Chapter 13 I Didn't Expect Him To Return
April
I wake in the dark, confused, but after a second, a sense of comfort takes over me when I feel someone close. I smile because I know it is Corbin. I glance over my shoulder and freeze. The small light coming through the curtains shows me it isn’t Corbin at all. It is Corran! When did we even fall asleep? The last thing I remember is us watching a movie. How did we end up in this position? I hate how good I feel wrapped in his arms. It should feel good at all. If anything, I should be feeling guilty.
Carefully, I remove myself from his arms and rush to the bathroom. Closing the door, I rest against it and close my eyes, tears brimming. I hope Corbin didn’t see. I know he tries to encourage it, but I honestly believe if I did do something about it, he wouldn’t like it at all. I don’t even know what to do now. Do I wake him and ask him to go home? Slip back into bed but keep a distance between us. I don’t want to wake him when he seems so peaceful. I pull myself off the door and splash some cold water on my face, gathering myself. With a deep breath, I head back to the bedroom. Corran is still sound asleep, but he is facing away from me now. I stop in my tracks. I really wish I had a sofa right now because I would go sleep on that, but I don’t. I don’t want to sleep on the floor. My bed is so comfortable.
I grab a blanket from my closet, or should I say wardrobe. I place it over Corran. We fell asleep on top of the covers. I will slip under them, but I don’t want Corran getting cold. I sneak back into bed and go under the cover, snuggling up. I turn my back to Corran, putting as much distance between us as possible without me falling out of the bed.
I close my eyes, hoping sleep will take over me again. It doesn’t. I find myself staring at the walls. I shouldn’t be in bed with another man, yet a part of me wants to roll over and cuddle back into him. I was warm and comfortable. I sigh, knowing I can’t do that. I get lost in my thoughts until the bed dips from behind me as Corran moves. I stay still and do not say a word in case he has woken up. If he has, maybe he will leave on his own accord. My hopes are shattered because the warmth of his body radiates onto mine, and his arm drapes over my hip once again. The floor would have been a better option. A part of me wants to crawl back out, but what is the point? I am sure if he wakes, he will be as freaked out as I am. I just hope that things don’t become awkward between us because of it.
Sighing, my eyes close again. My body instantly relaxes with him holding me. I start to drift off without any issue this time, falling into a peaceful slumber.
The sun shining through the curtain wakes me from my sleep, only this time, I am alone in bed, and the place is silent. Corran must have left. I sit up and run my fingers through my hair. I have such a busy day today with everything being delivered. I thought I would have Corran’s help, but there is a chance I won’t be seeing him again anytime soon. He will try to avoid me.
“Corbin, are you here?” I call out in desperate need to see him.
There is no answer, and he doesn’t appear like he usually does. I hope he didn’t see what happened last night and is mad at me. I will never forgive myself if I upset him. I am not ready to lose him again. I will never be. I draw my knees to my chest and hug them, tears threatening to fall again. God why am I so emotional!
The sound of my front door opening confuses me. It can only be one person unless someone is here to rob me. They won’t get much because there is nothing here to steal. A moment later, Corran strolls into my bedroom, smiling.
“Hey, you are awake. I went out and got us some coffee and food.”
I raise my brow at him. “You came back?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Um, because of the way we fell asleep last night,” I whisper.
Corran sets everything down, kicks his shoes off and climbs back onto the bed to sit next to me on the bed. “I won’t lie, when I woke up cuddling you, I freaked out and rushed off. But then I realised it wasn’t such a big deal. We were only sleeping. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep like that in a while.” He smiles.
I am taken aback by his reaction. It makes me think I overreacted. “I wasn’t sure how you would have reacted.”
“It is fine, don’t freak out about it, okay?”
“I will try not to,” I reply with a smile.
Corran hands me a coffee and then pulls a smoothie bowl out. “Do you like these?”
“I do. I really like them, thank you.”
“You are welcome.”
I can’t believe he came back. I honestly believed he would avoid me at every cost.
“You seem surprised to see me,” Corran says.
I turn to him. “I was. I honestly thought after last night you would avoid me.”
Corran shakes his head. “No, I wouldn’t do that.”
“I am glad to hear that. It is nice having a friend, especially in a new place and country.”
“I can only imagine how hard it is. You don’t need to worry about that. I promise I wouldn’t do that. I am always just down the hall, April.” He smiles.
I return the smile. “Thank you.”
With a nod of his head, he turns to his breakfast, and I do the same. I thought he would have freaked out more than I, but I guess not. I glance around, wondering if Corbin has shown up yet, but still, he is nowhere in sight. I really hope he isn’t upset with me. He will show up again, eventually. Corbin can never stay away from me for too long. Then again, he has never had any reason to stay away or be mad until now. I will worry about him until he does show up again.