Close As Strangers

Eight.

Now Playing... I Miss You

"Was your date with lover boy not as spectacular as you thought it would be?" Wes questioned, smirking as I walked through the front door, and I rolled my eyes.

"It was great, thank you very much." I bit back, walking around Wes towards the staircase. "He is an amazing boyfriend."

Wes snickered, leaning against the rail of the stairs. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, baby, but your face says otherwise."

For a second, all I could do was stare at him while his eyes swept across me, and when they finally settled on my neck, I realized that he knew. He had known I was wearing the necklace. But Mason had switched it with his, and I still had the one Wes bought me gripped in my hand.

His jaw ticked, and then he met my eyes again, forcing a smirk. "I see he's the kind who buys your love."

"He's not." I glared, crossing my arms over my chest. "He just likes to see me smile, unlike some people I know."

Wes bitterly laughed. "Here we go again. Is it a hobby of yours to blame me for everything?"

"Is it a hobby of yours to make my life a living hell?"

His shook his head. "Some things never change, huh?"

I scoffed. "No, I guess they don't."

And with that, I walked to my room, letting out a sigh as I closed the door. Where had we gone wrong? I couldn't understand why the one person who used to be the only one I wanted to spend every second with turned out to be the one who hurt me most.

In the middle of the night, I woke up deathly sick. Hour after hour, I was doubled over in front of the toilet, throwing up my lungs. I had been too weak to move, and mom and dad were a business trip, meaning I had to fend for myself.

Or so I thought.

"Molly? I'm coming in." A deep voice spoke from outside my bathroom door, and the next second, Wes was beside me, holding my hair back as I emptied my stomach once again. Once I was finished, I wiped my mouth and leaned against the wall. Wes sat beside me, rubbing my back, and for the next couple hours, he stayed with me, until there was nothing left for me to throw up. I was still too weak to move, so I ended up falling asleep in the bathroom.

When I awoke again, I was lying on Wes' bed, and he was facing the window, his phone in hand. "She's pretty sick. She was up half the night throwing up."

"My poor girl." My mom's voice rang through the line. "Keep an eye on her, Wes."

"I will. I'll see you guys when you come back."

Wes hung up the phone and faced me. He sat beside me on the bed, brushing stray strands of hair out of my face, as he placed a washcloth on my forehead. "How are you feeling?"

I looked away from him. "Why are you pretending to care?"

"I'm not." He bit back, and I looked at him, only to see him staring at me blankly. "If I hadn't cared, I wouldn't have stayed up the whole night with you."

"Oh please. It's probably just your way of keeping your game going, like always."

Wes bit the inside of his cheek, looking away from me as he sighed. "If you're going to be like this, then I'll leave and you can take care of yourself."

I sighed, closing my eyes. "Okay, I'm sorry. Can I use your phone to call Mason?"

He silently handed me his phone before walking back to the window, and I quickly dialed Mason's number, holding the phone to my ear.

"Hey babe, how are you?" Mason's voice echoed through the line, and I smiled.

"I'm sick." I mumbled. "Do you think you could come over?"

He sighed. "Molls, I would love to be there with you, but I just left for Nebraska. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'll just see you when you get back." I replied, sadness sweeping over me as I pulled the blankets closer to me.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Mace."

I hung up the phone and laid it on the nightstand before glancing at Wes. He was facing me, but his eyes were unreadable, and as soon as he realized I was looking at him, he covered it up with annoyance. "That was the sappiest phone call I've heard in my twenty years of life."

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes, sitting up in his bed. "I'm going to my room."

He shook his head, walking towards the door. "You're too weak. Stay here for tonight, and I'll sleep in your room."

He started walking out of the room, and I bit my lip before sighing. "Wes, wait."

He raised his eyebrows as he faced me, and I looked away from him, my cheeks burning. "Would you... could you... lay with me?"

"Um..." He glanced around the room, rubbing the back of his neck. "Why?"

Why was I so nervous around him? It wasn't like I hadn't laid with him before. For goodness sakes, I had seen the kid run around my house in his spider man underwear, jumping from couch to couch in my living room to escape the lava on the floor.

"It's just that when I get sick, Mason lays with me and it always makes me feel better." I played with the hem of his blanket, unable to meet his eyes. "You don't have to. It's not a big deal."

He stood there for a few seconds, his eyes burning into me, and before I knew it, he was climbing into the other side of the bed, pulling the blanket on him. At first, he kept his distance, but then he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled my back to his chest. I snuggled closer to him, closing my eyes as my hands rested on top of his. The longer I laid there in his arms, the more memories flooded my mind.

We could have had it all. We were so indestructible, and people had always envied us for being the best friends they wished they could have, but in the blink of an eye, it was ripped out of my grasp, and I was left staring at my hands, wondering what I had done to deserve it. Wondering why my best friend had to be taken away from me, as if he was never meant for me in the first place. Him being my best friend had felt like a dream, as if it was never reality to begin with.

"Wes?" I whispered, and the only response I got was his soft snores. I sighed, lacing my fingers through his. "I miss you."

And perhaps it was just my imagination, but I swore I heard him respond that he missed me too.