"Can we talk?" I asked, looking over at Drew.

As usual, he was strumming away at his guitar and I was sat on my bed beside him, reading. That had become our routine, being together without actually socializing with each other.

Honestly it was one of my favourite things to do. Being around Drew always made me feel safe.

"Sure." He replied, putting his guitar down in front of him to give me his full attention.

I turned to face him and took a deep breath.

"What's going on between us?"

I finally asked the question that had constantly been on my mind.

Drew cleared this throat, obviously caught off guard by my bluntness.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

I sighed, he knew exactly what I meant.

"We're constantly together, you sleep in the same bed as me, you're always there for me." I explained.

Drew signed, I think he knew that we were going to have this talk soon, but he still wasn't prepared.

"And we kissed." I added, my mind going back to that magical day at the park.

He grabbed my hand, interlocking our fingers, and I scooted closer to him on instinct.

"I really like what we have going on right now." He told me, looking down at our hands.

I nodded in agreement, "I do too, but I'm confused. I want to know what you're thinking and feeling about this, about me."

Drew looked into my eyes, a battle going on in his own.

What if he didn't see me as anything more than a friend?

Did I want him to see me as more than a friend? Did I want something more than a friendship with him?

"I don't want to mess this up Cora." He admitted, his eyes leaving mine and focusing on the wall behind me.

I sighed, he had a point. We had something really special, even if it was confusing, and I didn't know what I'd do if something happened between us that ruined what we already had.

"I've never done the whole relationship thing. I don't know if I'd be any good at it." He added a few moments later.

My heart skipped a beat. Did that mean he was considering a real relationship with me?

"I haven't either." I told him, this was as new to me as it was to him.

"You've been hurt so much Cora. I don't want to add to that." He muttered, meeting my eyes again. I could see the fear swirling in his clear blue orbs.

"Isn't that risk up to me?" I asked.

The more we talked about this, the more I realized that I wanted to be more than friends with Drew. My mind kept going back to the kiss, it felt so right. It would be nice to kiss him whenever I wanted to.

"Let's keep doing what we're doing for now."

My heart dropped at his suggestion. Maybe he didn't want to be more than friends. Maybe I was too damaged for him.

"Oh, okay." I mumbled, trying and failing to keep the disappointment out of my voice.

He gently squeezed my hand, "It's not that I don't want to go further with this thing that's going on between us, it's just not the right time. You're being threatened and we need to figure that out before we can worry about us."

He was right, we had so much going on right now, a relationship couldn't be on the agenda. I needed to find out who killed my family before I could worry about a possible relationship with Drew.

"You're right." I said, giving him a small smile to show that I wasn't upset.

He gave me a warm smile back and that was the end of our conversation.

Drew started playing his guitar again and I went back to reading, although I couldn't really concentrate on the words. My mind was racing.

"Isn't Sky coming back today?" Drew suddenly asked, his hand freezing mid strum.

I quickly checked the date on my phone and sure enough Sky was due back, any minute actually.

"Yeah." I nodded, not fully understanding why he brought it up.

"I guess I'm sleeping in my own bed tonight." He voiced, looking down at his guitar with a strange expression on his face.

"I guess so." I muttered, disappointment washing over me.

Since Drew started spending every night here, I'd been sleeping better than I had since my parents died. There was just something about being in his arms that made me feel safe, which helped me sleep more soundly. And I'd wake up feeling rested, which never happened before he started sharing a bed with me.

"It'll be alright." He reassured me, rubbing comforting circles on my back.

I leaned into his touch and a small smile formed on my face. He was right, Sky would be here, it wasn't like I was sleeping in the room all alone.

Just as we went back to doing our own things again the doorknob jiggled and I tensed. The logical part of my brain was telling me that it was only Sky at the door, but my paranoia overshadowed it. There was a possibility that the person on the other side of the door was the one that killed my parents.

My heart was hammering in my chest as the lock turned and the culprit walked into the room.

"Why do you look like you just saw a ghost?" Sky asked, concern shining in her baby blue eyes.

I sighed in relief, happier than I'd ever been to see her.

"I've just been on edge lately." I muttered, not lying but not completely telling the truth either.

Sky nodded in understanding and turned to the person beside me, "Am I interrupting something? I can come back later if you two need some alone time."

Drew chuckled in response and my face went beet red. How was he not affected by her comment?

"I was actually just leaving." He replied, placing his guitar in its case and slinging it over his shoulder.

Sky got settled in as I walked Drew out.

"You're safe and I'll be back bright an early tomorrow morning." He reassured me when we were alone in the hallway.

I gave him an uneasy smile in response. I knew his words were true but I couldn't help feeling afraid. Sky couldn't protect me from the psychopath that killed my family. But now that I thought about it, Drew probably couldn't either, and what if he got hurt? I didn't want anyone to get hurt because of me. I'd already lost enough people I cared about.

"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned eyes searching my own.

I drew in a shaky breath and nodded.

Nothing bad was going to happen.

I was safe.

Warm tingles engulfed the right side of my face when Drew leaned in and placed a lingering kiss on my cheek. My anxiety was instantly replaced by a warmth that spread throughout my whole body.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Text or call if you need anything, even if it's just to talk." He said when he pulled away.

"Okay , i'll see you tomorrow." I mumbled.

With one last glance to make sure I wasn't about to break down, Drew finally left for his dorm.

When I couldn't see him anymore I walked back into my room and made sure the door was locked behind me.

"So how long has this been going on?" Sky asked when I was sat on my bed.

I gave her a confused look. "What?"

She rolled her eyes, "Drew sleeping here. How long has that been going on?"

I choked on air at her accurate assumption.

"How did you know?" I asked when I regained my composure.

"It smells like him in here, not that I'm complaining, he smells good." She explained as if it were obvious.

Who was she, Sherlock Holmes?

"Somethings changed between you two. What's going on?" She asked when I did nothing but look at her in amazement.

That snapped me back to reality.

After the conversation Drew and I had not long before Sky got back, I was almost as confused as before our talk. We didn't figure anything out. What was I supposed to tell Sky if I didn't even know what was going?

"I don't know." I answered, shrugging.

"It's obvious you two like each other, why don't you guys just date already?" Sky said, shrugging like she just suggested something so simple.

I sighed, "It's just not the right time."

Her eyes swirled with confusion but she decided not to push it, which I was thankful for.

"I'm always here if you need to talk." She offered, a warm smile stretching across her gorgeous face.

My heart swelled, I had people that cared so much about me. Despite everything I'd been through, I was really lucky. Not everyone had a group of friends as amazing as mine.

"Thanks." I muttered, returning her smile with a genuine one of my own.