haze / afi

part 24. sleeping over

sleeping in a house you're not used to being in isn't always a problem. some people find it easy to get into bed and fall asleep right away.

violet isn't like that.

yes, she's slept in ashton's bed, alone, before. after their movie night, she fell asleep and he carried her up here to let her sleep. but, she had no idea that was happening, being too tired to comprehend what was going on that night.

tonight is different, she agreed to stay over, she agreed to sleep in his bed, alone. she wasn't asleep already this time, she's had a chance to think about it all.

it's not like she's completely alone. ashton and luke are in the guest room not far from where she is. she isn't alone in this house. her friends are here. and yet.. she still feels alone.

after she'd showered, got dressed into her spare clothes that she'd brought for after being in the pool, light blue sweatpants and pink tee, ashton talked to her. made sure she didn't need anything else. and she said she didn't. being sure she'd be alright. he left, heading to the guest room.

now she's rethinking things. hasn't slept a wink since her head hit ashton's very soft, puffy pillows. changing how she's laying, twisting and turning, nothing was working.

the longer she's awake, the longer her mind has a chance to mess with her.

why is she here? she should've gone home. why didn't she? she knows she's terrible at sleeping somewhere she's not completely familiar with. so why did she agree?

she has the bedside lamp on, emitting a soft golden glow nearest to her. the only source of light in the room. a digital clock next to that light, showing a time of 2:30 am. why isn't she asleep yet? it's quiet enough for her to sleep, no outside noise, no inside noise.

and suddenly, it feels a little.. too quiet.

there's no sound coming from anywhere. ashton and luke are sleeping, she can't hear them. no talking, no ticking of a clock. nothing to stop her from hating being alone in this house.

she takes a breath, reaching for her phone which is charging, resting on the bedside table. she finds her and ashton's text messages. thinking about sending a text, he's probably not awake. it's worth a shot.

violet:
hey
are you awake?
please say you're awake
of course you're not it's fucking 2:30
sorry im texting this late
now you're gonna wake up and see all this
sorry

just as she sends the last message. the floor in the hall creaks. door to the bedroom opening. violet looks over, seeing ashton coming inside. he closes the door behind him, walking closer to the bed.

"are you okay?" he asks, sounding worried.

she turns her phone off, now feeling bad for making him come down here, "i can't sleep." she admits.

he lets out a sigh, "i thought something was wrong," he chuckles. "you're okay though? apart from not sleeping?"

she nods, placing her phone back on the bedside table. he walks closer to the bed, standing on the side furthest from her. violet rolls onto her side, looking up at him.

"have you slept at all?" she shakes her head. "why didn't you text me before? i would've been in here already."

"i thought you were asleep," she looks away from him. "didn't wanna bother you."