I'll Weigh You Down

Chapter 8

Chase's POV

My eyes feel like weights, trying to stay closed and I struggle to open them. The room is dark and I want to go open the curtains and look outside, but I'm too warm to get up. I hug the body underneath me. Wait, who's body is this? I look up to see Pete, his arms above his head, fringe covering his eyes, his mouth slightly open.

Small breaths leave his lips, snoring softly. His heartbeat is slow but steady against my ear when I lay my head on his chest. Concern floods my mind when I see the purple marking on the bridge of his nose and around the corner of his eye. I guess moving around woke him up, his eyes fluttering open, those brown irises looking down at me, his pupils are big from the darkness in the room. He runs a hand through his hair. His shirt is damp with sweat, and sticks to his chest.

"Comfy?" His voice is raspy and quiet, but it's almost calming.

"How are you sweating? I'm so damn cold, and it's practically spring." I roll off of him and look out the window, lazily holding the curtains open with one hand. It's pitch black, abnormal for it being around eight in the morning. Rain covers every inch of the road outside, while black and blue clouds block the sun. I watch intensely as the clouds flash from the lightning, the thunder and rumbles from the sky are music to my ears. Everyone always complains about rainy days. Saying how it depresses them, and that it makes everything too dark. But I fucking love dark and rainy days with a passion. Pete walks beside me and watches out the window, mirroring my movements.

"Fuck it's so beautiful." He mutters, putting his chin is his hand.

"Hey, do you mind if I use the bathroom?"

"Not at all." Pete says, not removing his gaze from the dark beauty that lays outside. I go to Pete's bathroom and lock the door behind me. I strip down until I'm at my underwear, just to examine myself one more time. The bruises that cover my wrists and the small hickey on my neck have darkened over night, becoming more noticeable than ever. Another dark purple bruise lies just above the waistband of my panties. The scrape on my elbow is very tender, the skin being an angry red.

I don't even know why I'm here looking at myself right now. I know it was gonna look bad, but I looked anyway instead of sparing myself the mental torture of looking at the damage. I rub my eyes from the lack of sleep. Actually now that I really think about it, I slept pretty well when Pete was there, and I only remember having nightmares when I was alone. A knock at the door is followed by a voice.

"You need anything in there Chase?" Pete asks, his voice laced with obvious worry.

"Yeah um, you mind if I take a shower? If it's really not too much to ask I-"

"No, please do! But I'll be outside the door if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay." I turn on the water and occasionally check it every few seconds, checking the temperature. Once I decide that it's warm enough, I take off my underwear and step into the tub, pulling the curtain to cover the view. I stand under the shower head for a while, soaking my hair, hot water cascading down my back. I clench my eyes in pain while I vigorously rub the lavender scented body wash over the bruised skin of my body, rinsing it off quickly, because I really don't want to miss the rain outside.

When I step out of the shower, the first thing I notice, is the lack of towels. The only place there's clean towels, is in Pete's closet, not the bathroom. Well shit, no clean clothes either. I open the door just a crack, hiding my naked body behind it as I peak my head out. Pete's asleep once more, lying face down on his bed. My throat is always very scratchy in the morning, so my voice sounds dead and broken when I speak. I have a really bad habit, of not wanting to break the silence, so I almost need to coach myself before I even talk. Ok one, two, three, talk.