As I Fall Asleep- Joshua Bassett

Chapter 15

I don't move, scared that I might wake up Josh. Sometime in the night, he moved up against my back, spooning me. I lay there for a second, trying to come up with a plan. I hear Josh's steady breathing in my ear, and feel his breath on my neck, sending a shiver down my spine.

A minute later, my alarm goes off on my phone and Josh sits up in a flash.

"Oh no," he says turning over to check his phone. I glace at him and see he has multiple missed phone calls and double the texts... all from Sabrina. I remember him telling me that he was supposed to stop by her place last night. That obviously didn't happen.

He groans and stands up, running his hands through his hair. I stand up on the other side of the bed.

"Go, call her back, I have to get going anyways," I tell him as I cross the room and begin packing my things.

Josh looks up at me, with a solemn expression. It's probably because Sabrina's pissed, but I want to think It's because I'm leaving.

He grabs his jacket from the chair beside the window and walks up to me. "Don't forget to visit, alright?"

I look up at him and smile, "Of course. And if you're ever in Fresno, give me a call."

He looks like he's about to walk away, but he instead wraps me in an embrace, holding me around my waist. It takes me by surprise, but I soon reach and wrap my arms around his neck.

As our bodies are pressed together, I whisper, "Thank you..." I don't know how to complete that thought. Thank you for saving my life in Hawaii? For being my friend and confidant? For being there for me? For watching out for me, especially last night. Instead, I settle for "For everything."

We both step back, and Josh looks at me. "And thank you..." he takes a pause, most likely going through the same thought process I just went thought a second ago. He finishes with "for everything as well."

He gives me one last smile and walks out the hotel room, shutting the door and leaving me alone once again.

***

The journey home is uneventful and a few days later, I'm back in the swing of things. I get home in the middle of Thanksgiving break, so I have some time to prepare for going back to school. I have been doing online school for months and am ready to see people again.

The Monday after Thanksgiving, I wake up and get ready for school, taking extra care to cover all my scars. It's not that I'm ashamed of them, I just don't want to be answering tons of questions all day. I put on some jeans and a crème sweater, putting my hair into a braid crown and donning on a small amount of makeup.

I say goodbye to my family, get in my car, and head to school for the first time since last school year. When I pull in the parking lot, no one pays me any attention. Ok, maybe this won't be as bad as I think. As I walk across the parking lot, more and more people turn their heads and stare. Great.

I go to my first class, AP Psychology and go up to the teacher. "Hi, I'm-"

"Katie," he finishes for me. "I'm so glad you're able to come back to school." He smiles warmly. "Since you've been doing class online, you're all caught up. Just go ahead and take a seat in the back and we will get started soon on a new chapter. I nod and take a seat in the back next to a girl named Aislyn.

I've known Aislyn for a few years, as she was on my water polo team in the past.

"Hey," I tell her as I out my stuff on the desk and sit down.

Aislyn immediately gives me a hug and goes, "OMG! How are you doing? Are you ok?"

Her outburst causes some people to turn around and stare at me, making me want to hide. "I'm good" I tell her, not going into any details. Thankfully, class begins, and people turn their attention to the teacher.

The rest of the day goes like that. People staring and a few asking questions. Some girls even came up to me in the hallway and asked how meeting Joshua Bassett was. I didn't really want to answer that, so I just gave a "Good. He's very nice," which wasn't a lie.

After school I go to the pool deck. My doctors have cleared me for light swimming and kicking, but water polo would have to wait. After changing I jump in the pool, letting the brisk water surround me. I've forgotten how nice the water feels. I stay underwater, just relishing the feeling, until my lungs beg for a release, and I breach the surface. My teammates wave to me, heading to the other side of the pool for water polo practice.

I swim laps, not pushing too hard. I'm already exhausted from the day. I let the sound of the water and the bubbles take over my senses and I close my eyes for a second.

Then, without warning, I picture the shark swimming up from underneath me and biting me. I jerk open my eyes and of course there is no shark, but I swim quickly to the side of the pool and hop up in the deck, catching my breath. My leg, side, and arm are aching now, a phantom pain from the small panic attack I just had. I take a steadying breath, then another. Soon, I'm calm again. I check the time and realize I've been swimming for almost two hours and the girls are getting out of practice now, drying off.

I stand up and head over to them, grabbing my towel and wrapping it around me, deciding to be done for the day. We all catch up for a while until I tell them I have to go home.

Once I get home, I shower and change into some pajamas. I sit on my bed with a huff and pull out my phone. Much to my surprise, I have a missed call from Josh. I click his icon and hold the phone up to my ear, listening to the ringing. After a few rings he picks up.

"Hey"

"Hey, sorry I missed your call."

"No worries. I just called to see how your first day back went."

I smile. He remembered.

"It was okay, a few stares and questions, but besides that, I had a good day. It was nice to see my friends again and be around people."

"Well, I'm glad," he tells me from the other end.

"How was your day?" I ask.

"Insane. In fact, it's still going. I've been filming since 5 and in between shots, I've been writing new stuff. I'm still on set, but only have a few scenes left to shoot."

"Oh wow. Do you need to get back right now? We can talk later."

"No, it's fine. They're setting up for the next scene, so I have time."

After a pause I ask, "So any chance you'll ever let me hear this new material that you're working on?"

"Uh maybe," he laughs, "I don't know. It's still pretty rough right now, but once it gets better, I might let you have a sneak peek."

"Sweet" I say into the phone, making Josh laugh again.

We talk for another 10 minutes then I hear in the background, "Josh, we're ready for you!"

"I have to go," he tells me.

"Ok well thanks for calling. Good luck!"

I hang up the phone and roll to my back with a goofy smile on my face.

******************************** 

Sorry for the shorter chapter, it's just to move things along. 

There are going to be a few filler chapters, but then... get ready 

-kb