Flood

He cried himself to sleep. My heart was breaking for him. To have someone so important to you die…. I hadn’t experienced that yet and I hoped I never would. I hated seeing him cry so hard.

When I was sure he was fast asleep, I got out of the bed and tucked him in. He stirred a little and I pressed a long kiss to his forehead. He calmed and turned on his side. I shut the door quietly behind me and went back downstairs. Ryder was holding Juniper.

“Is he asleep?” Ryder whispered and I nodded.

“I am so very sorry,” I breathed and Juniper hugged me tightly. “Is there anything I can do at all?”

Juniper shook her head, too overwhelmed to speak.

“Actually, there is,” Ryder said and Juniper glared at him. “We need help at the restaurant. Juniper has to plan the funeral.” She sobbed again and he pulled her to his chest. “You won’t have to cook or anything. Just go in and make sure everything’s taken care of.”

“Of course,” I said immediately.

I didn’t exactly know what it took but Ryder promised he’d sit down and explain it to me once he got Juniper to calm down. He took her upstairs and I sat at the kitchen table, running a hand through my hair. This was not how I was expecting this week to start out.

Ryder came back down about ten minutes later with a yellow legal pad. He sat down and started writing.

“It’s not as difficult as it sounds like,” he promised. He passed the pad to me. “This is a list of things that need to be done at the end of the day. The staff are very loyal so I don’t think you’ll have any problems. It’s more of a way to give Juniper peace of mind than anything else.”

I nodded. It was a long list but I wanted to help them.

“When will I need to go? Like, at what time?”

“Close is at 10 pm,” he answered. “I’ll go with you tonight to let the staff know what’s wrong.”

“Won’t they wonder why I’m the one doing it?”

He shook his head. “Juniper talks about you a lot,” he laughed and I blushed. He looked at the time. “It’s noon. Do you have any other classes today?”

“No. I was going to stay here with Spencer if he needed me to.”

“He’ll say no but I know he does,” Ryder sighed. “He has his mother’s stubbornness. I don’t know how long he’ll be asleep, though. He didn’t get any last night.”

“That’s all right. Our professor gave us our stuff so I’ll just do my homework at my desk while he sleeps.”

Ryder nodded and stood. He suddenly looked older than I had seen him. I noticed he was graying around his sideburns and there were a few worry wrinkles on his forehead. I’m sure this would only make it worse. Spencer told me that he and Zachary were extremely close.

“I have to get to the hospital,” he said, grabbing his keys. “I’ve forced Zachary to at least stay in one of the rooms.”

I nodded and went to Spencer’s car to get my books. When I got back upstairs, I poked my head into Juniper’s room. She was still awake and sitting at her desk, writing things down in shaky hands.

“Do you need some help?” I whispered and she turned, smiling at me.

“That’s okay. Will you be here all day?”

“Until close,” I nodded. “I’m going to work on my homework while Spencer’s sleeping.”

“Okay. Hey, Charlotte?” she called as I was headed to his room. I went back. “Thank you for this.”

I smiled kindly and nodded again. I went back to Spencer’s room, closing the door quietly behind me. He was still fast asleep. He was snoring a little and I sat down at the desk, trying to make as little noise as possible.

I started with my business homework, the hardest of the bunch. Juniper’s tutoring sessions had helped a lot, though, with the accounting part. We had gotten deeper in and it took me at least two hours to finish just the accounting portion. I had been so focused, I didn’t realize Spencer had woken up until he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

I jumped and he chuckled a little.

“Did I scare you?”

“Just a little,” I sighed and leaned into him. I looked up. His face was pale and his eyes incredibly red. He was smiling, though. “You okay?”

“As okay as I’ll get,” he shrugged and I stood to hug him.

He sighed into my neck and I wrapped my arms around his waist. We stood in silence for a very long time. The longer we stood, the tighter his hold on me became. I felt a few more tears fall on my neck and I kissed his jaw.

“I’m so tired of crying,” he said, his voice muffled.

“I know,” I said, rubbing his back. “Do you want to lie back down?”

“No. I want to hold you forever.”

I smiled, blushing a little. “Well, how about we lie down and you can hold me in bed?”

“I’m fine with that,” he said and I pulled him over.

We got back under the covers and he didn’t waste any time in holding me to him. He was on his side; one of his shoulders must have still been hurting. He pulled my back to his chest and buried his face in my hair.

“I like your shampoo,” he mumbled and I could tell he was about to fall asleep.

“Thanks. So do I.”

“What do you use?”

“Just a brand from my hair stylist.”

“Mmm.”

He kissed the back of my neck a few times and I was worried he wanted to have sex again. There was no way I was going to while he was like this. He didn’t seem interested, though.

“I appreciate you a lot,” he whispered.

My knees were bent and he bent his so that we were spooning.

“I’m here,” I whispered back. “I always will be.”

He got on his elbow briefly to nuzzle my neck and place a long kiss there. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling. He laughed a little and I could feel the vibrations through my back.

“Are you going to fall asleep?” he asked.

“Probably,” I said honestly. I turned in his arms and brushed his hair out of his face. “Just as long as you fall asleep, too. Your dad said you didn’t get much sleep last night.”

He pouted. “He’s such a snitch.” I laughed a little and he gave me a polar bear kiss. “I might fall asleep,” he mumbled, his eyes drooping.

“So sleep,” I whispered. “I’ll sleep with you.”

“Oh yeah?” he said, winking at me and I slapped his arm gently. He chuckled. “I love you.”

I kissed him and put my head on the pillow. “I love you, too,” I whispered.

He pulled me head closer so it was buried in his chest. I inhaled the smell of his deodorant and felt like I was in heaven. It wasn’t long until we were both asleep.