I Just Need You - J. Nathan Page 0,20
Why were we sitting in an empty hallway in the midst of a standoff? “Have you heard anything more about the package?”
He shook his head.
“Do you think they’ll find me here?”
He shrugged.
I huffed, hating his silent answers. “Tell me why you let me sleep.”
“You told me you don’t sleep,” he finally admitted. “I figured you needed it, especially after what happened earlier.”
“I sleep. I just sleep better during the day.”
“Why not at night? Marco and I are right there.”
I knew they were and wished it was enough. But it wasn’t. I shrugged.
“Would it help if I stayed outside your door?” he asked.
The kindness in his tone was disconcerting. Just like when he’d offered to sit outside my room once before. It was out of character for him. Did he really care that I had trouble sleeping? Or, was he just doing his job? “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“Of course you can. I work for you, remember?”
My forehead creased. “Are you throwing my words back in my face?”
“Just stating the truth.”
I didn’t reply, and hated that he was so hard to read. One minute he was being kind. The next his condescension seemed to be rearing its ugly head. But did it really matter? I didn’t need to be able to read him. I only needed him to keep me safe—now more than ever. “Maybe you can just bring me to the liquor store.”
His head hitched back. “The liquor store?”
“I tend to sleep after I’ve been drinking.”
“Your dad will just love it when you come home for Thanksgiving an alcoholic.”
I smirked. “I’ll just blame you.”
He chuckled.
The unfamiliar sound of his brief laughter caused a flutter inside my chest. And, instead of being annoyed that he may have been mocking me, his reaction resonated something warm inside of me.
Maybe I’d been wrong about Tristan.
Maybe I didn’t know him at all.
CHAPTER TEN
Tristan
The urge to check Kresley’s camera feed taunted me. After what happened this morning and her falling asleep in class, I needed to know if she was pacing the floor. But I needed to follow the rules I’d created.
I checked my phone. It was just after one. I moved to my door, hoping to God I wasn’t making a monumental mistake. I twisted the knob so I didn’t make any noise and tiptoed across the hall. The idiot next door to me had his rap music playing making it impossible to hear anything, so I pressed my ear to Kresley’s door. If Marco was looking at the hallway feed, I’d have a lot of explaining to do. But it took no more than a couple seconds to hear footsteps inside. I tapped lightly on her door.
Silence.
Good girl. Never ask who it is, especially in the middle of the night. “Kresley. It’s Tristan,” I whispered.
Her footsteps moved to the door, but she didn’t open it. “How do I know?”
“Know what?” I whispered.
“That it’s really you.”
She seemed to be making a habit out of seeing how far she could push me. “What the fuck,” I grumbled.
Her door swung open. “It’s definitely you.”
My eyes moved over the tight tank top and tiny pajama shorts she wore. She must’ve caught me looking because she crossed her arms across her chest. I met her eyes, cursing myself for forgetting myself. I’d seen beautiful girls before in far less. “I just wanted to let you know I was gonna sit out here for a bit.”
Irritation flittered across her eyes. “I told you it’s unnecessary.”
“And I’m telling you I’m gonna sit out here anyway.”
Her eyes dropped to the floor, her stubbornness wavering. She knew, like I did, that it could help her sleep. Extended sleep deprivation did strange things to your psyche. So did fear. She knew it. And I knew it. We also both knew that when it came to our rocky relationship, something needed to give. Reluctantly, she nodded.
“Good night,” I said, grabbing her door knob.
She stepped back into her room and I closed the door, lowering myself down to the floor and leaning against the door. I hoped having me there helped her sleep. Because I knew all too well that not sleeping was a real son of a bitch.
Kresley
I didn’t get into bed. Instead, I sat on the floor with my back against my door. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that Tristan would sit there all night, and the unexpected—and uninvited—fluttering in my stomach wouldn’t let me leave him just yet.
“How did you know I was awake?” I asked through the