Take Me Home | ✔

Chapter Forty-Four

THE NEXT DAY WAS CHAOS.

At least it felt like it. I woke up exhausted and drained, mainly because Vienna and I didn't say goodnight until two in the morning, and Angie knocked on my door at six with a list of all the chores I needed to do before her big day, and the sun wasn't even up yet.

"Rise and shine, Ell-Bell!" she chirped, knocking eagerly and hard on the wooden door. "We got a lot to do today!"

As much as I loved Angie and approved of her one hundred percent for my uncle and Tess, I needed my sleep. I shouldn't have been so tired, but my sleeping schedule is all out of whack. From flying from Denmark to Texas and staying up all night with her, the guest bed and the pillows were suddenly comfier than ever and I couldn't tear myself away let alone keep my eyes open for more than four seconds. The only thing that actually made me want to get up out of bed was the slight chance of doing those chores with her today. 

Reluctantly and albeit a little forcefully, I eventually got out of bed half an hour later with a towel and some shampoo, and walked out of my room like a dazed zombie at seven in the morning. I could hear Angie downstairs chiding Payton for leaving crumbs on the floor and Uncle Terrence whooping at the TV during some sports game. The upstairs halls were empty, and both Vienna and Tess' doors were shut closed. A pang of jealousy hits me in the face at how they got to sleep in, but I think that Vienna's starting to grow on me because I wanted to think less of me and more of helping other people.

I find that she's starting to catch me offguard a whole lot now.

I make my way to the bathroom door, about to open it when it opens for me. Vienna stepped out with nothing but a towel wrapped around her shivering body, with the towel stopping right above her knees. Her dark brown hair was damp and strings along her neck in clumped strands, and when she saw me, she jumped a little in her bare feet and her eyes widened large in surprise before they crinkle in a nervous smile. I noticed that if it was possible to grow freckles, she had a couple faded ones right on the bridge of her nose that weren't there before. Or maybe I just didn't take the time to notice. 

       "Oh! Uh, sorry, didn't see you there," she said before adding, "Hi."

      "Hey." I grin, before quickly adding, "Good morning."

     "Is it though?" she replied coolly, lowering her voice to a whisper and leaning forward. "The sun isn't even up yet, and Angie woke me up at six."

     I grinned. "I know right? Well, you were never really a morning person from what I remember."

    "I swear Elliot James if you mention my drooling again, I'll—"

   "You'll what?" I perked up an eyebrow and leaned against the doorframe with my hands in my pockets, looking down at her. "Punch me?" 

    "I'll..." she had a little trouble coming up with something, her sentence trailing. "I'll tell Tessa you found her secret stash of Little Debbies under the fifth floorboard of the stairs last night."

Oh yeah. I forgot that last night, before me and her went to bed, we snuck downstairs to find something to eat and ended up sitting down on the kitchen floor, eating all of Tess's snacks in the fridge light. I don't remember how long we sat there, Indian-style and staring at each other and just talking in the middle of the night, whispering because everyone else was already sleeping.

"No, don't do that," I quickly relent, "She'll kill me for eating all her stuff. You know how emotional she gets with her food!"

"Oh, too bad...Looks like you're afraid of a fifteen year old girl," she stuck her tongue out at me before laughing softly, pushing me aside gently and stepping into the hall. We were close enough that I could smell her shampoo from where I stood. Apple cinnamon?