For Crosby by J. Nathan

Author:J. Nathan [Nathan, J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-03-13T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Sabrina

The sound of Crosby’s door closing softly jarred me awake in the morning. Feeling groggy and exhausted, my eyes cracked open. Sunlight filtered into the room. Crosby wasn’t there, but I could hear the soft rasp of his voice in the hallway.

“I’m fine,” he said. “How are you doing?” Since there was no other voice, it was clear he was on the phone. “Yeah...Appeal it…That sounds like a good idea.” Nothing in his voice said he believed what he said. “I’ll try. You know I don’t have a car anymore. I’d have to take the bus again…Uh huh…Thanks for calling. Talk to you tomorrow.” There was a long silence. I wondered if he was listening to whichever parent was on the other end or if he’d disconnected the call and needed time to regroup.

A short while later, the door handle twisted. Crosby stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him.

“You okay?” I asked.

He swung around. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

I sat up, pulling an elastic from my wrist and tying my hair into a top-knot. “You didn’t.”

“Oh, good.” He hurried to his closet and grabbed a towel. Then he moved just as quickly to his dresser, grabbed a pair of boxers, and walked to the door. “I’m gonna take a shower.”

“Oh. Okay,” I said, trying to figure out why he suddenly seemed so eager to get away from me. Was he regretting asking me to stay?

He pulled open the door.

“Wait.”

He twisted toward me.

“You sure you’re okay?”

He stared across the room at me, his eyes saying what his answer didn’t. “Yeah.”

When he walked back into his room twenty minutes later with soaked hair wearing only his boxers, I focused solely on his eyes. And not the droplets of water on his face. Or the ridges defining the muscles in his chest. Or the tattoos wrapped around his arms.

“Is it safe for me out there?” I flicked my eyes toward the door.

He nodded. “No one else is on the floor. But I’ll leave my door open so I can hear if anyone shows up.” He walked to his closet and grabbed a towel. “Here.” He tossed it to me.

I caught it and grabbed the clothes and shower supplies I had waiting beside me. Clutching them to my chest, I walked to the door, making sure not to brush into any part of him as I stepped into the hallway. If my thoughts the previous night were any indication, the sight of him all wet from a shower was setting off major warning signs. “Be back in a few.”

He nodded, quickly turning away from me.

I hurried into the girls’ shower room. The six-stalled room was empty and silent. Finally, I could breathe. I could think straight. I switched on the water. The spray drowned out the silence, but in no way stopped the inappropriate thoughts from running through my brain.

I needed to leave. I needed to head home. If I stayed, whatever happened between us had disaster written all over it.

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