On Thin Ice

48

Waking up alone in Fox's bed was not something I was used to. Before opening my eyes, I felt around the mattress, grasping the comforter when I realized the bed was empty.

Fox and I had gone straight to his house after school on Friday afternoon. Since we had the house to ourselves, we ended up in his bedroom and I must have fallen asleep soon after that.

I crawled out of the bed, picking my clothes up off the floor and putting them on before heading downstairs where I found Fox and Wren sitting on the couch together, watching TV. The two of them sat side by side, not saying anything as they kept their focus on the television.

My lips quirked up as I watched the two of them. It may not have seemed like much, but the fact that they were actually doing something together, despite how mundane, was progress for the brothers. They weren't fighting or sitting on opposite sides of the room. Instead, they sat together in comfortable silence.

"Hey," I called out, walking over to the couch to sit next to Fox. He turned to face me and instantly smiled.

"Finally decided to get your ass out of my bed?" he joked with a grin.

I leaned into him, grabbing his arm and putting it around me. I couldn't get enough of being in his embrace. It felt like I had spent so much of my life without feeling comfortable with this sort of affection, because I had never gotten it. Now, it was all I wanted.

"You left me there," I mumbled, lying down so I could rest my head on his chest.

Fox wrapped his arm around me even tighter, putting his hand on the top of my head to play with my hair.

"Baby," he said, my eyes shooting up at him. "I did not say that as a pet name, I was calling you a baby," he quickly clarified.

I scoffed at his words. "I gave you a pet name."

He looked down at me, his brows furrowing in confusion. "No, you didn't."

I raised my eyebrows. "Foxy."

"Sh!" Fox covered my mouth with his hand, but he was too late. Wren was already laughing from his spot on the couch.

"Oh my God," Wren chuckled, shaking his head.

"Elijah," Fox whined, taking his hand off my mouth. I just laughed at his embarrassment. "That is not a pet name."

"It, quite literally, is," Wren pointed out, standing from the couch.

Fox glared up at his brother, but it wasn't like he usually did. They were having playful, harmless banter. It made me wonder what had happened while I was asleep that made them act civil with one another.

Wren pulled his car keys out of his pocket and handed them over to Fox.

"Take my car on your date," he said as if he wasn't giving Fox an option. "Just don't wreck it."

"I'm not you, I'll be fine," Fox retorted, grabbing the keys.

Wren rolled his eyes but didn't comment as he left the room to go upstairs. It was then that I noticed it was almost seven o'clock, otherwise known as the time we were supposed to meet up with Claudia and Holly.

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier? We have to go," I said, standing up from the couch and pulling him with me.

"Because you were worn out," Fox replied with a smirk, earning a light punch in the shoulder from me. "And you look so cute when you're sleeping."

I rolled my eyes. "You weren't even in there, so it's not like you were looking at me."

"I was for a little bit," he said, starting toward the front door.