Your Worst Fears

Chapter 25: Time

I went outside to look for Nick's crutches while he took a shower, trying to give him some privacy. He hadn't taken any clothes into the bathroom with him, and, knowing him, he'd probably come out naked, which would make the already awkward situation that much more awkward. As I walked around the yard, all I could think about was how we'd gotten ourselves into this mess. How an innocent night of investigating had turned our lives upside down. If only we could rewind time somehow.

A flash of silver caught my eye, letting me know I'd found one of his crutches. When I picked it up and looked around, I found the other one about ten feet away. Gathering them both up, I started to head back inside, but stopped and sat down in the grass instead. It was a bit chilly outside, but the sun felt nice and warm, so I leaned back, raising my face to the sky, and tried to let it relax me, which it surprisingly did.

My skin got hotter and hotter as I sat there and I wondered how long it would take for my cheeks to get burnt, but as I pulled my PJs up above my knees and laid back, stretching my legs out so they could get some sun, too, I just didn't care. It's sad that, for me, being reckless consisted of going out in the sun without using sunscreen.

Letting the sun melt away some of the stress that kept gnawing at me, I tried my best to clear my mind, not dwelling on the things I had no control over, at this point. That was the only way we were going to be able to attempt to get over this and move on—by trying to forget it. I knew that would never happen, but we could try.

As I raised my arms up to put them behind my head, I felt a tickle on the side of my neck as Nick's necklace slid across my collarbone and fell, dangling from its chain. Suddenly, I felt panicked, realizing I'd left Nick alone... alone and unprotected.

I snatched up his crutches and ran inside, sprinting to his bathroom, which was filled with nothing but steam. When I spun around, I found Nick standing in his room, looking as surprised as I was once I saw him.

"What are you doing?" he asked, looking a little worried. "Is something wrong?"

As I shook my head, my eyes traveled across his wet body, from his burned skin and angry-looking cut on his side, which I'd given him, to the blue towel that was barely hanging around his hips, outlining the defined ridges of his stomach. His ankle looked really swollen, too, but my eyes didn't stay on it too long, quickly venturing back up. By the time my eyes made their way to his face, a cocky grin was plastered on it.

He kept his eyes on mine, but I quickly looked away as I walked into his room and laid his crutches on the bed beside him. "I didn't mean to leave you for so long... without the necklace, I mean. I left you unprotected." I stepped back toward his door, putting some space between us.

"That's okay."

"Do you really think it's okay now? That it's gone?"

He shrugged. "I can't say for sure, but I don't feel anything anymore. Not inside me or here in the house. Do you?"

I thought about his question, examining every little emotion I was feeling. "No, I don't feel it, either... not the fear. I feel uncertain, like it might come back, but it's not here now."

"And that's all we can hope for right now." His voice was low, thoughtful, but still pained. He forced a smile and reached for his towel. "Unless you want to see me naked, which I think you might, you may want to step out a minute so I can get dressed."

His teasing, which I'd missed, caught me by surprise, so it took a few seconds for me to roll my eyes. "No, I think I'm good," I replied sarcastically as I walked back into his kitchen. "I've seen enough scary things here lately to do me for a while," I added.