Page 11 of Breakaway

I don’t know how long we stay like this on the floor, but when she turns to look at me, a wave of overwhelming sadness breaks over me. All the color is drained from her face. Her ruined makeup is smudged over her cheeks and under her puffy eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Nevaeh whispers, sniffing.

“That’s okay. You feel better now?” She nods, and I give her a reassuring smile. Then I hold out the glass of water I brought, and she downs it in what seems like one gulp. Standing up, I pullher to her feet too. “Let’s get you to bed. You can sleep in my room, and I’ll take the couch.”

“But—”

“Shh.” I flush the toilet and turn her toward the door. To my relief, she doesn’t try to argue with me, just follows my lead. Her small hand rests in mine, and an unexpected warmth coats my palm where our skin is touching.

We stop by the bed, and I let go of her hand and head to my walk-in closet. Grabbing a T-shirt from the shelf, I turn around and return to the bedroom, halting in my tracks when I get there. Nevaeh is already lying on her right side at the very edge of the bed, her hands hidden under the pillow. I smirk, padding closer and noticing her legs dangling from the bed. Putting my tee on the nightstand, I bend down and slowly take off her heels. She pulls her legs to her stomach, curling into a little ball.

Without thinking, I reach out and push her hair off her face. Her eyelashes tremble, but her eyes stay closed. I smile as I cover her with my blanket. Moving as quietly as possible, I get a pillow and a spare blanket from the closet and walk out of the bedroom, closing the door behind me with a muffled sound. I could go sleep in my guest room, but it would take time to make the bed, so the couch sounds a thousand times more appealing. Besides, it’s just for one night.

After I finally settle in on the couch, I’m wide awake. Tonight did not go the way I expected. Instead of a hot girl riding my dick, I have a girl peacefully sleeping in my bed while I’m alone in the living room.

I’m broken, and I don’t see a way to fix it, but I think I recognized myself in Nevaeh tonight. Drinking my ass off just to forget, just to stop caring. Doing absolutely anything to take my mind off the things that are bothering me.

I don’t know what happened to her, and I’m not going to pry if she doesn’t want to talk about it. But if she’ll let me, I’d like tohelp her. Focusing on someone else’s problems offers a welcome break from my own terrors, and I swear I need it.

Her unexpected company could be exactly what I need to keep me from losing it.

“Oh my God!Why are you awake?” Nevaeh’s high-pitched voice draws my attention to her. She stands in the doorframe, covering her face with her hands.

“It’s eleven o’clock,” I say pointedly, my eyes roaming over her figure. She’s no longer in her dress. My white tee covers her perfectly, hanging just below her ass. Forcing myself not to stare, I focus on her face. “How did you sleep?”

“Good,” she mutters, peeking at me through her spread-out fingers. “Can we talk after I get cleaned up? I think I embarrassed myself enough in front of you last night.”

“Sure. The bathroom is over there.” I point to the door on her left.

She nods and dashes to the bathroom without another word. Once she’s almost inside, I call out to her, “Are you hungry?”

Our eyes meet as Nevaeh glances at me over her shoulder. “Yes.” With a thud, the door closes, and I’m alone again, sitting on the couch with a wide grin on my face. I have no idea where this good mood is coming from, but I’m going to enjoy every second.

“It’s not much,but I hope you like fried eggs with bacon and salad.” I put the plate of steaming hot food in front of Nevaeh. She looks up at me with a hesitant grin on her lips.

“I’m so hungry, I think I’d eat anything. And this”—she pulls the plate closer to her and takes a fork in her hand—“looks delicious.”

I lower myself into the chair across from her and silently dig into my food. Nevaeh does the same, and for a moment the kitchen is filled with only the rhythmic clatter of our forks against our plates, the subtle sounds of chewing, and the occasional clink of glasses as we put them back on the table after taking a sip. When I’m done with my food, I push away my plate and relax back against my chair. Nevaeh finishes at the same time, but unlike me, her posture becomes tense. Avoiding eye contact, her gaze wanders over the kitchen as she raps her fingers on the table.

“Do you want coffee?” I ask, breaking the silence. She meets my eyes for a second and nods. “Good. How about you wait for it in the living room?”

“Okay.” Nevaeh gets up and takes her plate from the table.

“You can put it in the dishwasher. I’ll run it later,” I tell her, and she does as I say. With a discreet glance in my direction, she saunters to the living room and sits on the couch, hiding her legs under her butt.

After a few minutes, I stop in front of her with a mug of steaming hot coffee. Nevaeh takes it with a grateful smile and lifts it to her lips. I plop down on the couch beside her, keeping a good distance between us. I don’t want her to think that I expect anything from her for my help.

We sit in silence, drinking coffee and not looking at each other. As weird as it probably sounds, I feel comfortable. It doesn’t bother me for even a second that she doesn’t talk. The atmosphere in the room is light and pleasant, making me breathe easily.

A deep sigh comes from my right, and I turn my head to peer at Nevaeh. She holds her mug between her palms, her bottom lippulled between her teeth. Looking up, she meets my gaze. Her deep blue eyes framed by thick lashes bore into me, and a tinge of pink covers her cheeks.

“What happened last night?” she asks, her voice shaking.

Half turning to her, I sit more comfortably and tell her everything I know.

1 ????? (cuss word). — Fuck.

Chapter 5

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