Lizzie

I'm lying on my bed; it's nearly eleven outside. It's pitch black except for the moon, which is half this evening. It's still absolutely stunning. The only thing that is spoiling it for me is that Brandon still hasn't contacted me. Denver hasn't contacted Lilly, and we're both beside ourselves.

The way my stomach is lurching and the nausea I'm feeling, it tells me something bad has gone down. All I can do is wait and wait until Brandon does send me a message.

I reach for my book on the bedside cabinet. I'm an avid reader, but tonight I open it up and just stare at the pages. So, unlike me, especially when it's a Colleen Hoover like this one. Really, I'm not even able to focus on the words; they're swimming in front of my eyes. Perhaps I ought to swap to an audiobook; that might soothe me whilst I wait.

"Hey honey, you asleep yet?" I hear my mother say from the other side of the door. My fairy lights are still on and my bedside lamp; she can see the light no doubt filtering below the gap at the bottom of my door. It's getting past my curfew, and my folks really don't like for me to be awake much past eleven. I have to be up at half six to fit in a run before school, shower and all the usual stuff everyone has to do.

I sigh and reach for the remote by me on the bed. I press the small button that turns my fairy lights off, then hit the switch on my bedside table. I've got a small reading light that fits onto my books; it's a dream. Means I can continue reading until the early hours of the morning. Yes, and then moan about how tired I am the next day. We all do it, right?

"Night, Mom," I say and snuggle myself further into the bed. I attach the small reading light to my book and decide that it's best to keep myself occupied rather than just lying awake for hours waiting for Brandon to message me back.

Lilly has messaged. "Any news?"

"Nope. Guessing Denver hasn't messaged you either then?"

"No, I'm worried sick about them."

"Me too. They'll be fine, I'm sure of it. Probably just headed back to their homes. I'll message Brandon again now and let you know if I hear anything. I'm only reading anyway, so I'll be awake for at least another couple of hours."

"Yeah, me too; I won't be able to sleep. What are you reading?" Lilly asks. I love that my best girlfriend is an avid reader too. Sometimes we go to a book club which we both love.

"Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover."

"Oh, my God. I love that book. It made me cry."

"Yeah, I know. It's the third time I'm reading it." I put some laughing emojis on the message.

"What are you reading?" I ask her.

"Things We Left Behind. Lucy Score." She has placed heart emojis and book emojis at the end of her message.

"Oh wow. I love that book. I've read the two after it. You need to get them." I tell her, noticing that a smile is on my face as I lay here in the dark.

"I hope you're not reading in there, Lizzie." I hear my mother calling down the hallway. Sussed.

"Nope. I'm trying to sleep." I shout back. What is it with parents? Do they have x-ray vision or something? Or perhaps it's just that she knows her daughter too well.

"We can go to B&N tomorrow if you have time; I'll pick the books up then." That makes me smile as I read Lilly's message. I'm a total Barnes & Noble addict. The thought of it makes me tingle, and I already know I'll blow a fortune on books. Good job my father has a library just for me downstairs.

"Perfect, it's a book date, Lilly."

"Okay, honey. I'll let you read and don't forget to message me if you hear anything."

"No problem. Enjoy." I send her lots of heart and kiss emojis and place my phone down beside me on the bed.

I continue to read, and my heart catches in my chest; then I hear my window move. The only person who comes through that window is Brandon. He'll know my folks have gone to bed. They always retire around this time; the house will be in total darkness, and he uses the rose bush trellis to get up. I'm actually surprised, as he's gotten older, that the damn thing hasn't come away from the wall yet, and he hasn't collapsed flat on his back on the ground beneath.

There he stands, dressed in his dark hoodie and black jeans. I can sense that his eyes are dark and imagine his long black eyelashes, which make me feel like I have butterflies in my stomach. My heart begins to race a little; I try to keep my breathing even. He has that effect on me.

Brandon doesn't say anything as he leaves the window open; it's warm anyway, and he makes his way to the bed. He throws himself down by my left side and pulls me right into him and holds me. We're spooning; my head is dizzy with the strength of his arms around me, drawing me even closer into him. Wow, this feeling is surreal. He doesn't say a word; instead, he buries his face into the back of my neck. His breath on my skin is warm; it sends shivers and tingles up and down my spine. This feeling is amazing. I never want it to stop.

We lay there silently as I listen to him breathing, as I feel him breathing and lay my hands on top of his. They're warm, soft and they are Brandon's. The hands that I so desperately want to roam all over my body and do things to me. Stop Lizzie. Stop it right now. This is your best friend you're thinking of like that. But I can't stop. I don't want to stop.