Leading You Home

Third

I wake to birds chirping, the sun busting through the window warming my face, and the promise of new beginnings.

Nah, I'm just kidding.

There are no birds but the sun is shining. The house is silent minus the soft murmurs being passed down stairs. Kicking the covers off my body, I stand in the middle of Bradley's room. His bed is empty and unmade. The door is opened a crack. I walk a little closer to it...and then even closer until I'm standing with my face through the crack.

"-still asleep?" A male voice says, but not Bradley's. It's all I catch and all I need to heard to guess they are talking about me. I start to back away, causing the floor creak loudly underneath my weight. After pausing for a moment, I dart back to the couch and every step sounds like lightning with how loud the wood floor groans.

"Not anymore," I faintly hear Bradley say, followed by a chuckle and footsteps. Bradley shows up a minute later. His hair is damp and in serious need of a comb. "Hey."

"Hey," I reply.

"Did you sleep okay?" He asks, standing in the doorway.

"Yeah, I was fine," I answer, unsure how to continue this conversation. Standing up from the couch, I ask, "Can I take a shower?"

"Yeah. There are towels in the cupboard," he tells me, gesturing to the bathroom attached to his room.

"Thanks," I say and head to my suitcase. My toothbrush, paste, and shower condiments are all the way at the bottom. I eventually give up on trying to get them and decide to take the whole thing in with me. Bradley glances at my suitcase. It's unzipped and clothes are threatening to fall onto the floor.

"You...need any help with your suitcase?" Bradley asks, watching me wheel it and struggle to keep my clothes from falling out.

"Nope. Thanks," I answer curtly before continuing to the bathroom. Bradley is still standing in his doorway when I get there, watching me with amusement. Waving goodbye to him with an awkward smile, I shut the door.

I find my shampoo and conditioner before jumping in the shower. The hot water shimmies and sparkles as it runs down my body. After I'm done, I dress in a comfortable t-shirt, a pair of shorts and finish by brushing my teeth. My hair is wrapped up in a towel when I step out of the steamy bathroom. I put on deodorant before spraying my coconut perfume and walking through the scented mist.

Just after I swallow my vitamins the bedroom door flies open and Bradley strolls in. Thank God I decided to change in the bathroom. When he passes me he whacks the towel that is on top of my head, causing my head to fall forward and the towel to tumble right off, tugging at my hair painfully.

I hear him laugh lightly. I glare at him as I grab the towel before it can hit the floor. His face suddenly goes serious, any touch of amusement has been ripped from his features.

"It smells like girl in here," he mutters in horror, looking around the general area while yanking his cell phone from its charger.

"Maybe, call me crazy, it's because I'm a girl and I'm in your room," I tell him, tossing my bathroom supplies back into my suitcase.

"I've had plenty of girls in here," he explains, walking in my direction. "And I've never smelled this much girl."

"I'm just different, I guess."

"Different because you stunk up my room or different because you're the only one I let stay till morning?" He asks, pretending to be serious. Or at least, I think he's pretending. I show him my perfume bottle and pretend to spray some on him. He flinches away.