It had? begun to feel like a normal routine when Ethan slid into my bed, drunk again.
Now I didn’t bother to lock my door.
When I turned my body so I could face him, he was already looking at me with tired and droopy eyes. It must have been because of his inebriated state that he was feeling sleepy but he still struggled to keep his eyes open.
“I miss you.” He whispered and my heart clenched in my chest.
I turned back to my original position so my back was facing him. It was too painful to even look at him.
I kept my eyes on the digital clock on my nightstand, awaiting sleep to take over me. Five minutes passed and still no sleep found me.
I could feel Ethan shift from time to time, probably trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in and maybe that disturbance was what was keeping me awake.
Five minutes turned to fifteen and then to thirty until I noticed that an hour and half had passed by and I was still staring at the clock or in the darkness the whole time.
“Juliet, are you asleep?” His small whisper in utter silence almost startled me because I thought he was sleeping deeply.
I didn’t reply, pretty sure that he would fall asleep again.
I felt him shift again but this time I felt the space next to me dip and my covers lift up slightly as he slid into it quietly. His arm wrapped around me and he pulled me back until my back was pressed to his front until we looked like two spoons in a stack. His nose grazed the nape of my neck and I could feel him relax into me. I did not pull back.
For some reason, I fell asleep right after that.
When my eyes opened due to the invading morning light streaming in through the windows the next day, my mind registered that Ethan and I had changed positions in our sleep and now were practically hugging each other. I had my head on his shoulder and my arm around his waist and he had his arms around me.
Quietly sliding out from under his hold, I went into the bathroom to freshen up and have a long shower.
When I was done and ready and walked out of my room, Ethan had already left because as soon as I opened my bathroom door, I heard my room door shut loudly and footsteps in the hallway, most probably Ethan returning back to his room.
I made my way down for breakfast and greeted my parents good morning like usual.
They must have noticed my somber mood because they questioned about it and asked if I was unwell and I told them that it wasn’t that and I just couldn’t fall asleep last night.
Olivia didn’t appear for breakfast and when I asked Samara she told me that she wanted breakfast later after everyone had had theirs, and that too in her room. I knew she was avoiding me. She didn’t want to talk to me and now she didn’t even want to see my face.
The least I deserved was to know the reason for this and yet she refused to give me any sort of explanation. I couldn’t help but feel like I had lost my friend and I wouldn’t get her back, at least not while I was here.
After breakfast, I was just watching TV aimlessly when I heard a car pull up in the driveway. After a few seconds Heather walked in through the door.
I was surprised to see her because I had only just seen her last night. She walked straight towards me and I wondered if she had nothing better to do other than come here and tell me how undeserving I was of Ethan.
“We need to talk. Right now. Let’s go to your room.”
Her tone and words scared me and I began to think of all the things that could’ve gone wrong.
When she shut my room door and locked it from inside, I knew it was something serious.
“What is it?”
She looked furious, to say the least. “Have you been sleeping with Ethan?”
“What?!” I screeched.
“Olivia saw him getting out of your room, shirtless, with shoes and shirt in hand and with ‘sex hair’. He looked like he had just woken up and when she sneaked a peek in your room, the bed looked like two people had slept in it and you were just getting out of the shower.” She finished and glared at me. “Have you been sleeping with him the whole time and lying to me about getting over him?”
“No! It’s not what it looked like.”
“Explain.”
I rubbed at my temples knowing I had to tell her about how Ethan had been getting in my bed for a few days now. She wasn’t going to be very pleased with it but I had to tell her even though I knew she was going to a big headache after that.
“Okay, first tell me why Olivia is reporting things about me to you? She doesn’t have any reason to come into my room or even roam around this part of the mansion because she seems hell bent on avoiding me for reasons unknown to me.”
“Why? Do you have something to hide?” She asked smarmily.
“No, I don’t. But just tell me this. Have you told Olivia to spy on me?”
“Of course not. She doesn’t even know that Ethan and I are fake dating. She thinks that we are dating for real and so she told me what she saw.”
“Why would she do that? Wouldn’t it mean that you would be mad at me and possibly reveal my true identity to everyone?”
She shrugged.
“Wow, what a great friend I had.” I muttered.
“Are you trying to change the topic?” She asked impatiently. “I’m not interested in whatever the fuck is happening to your friendship. Just explain why Ethan looked like he had sex with you this morning.”
I sneered at her when she wasn’t looking. “Fine. We never had sex. He just had been coming into my room at night, drunk and I have no choice but to let him sleep in my bed.”
She raised an eyebrow at my short explanation, clearly not buying it. “Why didn’t you help him to his room? Or to one of the guestrooms? If it was too much for you, you could have asked the helpers to take him to his room. Also, locking your fucking door at night might help.”
“I felt responsible for him drinking so much. It felt like he was drinking because of me. I wanted to take care of him.” I defended.
She rolled her eyes. “Not everything is about you. He just might have felt like having a drink or two due to work pressure or such.”
I was silent because I knew it wasn’t because of that but I didn’t want to waste my time explaining it to Heather who wouldn’t understand anyway.
“He told me that he didn’t want to do it anymore, the fake dating.” She said after some time. “He wanted me to tell the media that we broke up.” She spoke and I was mildly surprised. “Why did he suddenly ask that of me when you aren’t even going to be with him?” I didn’t answer so she continued. “I thought you two… that you two were together behind my back and so he didn’t want to do it anymore.”
“I told you it’s not that,” I repeated tiredly.
“Yeah. But don’t you go around doing something I won’t approve.”
“I’ll try.” I replied dryly, pressing on the uncertainty in my voice and she caught it because she looked at me with narrowed eyes.
“I’m leaving.” She picked up her purse and started for the door. “And lock the door at night,” she said and slammed the door shut.
Looked like I had to have a talk with Olivia again.