DOOMED ATTRACTION

THREE

" What about my spaghetti?", I ask, already descending from the staircase. " You know the only reason I came over was for that."

And maybe another sweatshirt, but he doesn't need to know that just yet.

He still stood at the base of the staircase, and if I looked closely, which I always did, the pulse at the smooth skin right in the middle of his collarbone was fast. " Ah, of course." He quickly flashed me a smile.

A fake one. I'd seen enough of those to last a bloody lifetime. " What the hell?"

" Spaghetti?", I pushed, pointing in the direction of the plates I deposited in the kitchen.

" It's made already."

" You could have said that earlier", I laugh, going down the steps and tugging him up to his room. His hands were cold.

"Great to know my best friend's only that because of my mum's great cooking", he scoffed.

He rolled his eyes, I just knew it.

I turned, and there it was. Baron doing his signature move.

" You really shouldn't do that, you know", I mention as soon as we enter his room.

" I could say the same to you", he muttered, pulling his hand out of mine.

" How are you?"

He looked at me from the top of the bed while I lay on the rug.

The rug was one of the softest things I'd ever had the opportunity to lie on or in.

"One of the reasons I'll never leave Baron, one of the reasons", I sigh, signalling him to pass me a pillow.

"It's hard", I snuggle the pillow under my head," people told me it'd get easier, but people are liars."

" It's only gotten harder."

" I'm not fine, but that's been the normal for a long time now, so I can't really say I'm not fine when my being not fine is my being fine", I gulp, preparing to launch into another tirade before I feel someone's hands tugging at my toes.

Baron.

There's no need to say anything as I settle into his arms. There's never been need for any thank yous', or over exaggerated emotions between the both of us. Even though our parents had never called us the proverbial "peas in a pod", they might as well have.

"I'm going to be one of those people and tell you, you'll deal with it", he spoke into my bundled hair, " and if you can't deal with it on your own, I'll be here to support you while you deal with it."

"I won't let you fall Kayla", he murmured softly right at the spot where he knew I was ticklish, " and you know that", he finished, the comforting, familiar words lulling me to sleep as I rested my head on his shoulder.

" I'll be there that day, like I always am."

" But before that, get this sweatshirt on you", he grabbed the shirt from the bed and held it out to me, " I'd have done it myself but you know.."

The bastard. " You don't like change and since the last time we've seen each other plain, we've both changed a lot?", I parrot, seeing as he'd said this particular line so many times I could recite it in my sleep.

" For the shy persona you've got on in school, you're surprisingly shameless", he chuckled, pulling me back to his chest.

" Come here."

" And have Ayla burst in and proclaim us couples?", I laugh, " no way."

" What could be so wrong about that?" He shot me a grin, stretching out his arms and making a pout with his lips. " Oh revered girlfriend, come into my arms and let me worship you."

Cue the weird smacking sounds.

"You're an i***t", I chuckle, climbing into his bed and under the blankets, "turn the AC on please."

He put it on, closed the blinds and came around to the other side of his large bed.

Feeling him settle in beside me, I sighed. Routines were comforting. Safe and definitely very different from stormy grains of sand hitting you in the eye unrelentingly.

Just this one time. " Thank you", I murmured to him.

I didn't get to hear the next thing he said, because I was gone. And like every other time we slept in each other's arms, the dreams that plagued me constantly were at bay. Still there, but not doing any other thing than nipping at the edges.

That I could handle. I snuggled in deeper to him, my nose resting in the slight indent of his chest. What I couldn't handle, was the full on barrage on horrors that haunted me everytime it got close to the day.

The day it collapsed.

-*-

" Look at them." I heard a distant voice call. "So cute, so warm and I'd have accepted it if only that i***t had called me!" My eyes popped open.

"Ayla", I breathed out softly. Her beautiful face had the etchings of anger painted in it. Her hands held a bathroom slipper and by God that thing wasn't going to get on me. So I rolled, and ducked. And waited.

Sure enough, it came.

" You slimy bastard", Baron yelled, slapping the spot where my forehead should have been.

" Ohh", I chortled, the corners of my lips shooting upwards as my eyes landed on Ayla. She was enraged.

Baron was toast.

" Kayla, get him up", Ayla nodded to me.

" Right, I'll do just that." I grabbed my phone and searched out the audio.

" What the fuckk", he yelled, snapping his head off the pillow. His eyes were frantically searching the part of the bed where I should have been but coming up with nothing but my phone close to his chest.

The common loon's flight tremolo never failed.

I stifled a laugh seeing the expression on his face. He hadn't slept for long enough for his hair to get really messy, but still his hair was ruffled, and his eyes a glaring contrast with the way they were bright with fear.

Something or the other about a night missing in the woods in an inherited log cabin. He never told me the details of it, but what I could gleam from Ayla I held close to my heart.

" Baron." He froze. " You won't escape this", he whispered, the promise of revenge steely clear in his sunburnt chocolate irises.

" Mum." He gulped, and Ayla's eyes flickered to his shirtless chest, then flickered to me wrapped up in his sweatshirt. She cleared her throat.

" Why?"

Why what?