but right now I just want to be close to her, so I settle back down on my side of her bed and fuck around with some lyrics on my phone again. I’ve never written such… hopeful songs before. They’re still dark and moody, I don’t think I’ll ever write uplifting shit, but there’s a silver lining in my latest work that wasn’t there before.
Lips has given me that.
All of the time we’ve spent together where she’s given so much of herself to me without asking for anything in return. The patience and kindness and dry wit, all of it has finally given me something to look forward to.
I’ve never really had that before.
When Harley gets out of the shower, Avery takes her turn, threatening us both as she leaves us alone with Lips. It’s stupid and childish of her because she should know us both better than that, but Harley takes it on the chin and moves Lips gently into the middle of the bed, stretching out next to her on top of the covers so we’re both flanking her.
Something about the pressure of the blankets on her body sets off a nightmare.
She starts thrashing around like she’s being murdered. Harley and I both jump up and pull the covers off of her, hoping that alone will stop her from spiraling, but if anything it only gets worse. We both try speaking to her and waking her up, but the pills are too strong and she just keeps thrashing around.
It takes until Avery comes back out and murmurs to her, stroking her hair away from her face again and rubbing her back, before she calms down. Harley makes a comment about the shorts she’s wearing as he settles back down on the bed, and Avery snarls threats at him again.
I turn the TV on and try to ignore them both.
The longer Lips sleeps, the more she gravitates into our bodies. It starts with her legs being thrown over Harley’s, then her head rolls into my lap, and slowly she shifts into us both like she’s just as drawn to us as we all are to her.
It settles into my chest just how right this all is.
After an hour of playing with her hair, she finally wakes up. It’s a slow process and watching her eyes slowly blink open I can almost see her realize that she’s draped over us both. I see the tiny moment of calm and peace before the panic sets in.
The problem is her ass is too fucking perfect, and I don’t blame Harley for the groan he lets out when she grinds it on him. “For the love of God, Mounty, don’t move like that. Avery has already threatened to castrate me twice tonight.”
Instantly she’s gasping and struggling to sit up, her eyes darting around at us and then she’s scooting away from us both like she’s afraid we’re about to ruin her for sleeping on us.
I’m angry at myself for our freshman year all over again.
“What the—“
Avery cuts in from the kitchen and saves the day once again. “Chill. You were thrashing about in your sleep and it took all three of us to settle you back down.”
Lips takes a breath, her eyes not meeting ours as she wriggles back to sit between us against the headboard. I huff out a laugh at her and a blush spreads over her cheeks.
I didn’t realize how much I missed her reactions until I see it now on her face. “You must be feeling better, there’s color on your cheeks again.”
The flush deepens and she clears her throat. “Thank you for checking on me. And letting me word vomit for hours on end. Please leave me to die of shame with what little dignity I have left.”
Harley scoffs and pulls out his phone, bringing up the video I’d sent him and hands it over to her. I refuse to feel bad about it because she’s fucking perfect sitting there, grinning like all is right in her world.
She elbows me and I shrug. “Hey, they asked me why I called you adorable. I figured a video was better than any explanation I could come up with.”
“I am never taking those pills again. I’ll white knuckle it through the pain next time,” she declares, and we all roar with laughter at her dramatics.
It all feels so fucking normal, like this is how it should’ve always been.
There’s a knock at the door and Avery opens it to find Ash back