Stay for Me (Hold Me Close Prequel)

Chapter Sixteen: Field Trip Part III

Hi, so in case you never caught up I actually posted this chapter, but realized through readers that I made a big fuck up, which is kinda funny because I wrote this chapter after not writing for a few months (I've been feeding you guys backup chapters, sorry lol) so I had no idea what was really happening. So here's take number two.
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-=Evan=-

I was already laying in my bed, looking at my phone and scrolling through my Instagram feed. I don't even know why I bother to be honest, the only thing I ever see from it is the overextended lives of the popular kids in school that I could never match. Under my profile there's no posts, only a profile picture of me and Hunter hanging out at work.

The door clicked open following a short, high-pitched beeping sound that was the lock registering a key card. I didn't bother turning around, I know it was just Sam. He set his stuff down beside his bed on top of the accumulating pile of his belongings. I could hear him rummaging through one of his bags and he walked by me to go to the bathroom. He was sweating profusely. Like, a lot. So much so that his entire Adidas workout shirt was sticking to his body, enhancing the visible contours. He wasn't muscular per-se, but he was definitely fit. Before I could get a better look he was gone, shutting the door to the bathroom behind him and a few seconds later turning on the shower.

I took use of the few minutes of privacy that I had by changing clothes into just my boxers, you know, cover up the fun stuff just to be polite, right? I threw my covers over my body and closed my eyes, willing on the oh-so elusive sleep into my eyes. For once I actually fell asleep pretty fast, so much that I never even heard the water stop running.

-=Evan's Dream=-

"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" came out of the stereo system underneath the TV in the living room. It was the first white Christmas in twenty years, or at least that's what momma told me the guy on the news said. Momma and Dad and I are surrounding the Christmas tree in some sort of a half circle, presents each in different colored wrapping paper, some even with a bow. I already know that only two of them aren't mine, both from momma to dad or dad to momma. I was super excited, my tail was swishing back and forth super fast and I was bouncing up and down waiting for the two of them to be finished.

As if he knew exactly what I was thinking, my father looked down at me with his kind eyes.

"Oh you can start buddy, clearly your patience is waning." He chuckled. Both momma and dad turned and spoke to me, exclaiming and raving all about the gifts that Santa had gotten me. Everything I wrote on my Christmas list (which was quite sizeable) was there, including the new bike that I wanted.

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-=Sam=-

I woke up to soft voices at first. I don't really know what I thought I was listening to, to be honest I must have assumed that it was Evan taking a phone call. But then his voice got progressively louder and louder, and before I knew it he was yelling. It clicked in my brain that he must be asleep, because he was screaming about his mom. He was yelling it as if he were still really young, yelling "momma" and thrashing about. I looked over at him, my eyes now adjusted to the minimal light, and saw the look of pure terror on his face. The tears streaming out of clenched shut eyelids.

I don't know what drove me to do it, but I slowly got up and gingerly sat on the foot of his bed. He was curled up sideways into a fetal position. He was really thrashing about, so I put my paw on him to calm him down, and his manic movement ceased until he was shivering and crying. Soon after that, it just became the occasional sniffle.

I tried to get up and go back to my bed, but, while still asleep, Evan whimpered.

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-=Evan=-

So when you wake up, every once in a while you feel that feeling like you are a burrito in your blankets. Personally, I love sleeping while hugging a pillow. So that's what I thought I was doing. But then I remembered I was in a motel. A motel with two beds. A motel with two beds and only one pillow per bed. So what the bloody fuck was I hugging. And why was it breathing.

It didn't take me too long to see that it was Sam, but for some reason I wasn't freaked out. I mean, I totally was. But I wasn't. So instead of doing the usual "you creep, get the fuck off of me!" bit, but I wasn't just going to lay here.

"Sam." I said quietly. "Sam. Sam!" I said louder and louder.

"Wh-what?" I groggy voiced Sam responded.

"What are you doing?" I asked. It took him a second to collect himself, and you know, realize that he was literally spooning me. He jumped out of the bed and rushed over to his own bed.

"Oh my God Evan I-I'm so sorry! You were-were talking in your sleep, and I, I tried to calm you d-down and I must have fallen asleep. I'm so sorry." He stuttered out. He must have also said the phrase "I'm sorry" a couple hundred times before I told him to stop talking and told him that I didn't care, and thank you for trying to help. Honestly, I'm too tired for this shit.

I guess it didn't occur to me that in that very moment, I regained my friend.