Night Shifts | Billie Eilish

Chapter Five

ILLICIT AFAIRS

I sat in the parking garage in my car, half past midnight, wondering what the fuck I was going to do. Billie was still sound asleep beside me, and every which way I could go right now is probably the wrong one. I threw my head back and mentally groaned as loud as I could, knowing the only thing I could do right now was either sit in the car with her all night or wake her up and bring her into my apartment.

I decided on the latter, biting my bottom lip as I reached over to gently rouse the girl from her slumber. I placed my hand on her shoulder and rubbed it as lightly as I could, anxiety bubbling in my stomach.

The last thing I wanted to do was scare her.

"Billie?" I said quietly.

Her muscles twitched under my touch, and her eyelids fluttered. I pulled my hand back and waited for her to come to. She eventually looked over at me wearily, pulling her thumb from her mouth. I couldn't quite tell if she was still regressed or not, but let's hope not for her sake.Although, personally, I wouldn't mind.

"Hey, Billie, I need you to wake up for a little bit so we can go inside. Can we do that?" I asked. She took a moment to process what I said before she nodded sleepily and tried to get herself out of her door. I got out myself and went around quickly to help her. I locked the car and put my arm around her waist to keep her steady.

It was very clear to me she wasn't really awake at all.

It wasn't until I got us both into the elevator when Billie looked down at my hand on her and back up to me. Her cheeks turned pink, so I pulled it off. "Sorry, I didn't want you to fall over," I apologized, but she grabbed my hand and put it back onto her side, avoiding my gaze."Oh?" I murmured to myself.

Before I could think about it too much, the elevator opened up, and we walked out together into the hallway. I stopped by my door and fished around in my pocket for my keys, Billie resting her head on my shoulder in those short moments.

I unlocked the white door, pushed it open, and walked into my living room. With my apartment being so small, I only had one bedroom, so I decided I would sleep on the couch, and the teen could sleep in my bed. I cleaned my room today and washed the sheets, so I didn't see anything wrong with it. Well, apart from the obvious—the fact that I had a patient in my private residence.Billie trudged beside me, and I sat her down on the bed once we got in. "Here, let me take your shoes off," I said, squatting down and beginning to untie her shoelaces. I pulled them off her feet and placed them beside the bed.

"You gonna be okay here tonight?" I asked. She nodded and crawled up the bed to the pillows. "Okay... Well, goodnight, Billie. Sleep well," I said, sending her a small, warm smile. She curled into the duvet and waved at me.

I walked out and shut the door behind me, heading to my linen cupboard to grab some spare blankets and pillows, and made my way to the couch. My stomach was fluttering, reminiscing on the previous moments tonight.

God, what am I doing with this girl?

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"Uh... excuse me, Harley..."

I shot up from my sleeping position at the sudden noise. I glanced around the room, dazed, until my eyes fell upon Billie. Only then did I put all the pieces together. "Sorry," we both said at the same time, making me chuckle lightly to myself.

"Uhm, can I use your bathroom?" she asked, rocking back and forth on her feet slightly. "Yeah, of course, sweetheart. It's opposite my room," I told her, pointing back to where she came from. She walked awkwardly away and shut the door behind her.

I rubbed my eyes and yawned, fully waking up. I checked my phone for the time and to see if I had any important notifications.

9:32 AM

Once Billie came back, I put my phone down and got up. "Did you sleep okay?" I asked. "I guess. Is that your bed?" she asked me. "Yeah, sorry. I was so all over the place last night. I didn't know what to do honestly, but I knew both you and I didn't want you back at your house," I said with a shake of my head.

"Thanks," she said quietly, then eyed my phone on the counter. "Can I use that? I want to call my brother. Maybe he can come get me," she said. I nodded and handed it over to her after unlocking it. "I'll go find something for us to eat," I said, leaving her in the living room for some privacy. I searched my fridge and cupboards, cursing myself for putting off grocery shopping for so long.

"He can come get me. In an hour or two."

I jumped at the sudden voice behind me and giggled to myself. "Jesus, Billie. Walk louder, will you?" I joked. "Sorry," she laughed a little too. I bit my lip as I turned around, ready to ask the question that's been gnawing at me since yesterday.

"Sweetheart... do you regress?"

Her eyes suddenly widened to the size of golf balls, and her cheeks turned about five shades darker. She went rigid and just stared at me in fear.

"Shit, I'm sorry for asking such a forward question, but it's okay. I just wanted to know so maybe I could find you better treatment plans," I quickly explained myself, coming over to her. "It's okay if you do," I repeated. "I know what it's like. I'm a caregiver."

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