Page 27 of Solanum

Chapter Four

"Nora," I called her name when I found her standing in her bedroom over a pile of laundry on her bed. She stared off into the distance while holding a half-folded shirt against her chest. Tears brimmed her eyes, and a sad, almost devastated expression marred her pretty face.

"Nora." My sharper tone pulled her from her thoughts and she nearly jumped out of her skin when I gripped her shoulder. "Easy there."

"S-sorry." She choked out, swiping at her eyes when she shifted away from me to place the folded shirt in the open dresser drawer. "Sorry—wait. What are you doing here?"

"It's seven in the morning. I'm here to pick you up. What's wrong?"

"Seven?" She sniffled, glancing down at herself. "I'm not ready. I was…It was just—"

"Hey… Slow down a minute." I stepped in front of her, my hand falling to her elbow. "Slow down."

Until I said it, she didn't seem to realize how rattled her movements became.

"I'm fine. I'm just—" She shook her head, her eyes darting all over the place as if looking for something in the room.

"What happened? Look at me," I implored, and she met my gaze. Her sharp green eyes, laden with sadness and something more, bore into me.

Her resolve seemed to crumble in an instant. "I need to call Maya."

"Okay. Can you breathe first though?" I gripped her shoulder with one hand, the other pressing my palm to the side of her neck. "Easy."

She shook her head, choking on a sob. "I don't know why I'm upset."

"I don't either. Come here." I pulled her into a hug. At first, she returned it stiffly, but when my lips neared her neck, her body responded to mine. She melted in my arms, crumbling under the strength of my embrace.

"It's okay," I whispered, rubbing her back in gentle circles. "Whatever it is, it's okay."

She nodded, resting her forehead against my shoulder while she let me console her. In time, she settled down and leaned back to look at me.

"I think I'm okay."

"Good."

"I need to get dressed. I don't even remember sleeping," she said, finally breaking away from me.

"Well, your apartment is spotless, so you definitely did some cleaning," I said, gesturing around us.

"It was a mess…" She wiped her eyes on her pajama shirt, then swept over to the closet to pick out something to wear. "I hate when it's…" Her voice faded then, her gaze lingering on the ceiling for a moment. "A mess."

I cocked a brow at her and looked up to see what the heck was so interesting up there.

"You never used to hate it messy," I said, dropping down to sit on the unmade bed. "This isn't a post-sex bed, is it?"

"No." She scowled at me. "Jerk."

I laughed a little. "Just doing my standard jizz check."

"Gross." She huffed as she tried to decide between a white blouse or a blue. "Which one?"

"With pants?"

"Yes."

"Blue."

"'Kay." She pulled off her shirt and began to dress in front of me.

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