walk back inside. I walk over to Axel and he has his keys in his hand ready to go.

"Where's Nzuri?" he asks as soon as I am beside him.

"She's staying here," I say.

"Is she ok?"

"Yeah, she's more than ok," I say, "let's go."

Axel opens the front door and allows me to exit first. We walk to his car and begin the short journey to my house. We pull into my driveway and I notice that Axel is not about to get out of the car.

"You're not coming in?" I ask.

"I mean it's late, and I need to get home."

"Just come inside, please," I pout.

"You're lucky you're my favorite girl," he turns his car off.

Excited that I convinced him to stay, I hurriedly get out of the car. I unlock my front door and we walk in. Axel goes to the front room and sits on the couch, turning on the TV, while I head to my room to put my bag and shoes up.

"Are you hungry?" I shout to Axel as I take the jumpsuit off.

"Kind of, but I can eat when I get home."

"It's ok, we have some pizza in the freezer that I can make real quick," I put on a grey cami and some sweat pants.

"Ok, that's fine with me," Axel says as I enter the living room.

I go to the kitchen and turn the oven on. After it has heated up enough, I place the pizza on a pan and put it into the oven. I set a timer before joining Axel on the couch.

"What are you watching?" I look at the TV and see Andy Samberg and Terry Crews on the screen. 

"Brooklyn 99," Axel says, "it's a sitcom about a police station and the people who work at it."

I nod my head and put my focus on the show. The show turns out to be really funny and I decide that captain Holt is my favorite character. As we start the next episode, the pizza timer goes off and I go deal with it. A few minuets later, I return to the living room with two plates. I hand Axel his and sit back in my spot. After we are done with our food, Axel stands up.

"It's getting late, I better head home," he says.

"Or..." I trail off, "you could spend the night."

"I don't think your mom would appreciate that."

"Good thing she won't be here until tomorrow afternoon."

"I don't want her coming home early and seeing me here."

"She won't. Trust me," I say, "plus, I would really like if you stayed. I don't really like sleeping in the house alone."

"Are you scared?"

"No, it's just," I sigh, "too quiet. It reminds me that my dad's not here and never will be. It reminds me that my sister is in the hospital and my brother is overseas and can die at any moment. I used to hate how loud it was, but now I just hate the feeling of being alone."

Axel pulls me into a hug and places his chin atop my head, "well, you won't be alone tonight."

"Thank you so much," I squeeze him tighter, "my brother, Lydian, has some clothes here that you can probably fit."

I grab Axel's hand and pull him to one of the doors near my mom's room. I open the door and turn on the light and we enter the room. I walk over to one of the dressers in my brother's room and find some grey sweats in one of the draws.

"What size shirt do you wear?" I ask.

"I actually don't sleep in a shirt," Axel says.

"OK, well here you go," I hand the sweats over to him, "once you're dressed come to my room."

I leave the room and close the door behind me to give him some privacy. I walk to my room and get into bed. Not even five minuets later, and Axel is walking into my room. I look up from my phone and I can't help but to look at his bare chest and arms. My eyes roam over his toned arms and his six pack before trailing lower and making eye contact with his extra appendage. The way it looks in sweats alone, has me thoroughly impressed and has me thinking things that I shouldn't be thinking.

"Harmony," Axel says, gaining my attention.

"Huh," I snap out of my day dream.

"I said, where do you want me to sleep?"

"Oh, sorry," I move the cover and pat the space next to me, "you can sleep in here with me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, we slept in the same bed at your house before, it's not much a difference here."

"Ok," he says.

Axel places his stuff on my desk chair before turning off the light and climbing into bed with me. We lay there with our backs facing each other, each in our own thoughts. As time slowly passes, my eyes get heavy. Just as I am about to fall into my slumber, I feel arms wrap around my waist and a chest hit my back. The smell of Axel's soap hits my nose and  I fall into a peaceful sleep.