When He Leaves - R. Cameron

14 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤

𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡
𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤

summer of '19

          Rory fluttered her eyes open at the sound of footsteps, seeing Rafe sit beside her curled up body on the couch. She had fell asleep in the middle of watching a movie— it was light outside then, but now it was dark. She pulled the blanket tighter over her shoulders and watched him quietly. He was staring at his hands, turning them over as if to inspect them. "Everything okay?" She asked, her voice laced with sleep. He glanced over at her as if he was startled. He nodded and cleared his throat. "Yeah. Sorry I woke you."

          She rubbed her eyes and yawned. "What time is it?" She began to search around for her phone by slipping her hand around her to body to feel for it. "About midnight. How long have you been sleeping?" He smiled at her, but it didn't quite reach the eyes. If anything, it looked like it pained him to smile any bigger. She could tell something was wrong.

            "Since about six." Rory sat up beside him and reached over him to turn the lamp on. Her hair fell in front of his face, which made him brush it behind her ear. His calloused fingers made her skin tingle. She leaned back, careful not to lose his hold on her cheek, and frowned when she saw his face— a black eye and a busted lip. She reached out and brushed her thumb over the dried blood that had trickled from the corner of his mouth. "Rafe, what happened to you?" She murmured and searched his face for more damage. There was a purple bruise over his jaw also.

          Rafe swallowed and pushed his fingers to the place behind her ear, frowning at her. "I should have stayed far away from you." He said and shook his head. She furrowed her eyes brows at him in confusion, moving closer to where her knee rested halfway on his thigh. "Why?" She tilted her head at him, leaning further into his touch. His thumb was working circles on her scalp, and she was trying hard to not fall back asleep.

          "You worry too much about me. And you're always caring when you shouldn't." He sighed, as if it was all too much. "Can I just ask you to not bring this back up for awhile? I just want to be somewhere where I can pretend like none of this fucking happened." His fingers were not so gentle now, slipping further behind her head. He tilted her head up and she swallowed, staring into his blown out pupils. His eyes were nearly black and fixed on her, tracking from her own eyes to her lips, and back again.

          Rory would have nodded if she could. Instead she blinked and spoke. "I promise I won't bring it up." He nodded after she said that and brought her closer. Her hand was still on his jaw, not moving but feeling the warmth of his skin. "You smell like smoke and nighttime." She muttered, nervously watching him lick his lips.

          Her stomach felt queasy, in an anxious way, and her pulse was throbbing in her ears. "I was around someone who was smoking." He whispered as he leaned in, his nose dragging over her jaw. She inhaled a lung full of air and held her breath as he proceeded to the spot below her ear. "You smell way better—" His lips touched her earlobe as he murmured, "you always smell good." He pressed his forehead against her temple and sighed.

            She swallowed again and dropped her hand to his shoulder. "You're okay though, right?" She asked out of concern. He was acting odd. Of course he had touched her before, more than most, and he flirted with her. But this was different. He seemed drunk off giving her affection, and she did not know but this was it what she craved from him. "You're acting weird."

          Rafe chuckled quietly and turned her head to look at him. Their faces were a breath apart, and she found it very difficult to keep her eyes off his pink lips. "I'll be fine. I'm always fine." He even speaking strangely, making her even more frustrated— more from the light touches that seemed like they were going everywhere but then nowhere, and some on his vague answers that sounded like nothing but nonsense.