Ghost Of You (A Novella)

Chapter Eighteen (REWRITTEN)

As the day wore on, Avery had collected herself fairly well—after a ten minute cry in the bathroom, she felt as if she was good to go. She could face this. She could pretend. It wasn't as if he purposely forgot her... was it?

She didn't know, but she wouldn't spend the rest of her day sulking. In fact, maybe the more she was around him, the less it would hurt. While to everyone else that seemed counter-productive, to Avery it made perfect sense. The more she knew him, the more vices she would uncover and the quicker her feelings would dissipate.

Cracking her knuckles, Avery took a deep breath before gently rapping at his door. Before she could thank any and all gods above that he was sleeping, she heard a quiet, "Yeah" from the other side.

She cursed in silent disappointment. It was easy to be confident in such a foolish plan when it was only a thought. Putting it into action was not as simple as she would have hoped. "I was just checking to see if you needed fresh water," she mumbled, finding the floor a more interesting thing to focus on.

Sebastian dipped his head, attempting feebly to get her to look at him. His lips flattened into a thin line, not sure why it bugged him that she refused to make eye contact with him. Was the floor really more entertaining to her? "No, thank you," he replied, noting in despair that her shoulders seemed to relax with the thought of not having to deal with him.

Sebastian wasn't going to let her off that easily.

With the mention of water, came the unavoidable feeling of a full bladder and she just coincidentally happened to be the only one near him that could help. "Uh... I do need some help though." He took great pleasure in seeing her muscles tense and ultimately ceasing her escape.

Avery inwardly cringed, a kind, albeit fake, smile plastered to her face, "Yes?" All of her courage had been viciously extinguished the second he responded to her knock. She desperately wanted to abandon this plan. However, finding him chewing on his nails intensely made her feel right at home. Maybe she could do this after all.

He promptly quit when she finally gave him the attention he so miserably craved. "Well..." Awkwardly, he rubbed the back of his neck, not entirely positive he knew how to ask this girl to help him do the things he needed to do. "Two things, actually." Could he push his luck? He was definitely going to try. First things first though, "Um, I need to use the restroom..."

"Oh," She blanched. She wasn't qualified for that. In fact, even if she was, she wouldn't help Sebastian, that was just... they weren't 'there' yet. She glanced over her shoulder, wondering who to ask for help before a full on belly-laugh had her head snapping back to the boy in the bed.

"I don't need you to hold it, Avery." He explained, "My hands work just fine, it's my legs..." They were still weak from months of nonuse and getting out of bed was hard for him to do on his own. Once he was up, however, he could handle it on his own.

It?

Jesus, she wanted to die.

With no loose hair to hide her feverish blushing, she approached him with her head down. Sebastian slid to the edge of the bed and together, they swung his legs over the side, both ignoring the sensation touching the other brought them.

It was Sebastian's turn to blush, embarrassed by being so hopeless and reliant on her as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders using the other to push himself off the bed. Unsteady, he swayed until Avery placed a hand on his chest. His breath hitched and their eyes met.

Suddenly, his legs were weak for an entirely different reason.

Avery paused, her blues flickering between his hazels and she wondered, if possibly, he might have remembered her... but it was fleeting.

Sebastian cleared his parched throat, "Just, uh, walk with me for a second. I'll get my balance back." Was it hot in here? He should ask her to switch the air. And order him a pizza. And what perfume she was wearing because it smelled wonderful—fruity and tropical, like his senior trip to the Bahamas.

She nodded, numbly, keeping her hand on his chest for support and ignoring her yearning heart. He shuffled at first, his feet reacquainting themselves to the linoleum, before he started taking small, more confident steps. She smiled at him, encouragingly.

When they finally reached the door, he grasped the frame, unwillingly pulling his arm off her shoulder. "Could you..." He pointed to his ears, "You know? I think it's going to sound like a racehorse."

Avery let out a relieved laugh, "I planned on it, but thank you for that detailed information." It was something she felt she could have lived without knowing.

"You're very welcome." He softly bopped her on the nose before closing the door. He liked her laugh. A lot.