Nicole had put on another horror movie in the hopes of getting Amy to move closer to her. Her plan was successful when at the twenty minute mark there was an especially gory jump scare. Nicole didn't like trying to push answers out of Amy, but in this instance where Nicole was extremely concerned she made an exception.As Amy pushed into Nicole's side and stole away some of their shared blanket Nicole paused the movie. "If the movie is too scary for you you can say so Amy." Amy looked up at her. "Just because you're a guest doesn't mean you have to be compliant with everything the host wants." Amy shut the computer and looked Nicole in the eyes in a way that made Nicole feel naked.
"Are you just trying to get me to lash out. I don't want to hurt you or upset you or scare you away Nicole, so please, for now leave it be. I know it's hard for you to do that but just for a little while longer can I pretend nothing is wrong."
"No, because if you don't open up now you won't. And then you'll hold onto everything without getting help. You don't even ask for my help, I'd be more than happy to do whatever I can for you. Why don't you understand that you don't have to do this alone, I'm your friend." Nicole lashed out at Amy which made her feel guilty but also like it would help the situation. If she showers Amy that lashing out was okay maybe Amy would give it a try. Instead Amy moved to get off the bed.
"It's late Nicole, I'm going to go crash on the couch. Good night." She walked away with one of Nicole's pillows in her arms. She was clutching it in an almost hug-like embrace. Nicole had screwed up, as she often did. Amy was sensitive and Nicole had pushed her too hard, Nicole wanted to apologize. But instead she let Amy stew in her thoughts.
When finally Nicole's alarm clock hit ten o'clock she figured it was safe to go to the living room and check on Amy. Just as Nicole was about to walk out to the living room,the bedroom door creaked as it opened from the outside. Amy wobbled in, obviously tired and recently woken from her sleep.
"Your mom told me to come sleep in here, sorry." Amy looked down at her feet as she stepped closer to the bed. "I can sleep on the floor though, if you don't want me in your bed. I'm sorry for getting mad at you earlier."
"Amy, you weren't mad, you were irritated, there's a difference. And I pushed you to that point so I'm sorry for pushing you into feeling trapped. Sleep in the bed, if it makes you uncomfy I can sleep on the floor, alright?" Amy shook her head.
"Please, stay in bed. I don't want you sleeping on the floor when it's your room." Amy inched closer to the bed until her legs hit the frame and she tripped into the soft mattress. She landed on Nicole who was poking her and asking her to move off of her stomach. She adjusted herself and moved the blankets off of Nicole so she could get under them. "Is this okay?" Amy asked using the pillow she had taken earlier to divide the two. This left her without a pillow so as Nicole stared at her all Amy could see was a sliver of her face.
"We don't need a divider Amy, use the pillow." Nicole turned away from Amy in hopes of limiting the awkwardness of the situation. Amy moved the pillow under her head and stared at Nicole's neck. It was freckled like her face, probably because of the amount of time she spent running in the sun. She stretched her hand towards Nicole's neck and caressed it.
"You should really use sunscreen, you're so freckled here." Nicole tensed up as Amy's hand moved to the lower part of her neck. Her neck began getting goosebumps from the light touches, and as soon as Amy felt the goosebumps she retracted her hand. Amy shut her eyes after that out of embarrassment. She heard a rustling and opened her eyes once she felt breathing on her face.
"Why'd you move your hand, it didn't bother me. I was just a bit startled, you're not very touchy." Amy looked into Nicole's eyes and a sudden urge came over her, one she repressed and pushed to the back of her thoughts, now was not the time. "Do you want to talk now that you're more comfortable?" Amy nodded, though in the dark it was hard for Nicole to tell.
"I don't think my mom really loves me, she's always too busy with my siblings. And Diana doesn't like me very much either." Amy sighed and moved closer to Nicole. "She has to work to help mom pay the bills, I think she started working when she was younger than me. Even now mom still treats her like a child even though Diana outraces her working as a...well you know what she does." Nicole did, and she personally didn't think there was anything wrong with Diana being a stripper. She made good money and could support herself plus her mom. "Mom thinks what she does is shameful, which I guess I kind of understand. But I don't know why Diana sticks around at this point. If she didn't have to help mom with bills she could afford a nice place on her own." Nicole had a feeling that if Diana left home she wouldn't be allowed back, and Nicole knew deep down Diana did care about her siblings. She was just envious of the opportunities they'd all be provided.
"Well, if it's that bad at home I'm sure I could ask for you to sleep over more often. Would your mom agree to something like that? Maybe Tuesday through Thursday?" Amy's face lit up, something Nicole could tell even in the dark. "I'm sure my mom would love to have you over more often."
"I don't want to tell her about home though, she'll judge it."
"Then I'll make up an excuse, I'd rather have you here. If that means lying to my mom just a bit it'll be fine. But I don't think she'd judge it, she'd try to understand it and the way it affects you." Amy nodded and shifted. She stretched her arms out and put them around Nicole's mid section.
"Thank you Nicky." Amy buried her face in Nicole's neck, and even though it tickled Nicole tried her best to savor the moment. She put her arms around Amy and pulled her closer. That nickname didn't bother her when Amy used it, so why did it matter if Eva did.