A Little Piece Of Heaven

Chapter Nine:

I opened my eyes and tried to figure out why I was sweating to death in my sleep. What the fuck? Jace has a death grip on my waist. He’s fast asleep. I groaned and pried his fingers off of me. He grumbled but let me go. It’s like four in the morning. I got out of bed and grabbed my phone before heading their patio.

I love their backyard. Everything’s fenced in and the they have the nicest deck. Their wicker rocking chairs are so comfy. I flipped on a set of dim lights in the back and grabbed a throw blanket. I settled down in my seat and got comfortable.

I turned on my phone and checked for messages.

Hope you had a good time today. You should definitely run into me soon.
-Matt

He sent that a few hours ago – he’s probably asleep by now. Something about him always makes me smile.

I definitely had fun. And I think it’s your turn to run into me.
-Angela

I sent him. I looked at the stars and just basked in their beauty. They’ve always made me feel a little better. They make me forget about everything, even if it’s only for a short time. They make me feel so small.

My phone started vibrating. I jumped and almost fell out of my chair. Why is he calling me?

“Hello?” I feel nervous talking to him on the phone. I know how ridiculous it sounds, but my foot loves to live in my mouth.

“Hello yourself, beautiful. What are you doing up?” Matt’s husky voice asked. I sighed.

“I couldn’t sleep.” I told him. He chuckled.

“How about you? Are you secretly a morning person?” I questioned. He laughed.

“I haven’t been to bed yet. I was just thinking about you and you happened to text me.” He breathed. I felt a pleasant shiver run down my spine. I smiled into my phone.

“What can I say? I have excellent timing.” I told him.

“What are you doing right now?”

“You’re gonna laugh.”

“I won’t laugh at you.” He assured me. I made a face, knowing he couldn’t see it.

“I’m sitting outside, watching the stars.” I told him.

“Want some company?” He asked.

“I crashed at a friend’s place, but I can come to you.” I told him. He didn’t say anything for a second.

“Alright, but I’m warning you now, my room’s a mess.” He joked. I giggled.

“That’s fine.” I told him. “I don’t mind. What’s your address?” I asked him.

“I live off of Serenity Drive and Baker Street.” He told me.

“I know where that is.” I told him.

“I’ll text you the address.” He told me.

“I’ll see ya in a few.” I hung up. What did I just get myself into? I folded the blanket and took it inside. I turned off the outside lights and went upstairs. I brushed my teeth and ran my fingers through my hair. I put foundation on my bruises and a little lip balm on my lips. I don’t look too awful. I decided to stay in my pajamas. I’m too lazy to change and he knew I was sleeping, so it really doesn’t matter. I slipped on my Vans and grabbed my purse. I woke up Jace just enough to talk to him.

“What? What’s wrong?” He grumbled.

“Nothing, I’m going out for a little while. I’ll be back later in the morning. I didn’t want to make you freak out or anything.” I told him. He nodded.

“Okay. Just be careful.” He gave me a hug and fell back asleep.

I scribbed a note and left it on the counter next to the coffee maker. That’s the first thing that Gwen heads to when she’s awake. There’s no way she’ll miss it. I got my keys and locked their door. I headed to my car and turned on the lights, careful to turn down the music. I don’t want to wake anyone up.

I decided to get my Papa Roach on to pump myself up. I’m so jittery right now.

In the brightest hour of my darkest day.
I realized what is wrong with me.
Can’t get over you – can’t get through to you.
It’s been a helter skelter romance from the start.

I shook out my hair and loosened up. I started singing along.

Take these memories that are haunting me –
Of a paper man cut into shreds,
By his own pair of scissors.
He’ll never forget her; he’ll never forget her.

I beat on the steering wheel, using it as a makeshift drum.

Because days come and go,
But my feelings for you are forever.
Because days come and go,
But my feelings for you are forever.

I belted it out on the top of my lungs. I jammed the entire way there. I was at his place before I knew it. My nerves were gone, but as soon as I parked and reached his doorstep, they were back, at full force. I pulled out my phone and called him.

“Hey,” he answered.

“I’m here.” I told him.

“Alright, hang on. Lemme put on some pants.” He said and hung up. Did he just say what I think he did? I guess so. A minute later the front door opened. My jaw dropped, just a little bit before I clamped my mouth closed. He’s shirtless and looks delicious. His eyes twinkled when he saw me. I smiled, shyly.

“I was afraid to knock. I didn’t want to wake anyone up.” I told him.

“My mom’s a nurse. She works nights.” He told me. I nodded.

“What about your sister?” I asked him.

“She’s with our dad. He has her this week.” He told me. I nodded. “You wanna come in?” He asked. I nodded. He offered me a hand and led me inside. I looked around the dark house. It looks nice. I followed him to his room. It’s surprisingly clean. He invited me to sit down on the bed with him.

“I’m glad you invited me over.” I told him. “I don’t like being alone at night.” I told him.

“I thought you stayed with a friend.”

“I did, but they’re sleeping.” I giggled. He nodded.

“There’s something different about you.” He stroked the side of my face.

“So… what do you wanna do?” I asked him. He winked and leaned forward and kissed me, softly. I pulled away.

“Movie?” He asked. I nodded. “Anything in particular?” He asked. I shook my head.

“Just nothing too scary.” I told him. We finally decided on Blade. We laid on the bed and started watching the movie. “You make me so nervous.” I confessed. He chuckled.

“Why?” He asked.

“I get nervous around insanely attractive guys.” I told him. He moved on top of me so I had to look at him.

“How can I make you comfortable?” He asked. I shrugged.

“By letting me get to know you better.” I told him. I sat up, suddenly feeling claustrophobic.

“What do you wanna know?” He asked. So, I asked him question after question.

He hated his dad. He drank too much before his sister was born and he would push Matt around and his mom. Apparently, he’s reformed. Matt loved reptiles and brunettes. He has an addiction to Sour Patch Kids and occasionally smokes pot. Music is his lifeline. He has a band with some of his friends. He wants me to listen to them play sometime. And according to him, for the longest time, he’s been crushing on me.

I told him about my mom and how she died. I told him about the fact that I can’t stand Eric. I told him that he was mean and overprotective but I left it at that. I explained my friendship with Jace and his mom. I told him I loved Swedish Fish and hated spiders. I love books and music but I can’t play any instruments worth crap.

Brian is his best friend and the closest person he has to a brother. He wants us to hang out sometime soon. And he loves dogs.

“I can’t believe we’ve been talking for the past four hours.” I told him. He smiled and yawned. “I’m so tired.” I leaned back on his bed.

“Who are you tellin’? I haven’t slept yet.”

“Will your mom freak if she finds us asleep here?” I asked him. He shook his head.

“I told her that you were coming over to chill when I couldn’t sleep.” He told him.

“Why is your bed so comfortable?” I asked him. He laughed. “I don’t want to make a bad first impression on your mom.” I told him. He smiled. God, he makes my heart leap around in my rib cage.

“She’s cool. I don’t bring a lot of girls home. We’re sorta close.”

“Alright, but I can only stay a couple of hours. Gwen’ll never let me live it down if I stayed with a guy all night.” I told him. He laughed. I set my alarm and we closed his curtains. I closed my eyes and drifted off to hopefully, a dreamless sleep.

Notes

Music Credit: "Forever" by Papa Roach