When He Leaves - R. Cameron

24 𝑔𝑜 𝑜𝑛, 𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝑎𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒

𝑔𝑜 𝑜𝑛,
𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝑎𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒

summer of '19

                Rory waited, almost the rest of the day, for Rafe to show back up. He was at a party the entire night, selling drugs to earn back the money he had misused— she didn't know this. And Rafe would never tell her. She fell asleep in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. She had the feeling of dread, like something heavy was weighing down on the pit of her stomach.

                She fell asleep like that, thinking too much about too little. She dreamed of her dad, him throwing beer bottles at her head as she tried to calm him down. When one came flying right toward her, one that he had not missed, she woke up to her whole body flinching like it was really happening. In all reality, it was not a dream. It was a memory.

                 She was still lying on her back, and she could pressure over her stomach, Rafe's arm. He was laid on his side, his head on her chest like he always used to lay with her, his legs hanging off the edge of the bed, as if he had just got there. "What's wrong?" He asked when she sighed.

                 "Why are you awake?" She looked down at him.

                 She could see even now, how dilated his pupils were as he eyes searched her face. His shirt and pants were off, and she was nearly sweating from how hot his body was against hers. "I can't sleep. What made you wake up like that?"

                 Rory shook her head and watched as he moved, laying his head on the pillow next to hers. "Nothing." She sat up and reached over, laying her hand over his forehead. "I think you have a fever, or something. You're really hot." She said, leaning down to press her lips against there, also, like her mom used to do when she was sick as a little girl.

               "Thanks." When she leaned back to look at him, she could see the grin in the dark and the subtle wink he gave her. The confusion immediately left her, and it was replaced with a glare. "I'm fine. I've been getting like this at night." He said with a chuckle.

             That worried her even further. "That worries me." He reached up and cupped the back of her neck, making sure she stayed where she was, inches away from his face with her hair falling around him like a curtain. This was his favorite place— surrounded by darkness, with Rory by his side. His world was always so loud, full of thoughts that consumed, insecurities that made him lose control. But here, it was quiet. She was his peace.

                "I'm not worth worrying about." He whispered, his tongue slipping over his lower lip as his eyes made an implicit appraisal of her eyes, the barely-there freckles on her cheeks and nose, and then stopped at her lips. She could suddenly feel and hear her heart pounding, the fast thud echoing in her ears.

                She swallowed and he watched her, his lips curving up in a secret smile at her nervousness. "You were gone a long time." She murmured, frowning down at him. She needed to say something, anything so that she could breathe normally again.

                "But you stayed." He said, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her toward him. He kissed her, a light press of his lips against hers before pulling away. It was the kind of kiss you only seen lovers do, like it was true and complacent. And she didn't really know what to think about it— she did not want whatever this was between them to get comfortable, and something that would never change.

                She nodded, not meeting his eyes. "You told me to."

                Rafe sighed and moved her to lay down, hovering over her with messy hair and impassioned eyes. The nervousness was back, making her face hot and her breathing unsteady. "So you always do what people tell you to do?" He asked her in a whisper, that tempting smile back on his face.