Awakened

Thirty-Five

I could tell that I had slept most of the day away when my eyes finally fluttered open. The room was filled with natural sunlight from the open curtains, and Sam was no longer in the bed next to me. After getting inside and away from the cluster-fuck that happened next door, both her and Shelly snuggled up with me in my bed. They soothed me with kind words, telling me that I wasn't a terrible person... even though I feel like a total jerk. When I was close to sleep Shelly left to go to her room, but Sam stayed. We didn't talk after Shelly left, she just played with my hair and let me cry.

I don't want to get out of bed. I wish I could just stay holed up in the safety of my warm comforter and avoid this entire situation all together, but I know that isn't possible. I could avoid it for a while, but eventually I will have to face the music. I scan the room for my phone and see it resting on the bedside table. There are several messages from Beau, and my stomach begins to flutter at the sight of his name on the screen.

Beau: I acted like an ass, I'm sorry.

Beau: Can you please come back out here? We need to talk, Katherine.

Beau: I really am sorry, Kat. I'll make this up to you. I promise.

My heart skips a beat as I reread his words over and over. My fingers begin to type out a response.

Katherine: I just woke up. Yes, you were an ass.

Maybe five minutes after I hit send I hear Shelly's voice through the closed door. "Hey, you awake in there?"

"Yes, I am." I reply.

The door opens slowly and she gives me a reassuring smile. "How ya feeling, Sweetheart?"

"I'm alright, my head hurts and I don't want to ever leave this room again. I can't face the Dalton family any time soon... I am so embarrassed. Everything is all screwed up now..."

Shelly sits at the edge of my bed and shrugs her shoulders. "You're being pretty hard on yourself, kid. I know this situation is less than desirable, but I promise it will be okay. This too shall pass."

I can't help but crack a small smile, and she continues. "And, Katherine? I think you may have to face them a little sooner than you thought. Beau's been sitting at my kitchen table since the sun came up, and now that he knows you are awake I doubt I'll be able to keep him away."

I groan loudly and pull the covers over my head.

"Want me to tell him to get lost?" She asks.

I reveal myself and shake my head. "No, you can send him in. Might as well get the show on the road."

She nods and leaves without another word, and a few seconds later Beau appears in the doorway.

"Hey." He says coolly, seemingly gauging my mood.

"Hi." I respond, matching his tone.

He crosses the room and sits on my bed. "I know that was bad, and I'm sorry. I just got pissed, and I'm shit at controlling my temper. He just- Fuck. No excuses, I'm sorry I made things worse, Kat."

I want to be mad at him.

His hand finds mine and squeezes it lightly.

"Hey, talk to me? Please? You're killing me here."

Dammit. I can feel my guard coming down. His eyes are full of remorse, and I know that as soon as he realized how upset I was last night he freaked out.

"Look, that was probably the most uncomfortable situation I have ever been in. I care about Thomas, and I feel like he will never forgive me for choosing you. That hurts... really bad. I don't want to be with him in that way, but I still wanted the friendship that we'd developed. It meant a lot to me." I exhale and continue. "This thing with you is scary... and uncertain. And your mom? She must totally hate me after that. She seemed so disappointed."

Beau leans in and closes the space between us even more. "No, she doesn't. She's confused, but not angry. None of them even knew we'd ever really talked. It all came out of left field to them. Thomas will get over it, maybe not right away.. but he will. You said you wanted to try this... to see if we could really do this. Has that changed?"

I shake my head. "No, nothing has changed."

He lets out a sigh of relief and presses his lips to mine, kissing me softly. His mouth possesses mine in a way that I don't think anyone else ever could. His hands bury into my messy bedhead hair and pull me in closer, our kiss deepening. It's easy to forget everything happening around us while we are connected like this, back to our little bubble where nothing else matters.

But things do matter, they matter a lot. I pull away and he looks at me, face contorted with concern. "You can't go all caveman like that anytime someone makes you angry. And I don't ever want to hear you throw me in his face like that again. That was so not cool."

He nods and tries to kiss me again, but I place a finger against his lips. "I'm not done. Now that they know about us I want to do it all the right way. I want the hearts and flowers, you got that?"

Beau laughs and rolls his eyes. "I thought we already established that. Hearts, flowers, and all that other romantic bullshit."

"We did, but now it's real. Now they know that we are together. There are no more excuses or secrets. If we do this, we do it right. Totally normal relationship, a totally normal monogamous relationship." I emphasize that last bit, wanting to make it perfectly clear that I am not going to be okay with him hanging on other girls anymore.

"Babe, I got it. Now can I please kiss you? I'm going crazy here."

I let out a giggle and he pounces on me, pinning my body to the bed beneath me. His lips crush into mine and I part them, letting his tongue inside to explore. Our breathing is heavy, and all that I can feel is heat and electricity as our bodies press into one another. He pulls away for a second and looks down at me, staring into my eyes with a boyish grin on his face. I take the opportunity to revel in his beauty. His strong jaw that tenses and drives me wild, those incredible green eyes, the shape of his full lips still swollen and red from the kiss. He is unlike any other boy.. no- man I have ever seen.

"I feel like I'm in middle school again." He laughs. "Fully clothed make out sessions and dry humping? What are you doing to me baby?"

I blush, and he shakes his head. "Come here," he says in a low growl, pulling me back into another kiss. My body responds to his instinctively, and when his fingers brush against my skin it sends shivers down my spine. "You are so innocent, so perfect." he whispers in my ear. I feel his index finger slip underneath the waistband of my pajama pants, but he goes no further as if waiting on my approval. I slide my hand on top of his, guiding it further down making it clear that I want him to touch me.

I need him to touch me, to make me feel alive. I need him to relieve the constant ache I have for him, and have ever since the moment I first laid eyes on him.