Chapter 42 - True friends

                                    

                                          
Kat
The room is empty when I get back. I feel horrible for ruining Morgan's fun, but I just don't want to be alone. So I text her, asking her to come back.
With a sigh, I return Morgan's shoes and change into my pajamas. I want to cry, but I'm too exhausted. I want to sleep, but I can't lie down. The thought of lying in bed, trying to sleep, scares me. I look around the room and sob. I don't want to be alone.
I sit on my bed and wait. Morgan promised she wouldn't stay out too long. Time passes and it starts to sink in that I can no longer call my grandma.
"Kat?" There's the sound of someone trying to open the door and swearing. I inhale deeply as Morgan stumbles into the room.
"Morgan." Tears fall again, and she closes the door and sits next to me.
"What happened? Are you ok?" She's panting, as if she ran all the way back here.
I shake my head. "She's gone."
I tell her what I know, and she lets me cry.
"Oh, Kat. What do you need me to do?"
"I just don't want to be alone."
"Ok. Let me just get ready for bed and we can sit and talk or watch movies or whatever you want."
Before she can get her things, there's a knock at the door. A gentle, almost hesitant knock. Morgan looks at me. "Are you expecting someone?"
"No." I shake my head and wipe at my tears.
She carefully opens the door.
"Kat said she didn't want to be alone." Brick's voice is soft. "Is she still awake?"
Morgan opens the door wider to let him in. His eyes find mine and my insides melt.
"Brick? What are you doing here?" I get up.
Morgan grabs her things and hurries off to the bathroom. Brick steps out of her way and takes a tentative step toward me.
"You said you wanted me. So I'm here."
A sob escapes me as my heart fills. "What about JD?"
He shrugs. "What about him?"
I can't hold back any longer and practically throw myself into his arms. He holds me.
"Can you stay?" I ask against his chest.
"If it's ok with your roommate."
"I don't think she'll mind."
"I am so sorry you lost your grandma. I wish I could take your pain away." He strokes my hair.
"This makes me feel better. You holding me."
"Then I will hold you for as long as you want."
It would be so easy to shut everything out and pretend that I didn't have to leave. But it's not fair.
"I have to go home. JD told my parents about you and they say I can't stay."
His body stiffens. "Are you sure you can't stay?"
"I'm sorry. I should have told you, but they made me promise not to contact you."
His grip tightens around me and becomes almost painful for a few seconds. I don't mind. I want to be absorbed by him.
"Awe," Morgan says when she returns. "He came to take care of you."
Before I can say anything, Brick speaks. "I'll be staying the night, if you don't mind."
It doesn't sound like a question. More like a threat. I peer up, but Morgan is smiling.
"You go right ahead. But if I wake up to any funny business, I will throw cold water on you."
"It's a deal," Brick says and lets go of me so he can remove his jacket. He's in sweats and a t-shirt. An angry-looking bruise surrounds one of his eyes. I reach up to touch it.
"Does it hurt?"
He shrugs. "There are other things that hurt more." The look he gives me sets my stomach spinning. But he just leans in and kisses my forehead. Then he pulls back my cover and gets into my bed. He's so large he takes up most of it.
I glance over at Morgan, who's settling into her own bed.
"I guess you don't have to be alone," she says with a smile.
My heart fills with joy at having two people who, without hesitation, showed up for me when I needed them. I get under the cover Brick is holding up and settle in against his chest. He puts his arm around me and pulls me close.
"Remember," Morgan says. "One weird sound and there will be water."
As I lie with my head on Brick's shoulder, my mind starts playing over the last conversation I had with grandma and how I promised her I'd go see her as soon as I got back. The tears and sobs shake my body.
Brick just holds me and kisses my head until exhaustion takes over and I fall asleep.



There's movement underneath me. Gentle hands move my arms and roll me onto my back.
"What?" I mumble, still half asleep. I don't want to lose the safety.
"It's morning," Brick says and kisses my cheek. "I have to get back before JD notices I'm gone."
"Stay," I say sleepily and hold on to him.
"I don't want to get you in trouble. He would freak if he found out I spent the night with you."
"I don't care."
"Kitten, you're going home to your parents. I really can't stand thinking of you being in trouble with them. Not over me." My brain hears the unspoken words. I'm not worth it. And my eyes fly open.
He grabs my chin with his fingers and thumb and smiles at me. I don't even have time to protest about having morning breath before his mouth is on mine.
"Maybe you could let me know how you're doing sometime."
Blinking, I try to arrange his words in a way that makes sense. He gets up and looks around for his jacket.
When the words click into place, I reach out for him and get up on my knees in the bed.
"Brick," I say and pull him closer. He is instantly in front of me, holding me as his lips meet mine. If this is the last time I see him, I want this kiss to count.
He moans into my mouth and his tongue teases mine. I place my heart and my feelings into the kiss and pray he'll know how much he means to me. Then I whimper at the thought of never being able to tell him. Of losing him and my grandma at the same time.
"Water," Morgan mumbles from bed and Brick straightens up.
He pries my fingers from his shoulders and takes a step back. I'm crying again, but this time it's for him.
"Goodbye, kitten. I... Bye."
He turns and leaves. My hand comes up to my mouth as if to hold his presence there. Then I sink back on my heels and cry for not having any control over my life.