Love's Labor's Won

Stress Relief

*Holden's POV*

The credits scrolled, and Lex looked over at my best friend who was still knocked out in the armchair. Lex might be difficult sometimes, but she wasn't heartless, so she rose after a moment, to head back into the kitchen. I caught her wrist as she walked by, and she looked down at me, her expression hardening to annoyance. 

As much as I wish she'd choose a different expression to default to, there was something so exciting knowing I was the reason for the intensity in her eyes. 

"You leaving?" I asked softly. 

She nodded, and slipped from my hold. I looked over at Sam to make sure he was still sound asleep, and then followed after her. She was grabbing the last of her things, quietly putting them in her bag and zipping it up slowly. 

I contemplated what to say, not sure how to play it. "So, this was fun," I began. "I mean, obviously it was unplanned, but it was a nice surprise." 

I know she could hear the smirk in my voice, because she looked up at me, with a few strands of her hair having slipped out from behind her ears, and her eyes slightly widened. "Yeah," she allowed. 

I opened my mouth to reply, but she cut me off. "I've got to go, I already stayed here longer than I'd thought."

I folded my arms, leaning back. "Gonna turn into a pumpkin?"

"Something like that," she replied dismissively. She moved towards the door too quickly, and had it open before I could reach for it. She pushed her headphones onto her head, and just before she covered her ears, she added, "tell Sam I said 'bye'". 

Then the door shut and she was as good as miles away. It was weird, to say the least. It wasn't just her, though. It was the both of us, we'd be intense one second, filled with spite the next, and then random moments of softness. It was enough to confuse even me, and I usually was the type to go with the flow. 

I heard grumbling from the living room, and I knew Sam was awake. "Holden?" he asked, groggily.

"Yeah?" I called, heading back over to the living room. 

"Did she leave?"

"Yeah."

He shifted onto his back and sighed, lying with his eyes closed, enjoying the quiet and the strange peace and laziness that comes with a lonely afternoon on a hot Saturday.

"I gotta go home," I said, finally.

"Okay," Sam said, nodding. I went to go, and heard him call after me. "Be safe." 

I nodded, not able to turn around and look at him. He'd gotten into the habit of saying that before I left his house ever since it became apparent that this was where I'd go when I needed an escape. 

And yet, it never failed to bring a certain tightness to my chest. 

As soon as I parked my car I was on high alert, almost ready for my mother to come running out of the house, a whirlwind of uninhibited emotion. She never would, she knew better than to leave the house when she was like that. I closed the door behind me, and carefully walked over to the fridge, ready to save my burger for later. I walked with nonchalance, trying to not show I was also getting a feel of the level of tension in the air. 

My mother's hunched over figure caught my eye, startling me for a brief second. She was sitting at the table, her head on the lacquered wood, her arms folded, and shoulders raised. It took me a moment to realize she was asleep. Ever since Jared's accident, this was my favorite of her many appearances. She looked so peaceful, and if I brushed her wild, curly hair out of her eyes as I often did, I could catch a glimpse of the woman who raised me. I sighed, and leaned down. I gathered up her limp body in my arms, and walked her to her bedroom. She was too deeply asleep to even stir, and my eyes never left her. I lay her in her bed in what looked like a comfortable position, and grabbed the blanket I kept on top of the blanket chest. She never spoke of this ritual, but for as long as I had been doing this, the grey blanket was folded up on the chest, waiting for me. I leaned over and kissed her head, and walked out.