hell or flying | Chaelisa

Chapter 22

When I woke up in the morning, I no longer felt a pair of arms around me, warming up my form. I didn't feel her breath on my skin nor hear the sound of her soft snores. Her hair wasn't tickling my face and her fingertips weren't skimming over the skin on my hip like they did when we were falling asleep and her hand slipped under the long t-shirt.

I couldn't tell what time it was, but I was sure it must've been early in the morning for the immense exhaustion I still felt. Or it just might have had something to do with the fact I haven't fallen asleep before five in the morning.

Either way, I refused to open my eyes and let the sunlight blind me, while right now it was just trying to shine through my closed eyelids. It was still quite disturbing though, so I opted for burying my face into the soft pillow further, blocking out the light as I searched blindly for Lisa's warm body.

And though I moved my arm up and down several times just to make sure I wasn't mistaken, all I felt under my fingertips were the cold sheets. Furrowing my brows, I cracked an eye open and frowned when I noticed she really wasn't in bed anymore and I was left alone.

I wondered when she left and whether I've been the only one keeping the bed warm for too long. But considering I haven't even felt the slightest bit of warmth fading out, I concluded it must've been a while. I thought that maybe she just went to the bathroom to, perhaps take a shower, but when I listened for it; I didn't hear the water running.

Waiting for her to come back to bed was probably futile. And so despite my fatigue, I sat up, letting the blanket fall off my torso onto my lap, and looked around for any signs of the raven. I smiled a little when I saw her hunched over her laptop placed on the kitchen bar before she walked over to the fridge.

I took a minute just to watch her and relish how perfect this felt, though I would've preferred it if she stayed with me instead. And I couldn't help but let my thoughts wander. Would this be something I would've woken up to every day if things were different? Would this be our shared apartment? And though thoughts like these were dangerous, I still asked myself, Would this be my life?

Lisa took a water bottle out of the fridge before walking over to the cabinets and pulling out a glass. I expected her to turn around and walk back to her computer, but instead, she took a gulp and placed the glass back down, still not turning.

I watched her curiously as she leaned on her elbows, her hands coming up to her hair as she groaned. And have it not been Sunday and early in the morning, I wouldn't have heard it because of the traffic under her windows.

Looking to my side, there was an alarm clock on the bedside table and I noticed it was only shortly after eight, confirming my suspicion it was still early. And though I've got only about three hours of sleep, I would've lied if I said it wasn't the best I've slept in years.

For the first time, I was afflicted with no nightmares and I didn't end up waking up in the middle of the night. Though I was still tired, for obvious reasons, I felt more rested than any of the nights where I spent eight hours sleeping in the three years prior. As cheesy and cliché as it was, just Lisa's company made everything better.

She made the nightmares disappear and made me feel relaxed in her arms. Thanks to her, I fell asleep without worries clouding my mind and without even thinking about the way I'd usually wake up; with tears streaming down my face as I gasped for air and called her name. With her with me, I slept undisturbed, and that was certainly not something I was used to. But it was so perfect.

It was a little concerning though, how I seemed to be brought back to my past, infatuated college self while Lisa seemed not to be doing so well. She was still hunched over the kitchen counter, fingers gripping the roots of her hair. I was starting to get worried so, as gentle as I could, I called her name.