I open my eyes, and Nix isn't there. The bed beside me is cold and empty; did he move in the middle of the night? Did I kick him out? For some reason, I couldn't remember anything after… I fell asleep?
Sitting up, I rub the sleep out of my eyes and look around. There was an untouched pile of blankets on the floor, so it wasn't a dream. Nix was really here, and I really did fall asleep. My body felt weird, lighter than normal. My head was clear instead of foggy, and I didn't have a dull headache sleeping in my skull. Was it possible that I actually slept the whole night? I couldn't even remember my dream.
I pushed myself out of bed, and slowly walked out of my room and down the stairs, following the sound of clinking dishes. Downstairs, my mom was putting up dishes in the kitchen, and when I walked into the dining room, Nix was sitting down, pushing spoonfuls of soggy cereal in his mouth.
He smirked when he saw me. "Your hair is fucked."
I smiled back and sat down beside him, laying my head on the table. "Speak for yourself," I said, looking at his hair as it stood up in many little cowlicks. His eyebrow went up along with the corner of his mouth after I spoke, and I found myself looking at his perfect teeth and light eyes.
Nix noticed that I was staring and his smiled dropped. "I don't look that bad, do I?"
"What?" I asked, coming out of my haze. My face started to burn as soon I realized what he was saying and I shook my head. I have to stop staring at him…
Nix finished his cereal quickly and pushed it out of his way, leaning back in his chair. "I guess I should go home today."
"Yeah," I said quickly, yawning. I didn't want him to leave though, I finally slept well… No, that wasn't because of him. Why would he suddenly make things better? It didn't make sense. I was just worn out.
Suddenly, a series of screams went off, followed by a loud noise, and I jumped up in my seat, but Nix just calmly took his phone out of his pocket. When he flipped it open, the sound stopped. "Speak," Nix said into the phone, and I could hear the sound of an irritated guy's voice on the other side. "Yeah, yeah, I know I promised, and I'll be there alright? Jesus christ, you're irritating," Nix answered, rolling his eyes. "Is that all you wanted? Okay then, bye."
"Who was that?" I asked when he hung up and slid the phone back into his pocket.
"Just Rylee. He's dragging me to this bitch's house," he answered, and as soon as he said it, we heard a cough behind us. We turned and saw my mom glaring at us from the doorway. "Sorry," Nix muttered.
"Kace, your friend needs to leave soon; we have somewhere to go," she said to me and I nodded, and turned Nix who shrugged.
"I'll go pack up then," he said, and I got up to help him. We cleaned up my room quickly, seeing how Nix didn't use any of the blankets, and we weren't in my room most of the time. I told him he could take a shower before he left, but he declined, saying he rather take one in his own house, but thanks anyways.
An hour later, Nix had gathered up all his things, and my house was cleaned and erased of almost any evidence that he was there. As he picked up his bag and headed for the door, I could feel my stomach drop. It already felt empty.
"See you Monday," Nix said to me, and then turned to my mom. "Thanks for letting me stay."
My mom just nodded in response. "Are you sure you don't need me to drive you home?" she asked him.
"Nah, I like driving," Nix said shrugging, and then opened the door to leave.
"Bye, Nix," I said to him as I watched him walk out into the yard, and I saw him toss me a wave without looking before my mom shut the door behind him.
"Are you ready to leave?" my mom asked me, and I nodded yes. "Get your jacket and wait for me in the car then."
Sighing, I did what I was told, and quickly went upstairs to find my jacket. When I went out to the car, Nix was nowhere to be seen, but it didn't really matter. I didn't want him to ask about where I was going anyway.
Fifteen long minutes later, my mom finally got into the driver's seat beside of me, and backed the car out into the street. I try not focus on the car moving or where we're heading; I try not to think at all. Everything is a reminder that I'm broken.
"Stand here, please," the lady says to me, and I stand up on the scale like I'm told. The numbers rise and fall slower and slower until they hit a steady weight. The lady looks over and writes the number on my sheet, shaking her head. "Haven't you been eating more like Mr. Caverly asked of you?"
"Not really…" I answered, biting my lip nervously. She sighed, but said nothing more and beckoned my mom and me to follow her into another room. The room was dark with forest green walls, darkly stained furniture, and leather couches. There was a desk at the front of the room that was neat and held a computer and a variety of different pictures frames and small clock with an unusually loud tick-tock.
We sat down in front of the desk, my mom on one end and me on the other so that we didn't touch. When we were seated, the lady told us that Mr. Caverly would be in in a moment, and walked out of the room, shutting the door.
After a moment, my mother spoke up. "I'm not sure if I like your friend," she said.
"His name is Nix," I answered, "and I get that he's not exactly novelty, but if you he's better than most people."
My mom scoffed. "In what ways? His attitude is sour and he can't keep from cursing every five words."
I sat up more, ready to defend him, but in that moment, the door swung open, and Mr. Caverly walked in. "Good morning," he said, his smile thin as he walked over to his desk. He was a tall, lanky man with dark hair and a shadow of a beard on his neck. For some reason, every time I saw him he was wearing a gray suit.
"Good morning," I said quietly, and waited for him to say more.
Picking up the chart that the lady left on his desk, he pressed his lips into a hard line. "Not eating, I see?" he asked, but I saw no reason to answer, so I didn't. He kept reading down the chart until he was satisfied, and then looked back up at me. "Tell me about how you've been sleeping. When's the last time you had more than five hours of sleep?"
"Um…," I said, thinking. "Last night, I think. I fell asleep somewhere around eleven, and woke up at ten, I think."
"What…?" my mother said shocked, and Mr. Caverly looked surprised.
"Are you sure? That's a long time for you," he asked, and I nodded, unsure of what this meant. Mr. Caverly then stood up from his chair, and walked out from behind his desk. "Maybe if that's better, then the other things will be too."
"What are you talking-" I started, but then I stopped as he started walking towards me, his hand reached out to touch me.