Chapter 8 It Is Strange
Corran
It is one in the morning, and April is still here. I didn’t expect her to be here so late. We got lost in talking about Edin and Corbin. It has been nice. It has been a long time since I have had an in-depth conversation with anyone, especially a woman. I have a problem, though. April has fallen asleep on my sofa. I don’t know what to do. Should I wake her up or make her more comfortable and put a blanket over her? Sighing, I stand and start pacing, whispering to myself, not wanting to wake her up until I decide what to do.
This shouldn’t be so hard. It isn’t like anything is happening between us, yet I feel guilty about a woman sleeping where I live. It is overwhelming. Suddenly, something out of the corner of my eyes grabs my attention. The blanket I keep over the armchair falls to the ground. Strange. Could it be? Could someone here be the one who made it fall? It sits there all the time, and not once has it ever fallen. It is like a sign. I often wonder if Edin is around. I feel her around me, and sometimes I swear I feel her touch my face when I sleep. It is probably in my head. I don’t believe in all that stuff. I don’t believe in the afterlife.
I grab the blanket from the floor and stand at the sofa. April doesn’t look comfortable. She is sitting up, sleeping. She will end up with a sore neck. I carefully move her into a lying position, popping some cushions behind her head and cover her with the blanket. She mumbles in her sleep but doesn’t wake up. I will get another one. It is cold tonight, and I don’t want her to be cold. I still don’t know if this is the right thing to do, but I have made my choice. I disappear to my bedroom, grab another blanket, a thicker one and return, placing that over her too. April is still in the same position. I will leave a lamp on for her since she doesn’t know her way around. I don’t want her getting hurt.
I switch everything off except one lamp, head to my bedroom, get ready for bed, and slip into it. I stare at the ceiling. All of this is weird, having a woman sleeping in my flat. It is a lot. I toss and turn, trying to get comfortable and clear my mind. Maybe I should sleep in the living room with April. No, that would make things awkward. Groaning, I cover my face with a pillow and scream into it.
“Edin, if you are around, please know this is nothing,” I whisper in the dark.
I am losing my mind. I toss the pillow away, roll onto my side and try the sleeping thing again. I haven’t gotten used to sleeping alone, even after two years. I always still stay at my side of the bed and leave the space on Edin’s side free. I don’t know if I will ever get used to it, maybe one day, since I don’t ever plan on having another woman sleeping in my bed. Slowly, I start to drift off and focus on only that. I will wake up in a couple of hours. I can’t remember the last night I had a full night’s sleep. It has been a long time. It is why I am always exhausted. Another thing that changed two years ago.
I wake to the sun shining through my blinds. I need blackout blinds. I am surprised to see the sun. It was still dark when I fell asleep. I reach for my phone and check the time. It is seven- thirty in the morning. Wow, I slept for six hours without waking up once. That is new. It takes me a moment to come to and remember that April is asleep on my sofa. I jump out of bed to go and check on her. I cover myself with my housecoat since I am only in my boxers.
I enter the living room, and as I do, April is already up, folding the blankets.
“You are up.”
April glances over at me and seems panicked. “I am so sorry. I never meant to fall asleep on the sofa, Corran.”
“It is okay. I wasn’t sure if I should have woken you up.”
“I really am sorry.” She sighs and rushes for the front door, leaving my place without another word.
Her reaction takes me aback. Why is she freaking out as much? Then again, I was freaking out too. It is probably for the same reason. I rush back to my room, pulling on some joggers and a tee before going after her.
I knock loudly on her door, wondering if she will answer or plans to avoid me. I wait a moment, and eventually the door opens.
“April, are you okay?”
She shakes her head. “I am sorry about my freak-out. I know we weren’t doing anything wrong, but I felt guilty for staying over.”
“I understand that, but as you said, we weren’t doing anything wrong. You were tired and fell asleep. I didn’t want to disturb you, so I left you to sleep. That is all. There is nothing to feel guilty about.”
April sighs loudly and runs her fingers through her hair. “I know.”
“Do you want to come back? I can make coffee and breakfast?”
April doesn’t answer, not straightaway. “Or we could go out? My treat since you made dinner and brought me breakfast the other morning.”
“We can go for breakfast, but you aren’t paying.”
“Yes, I am. Meet you back out here in twenty minutes?”
I won’t let her pay, but I nod to keep the peace for now. I return to my place to wash up and change for breakfast. At least if we go out, April can have a proper breakfast rather than whatever she can make with nothing to cook with.