Come Home by Ruebins Raleigh

Author:Ruebins, Raleigh [Ruebins, Raleigh]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2019-06-08T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

I woke with a start, my heart slamming hard in my chest.

It was dark in my room, and Gavin was asleep beside me. In my dream, there had been a fight—maybe multiple fights—but I couldn’t remember if I’d been the one participating in them or simply watching them.

It had been ugly, though. My heart was racing. The dim light from the street light outside came through the shutters of the window, painting faint golden lines across my body. My skin was covered in a sheen of sweat.

The clock on my nightstand read two in the morning.

I slid out of bed, catching my breath before padding out to the bathroom. I splashed my face with water, but it wasn’t enough. I ran the shower, leaving the water slightly cool, and quickly rinsed off.

I wasn’t the type to have nightmares—my dreams typically consisted of things that belonged in something closer to Candy Land or a Lisa Frank tableau. I once had a dream that I was running through a field of sunflowers with fuzzy golden retriever puppies, and that hadn’t even been the cutest thing I’d dreamed that week.

But this dream had been more like a murkier, less exciting version of a horror movie. I was rattled, like I’d just been through a haunted house.

I made my way back into the bedroom slowly, trying to stay as quiet as possible and not disturb Gavin or Caleb and Meatball upstairs. I shut my bedroom door with a quiet click, and tossed my gym shorts into the hamper at the side of the room. I was naked after my shower, but I knew exactly how squeaky the closet door was. I needed to be sneaky if I wanted any chance at grabbing clean shorts.

I pushed it open slowly—like a goddamn snail—but every millimeter seemed to be the equivalent of the world’s highest-pitched trumpet sounding through the air.

“Fuck,” I mouthed noiselessly as I pushed it open another foot and it squeaked even louder.

“It’s okay,” Gavin said from the bed. I was so startled that I jumped, knocked my knee into the door, and it swung open the rest of the way, creaking loud as ever.

I turned back toward the bed. “Jesus Christ, Pep, you’re awake?”

“I’ve been awake the whole time,” he said softly. “Can’t sleep.”

“Oh my God,” I said.

“I know. I appreciate you trying to be quiet with the door. But you can just come back to bed.”

“I will. I’m just a little bit naked right now.”

He didn’t respond.

I felt around in the dark of the closet for my basket of gym shorts and found my favorite soft pair for sleeping in. I tugged them on and then tucked myself back into bed, letting out a long sigh.

“You were whimpering a little in your sleep,” Gavin said, turning to lie on his side in bed, facing me. The window was behind him, and the light coming in from the slats framed him in a series of little halos.

“Shit. I’m sorry. Bad dream.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

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