“Let’s go to bed,” he whispered.
I closed my eyes and blushed. “Wesley.”
“We don’t have to do it. I just wanna be close to you. I wanna hold you in my arms right now.” He buried his face in my chest, and he was breathing hard. He wasn’t crying, but he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. “I know that sounded lame, but that’s all I want right now. I just want to be as close to you as I can.”
I held his head to my chest. That was all I wanted too. I stood up and held my hand out to him. I led him to my room and we lay in my bed, pressed close, with all our clothes on. We didn’t talk; we just felt each other’s warmth and closeness. We stayed there until Alycia came home around nine thirty. We told her what happened as I made a late dinner for the three of us.
“Do you have a place to stay till you can move in?” Alycia asked. Wesley shook his head as he slurped up a strand of spaghetti. “Oh, why don’t you stay here till then? I’m sure Mom won’t mind.”
I called Mom at work and asked if Wesley could sleep over. She said it was okay and I laid out a comforter and pillows on the floor. My bed was too small, but we could sleep next to each other on the floor. I told him that my mom checked in on me each night when she got home and I made him promise that we would innocently sleep side by side. Wesley grudgingly agreed and after Mom checked in on us, he pulled me into his arms, our bodies tangled, and we fell asleep again.
Chapter 20
I WOKE with Wesley’s lips pressed against mine. I blinked groggily and smiled. I really liked waking up to Wesley. He was leaning down over me, wearing the T-shirt and shorts he wore yesterday. He had some coarse whiskers on his chin and he kissed me again, tickling my cheek.
“I gotta go to work, but I’ll be back around six tonight,” he whispered.
“You’re leaving already? Did you eat breakfast?” I asked, rubbing my eyes. Wesley shook his head. “I’ll make you something,” I said, sitting up.
Wesley pushed me back down with his lips. “Nah, I gotta get going. Besides, it’s your day off, so sleep in,” he said, sitting back on his heels.
“Okay,” I agreed easily. “Have a good day.”
“I will. I love you,” he said, standing up.
“I love you too,” I answered, turning to my side and falling asleep.
When I woke up again, it was after eleven. I yawned loudly and looked around my room, up at my bed, then at the T-shirt Wesley borrowed. I remembered waking up when he left, but my mind was fuzzy.
Mom was making breakfast in her pajamas. I poured her a cup of coffee and told her to sit down while I put on the apron that was still hanging in the pantry. Mom kissed my forehead and sat down at the kitchen table, resting her head in her hands. She had bags under her eyes, and her skin was pale. She looked as exhausted as I felt. I set a plate of pancakes and scrambled eggs in front of her and returned to the kitchen to fix my own.
“How’s Wes doing?” she asked after a long, loud yawn. “Did he have work today?”
“Yeah. He’s doing okay, I think. Actually, I’m not sure. His dad kicked him out of the house yesterday.”
“What? That’s ridiculous!” Mom said, furrowing her eyebrows in disbelief.
“Well, he found an apartment. He signed the lease yesterday. So, I guess he’s kinda okay with it. He said he’d been saving up money to move out for a long time,” I explained, sitting down next to Mom at the kitchen table. It was kinda funny; we never ate at the table except at holidays. “I’m not sure if everything has really sunk in yet, though. He’s really angry with his parents, but he didn’t really get along with them anyway.”
Mom studied my face quietly for a moment. “He’s probably putting on the tough act for you,” she said.
She was right. He kept telling me that it would be okay. He was comforting me. But his parents threw him out; they abandoned him. He needed someone to tell him that it would be okay. I felt terribly guilty. He needed me to be strong for him, and I was selfishly concerned with my own fears.
“When’s he moving in?”
“This weekend. But he doesn’t have a place to stay till then, so… is it okay if he stays here?”
“Of course. He’s welcome here,” Mom said. Her motherly instinct asserted itself, taking Wesley in as one of her own. “Still, I can’t believe his parents threw him out. That’s just…. It doesn’t make any sense!”
I smiled. Mom was defensive for Wesley. It made me feel good that he was so easily accepted into our family. Even if his parents did turn their backs on him, he had somewhere he could come home to.
Alycia woke up just as Mom left for work. Alycia kissed Mom goodbye, then sat down on the sofa and turned the TV on.
“Tor, make me some breakfast,” she ordered with a raspy voice.
“Sorry, too late,” I said. The dishes were done and the pans were clean. “Besides, it’s after lunch. Have a bowl of cereal or wait for dinner.”
Alycia grunted in response and switched channels. She always had trouble waking up and wasn’t the most pleasant person in the morning. She was bossy and loud, but kind and caring. It was easy to forget that she was my little sister.
