Was she really like that last night?
Carissa rubbed at her eyes, blinking against the sticky feeling. She frowned, something feeling off. Her pillow did not feel as soft as usual. Her small hand patted the surface under her head, and the crease between her brows deepened. None of her pillows were ever this firm. She opened her eyes slowly, and the second she realized where she was, she jerked so hard she tumbled off the couch and landed on the floor with a thud.
She checked herself quickly, then breathed out in relief when she saw she was still fully dressed.
No shit she freaked out, waking up to find Leon sleeping peacefully right next to her like that. And god, even asleep, the guy still looked annoyingly good. Carissa swallowed hard, caught off guard by the view.
She shook her head firmly, forcing herself to snap out of it. Then she winced, rubbing her sore butt as she got up. Still rattled from the shock, she crawled quietly toward her room, moving on pure stealth mode. The last thing she wanted was to wake him up and have things get awkward between them.
She slipped into her room, grabbed a change of clothes, and hurried to the bathroom. She washed up as fast as she could. Once she was done, she headed straight out the door to campus, no coffee, no breakfast, leaving Leon still sprawled out asleep on the couch without even thinking about waking him.
Thirty minutes after Carissa left the apartment, Leon stretched out on the couch, yawning as he looked around the empty living room. He distinctly remembered falling asleep next to Carissa last night. So where the hell did she go?
His half-open eyes drifted to the clock on the wall, and they went wide instantly. He shot up off the couch and rushed to the bathroom. Even if he was already late, there was no way he was showing up to campus without washing up first. Leon hated feeling dirty more than anything.
The whole time he was getting dressed in his formal clothes, he grumbled under his breath, cursing Carissa out for not waking him up. Just wait. He was going to give her a piece of his mind when he saw her at campus later.
Carissa stared at the lecturer droning on at the front of the room, but her mind was somewhere else entirely. She could not stop thinking about what happened last night. Falling asleep in Leon's arms. Now she remembered exactly how it went down. She had cried herself out, got exhausted, and passed out right against his chest. Or… was it more like his chest was so comfortable that she just could not stay awake?
She could not shake the thought because this kind of thing never happened to her. Not ever. With the trauma she carried, she should not have been able to feel that safe wrapped up in some guy's arms. It made no sense that she did not freak out or feel sick.
"Maybe I am finally getting better…?" she murmured to herself, questioning.
"Car, let us grab lunch…."
"AHH!" Carissa yelped and jerked away the second Bastian's arm draped over her shoulder out of nowhere. She was not being dramatic. She just really did not like random guys touching her.
Half the class turned to stare. Lucky for her, the lecture was already over and the professor had left. Bastian looked at her with a confused frown, no hint of guilt on his face at all.
"What is it, Bas?" Carissa asked once she had calmed down a bit.
"I was… asking if you wanted to grab food with me," Bastian said. The guy with the long hair was always trying to act all close with her, even though she never gave him any reason to think they were.
"Sorry, I am heading straight home," Carissa turned him down politely. She packed up her stuff and walked out of class without looking back at Bastian or any of the other students still staring.
"I guess I am not better after all," she mumbled to herself as she walked down the hallway. Her shoulders dropped. She felt kind of disappointed, honestly. For a second there, she really thought she might be okay being close to a guy, like she had been with Leon. But she was wrong.
"Ahh!" Carissa screamed again.
Someone yanked her into a room she did not even recognize.
"Car, it is me!" Leon snapped, and Carissa's eyes went wide. What the hell was he doing, dragging her around like that?
She shoved his hand off her shoulder. "What is wrong with you, dragging me around like that?!" she protested.
Leon clicked his tongue, hands on his hips, glaring at her hard.
"You! You did not wake me up this morning! Why the hell did you leave me sleeping?!" he grumbled.
Carissa pressed her lips together and looked down, avoiding his eyes. Just thinking about this morning made her face heat up.
"Answer me, Carissa," he demanded, but she stayed quiet, too busy trying to slow down her heart, which was racing for no reason.
"I held you all night, and then you just ditched me in the morning," Leon said casually.
Carissa's head shot up, eyes wide.
What the hell was that supposed to mean? The way he said it sounded so weird!
"Who told you to not wake me up?!" she shot back, pissed.
"I tried. You would not wake up. Or maybe you just did not want to move because my chest was too comfortable?" Leon lied through his teeth.
Carissa went silent, embarrassed. Was she really like that last night?!
She groaned internally. Ugh, this asshole. Of course he knew exactly how comfortable his stupid chest was, and now she could not even deny it.
"Whatever! I am going home!" she said, desperate to escape this humiliating conversation.
She shoved past Leon, who was blocking the door, and walked out, cursing herself silently the whole way. Behind her, Leon let out a light laugh. He had fooled her again.