Running - Joshler ✓

Chapter 6

"We need to talk." Josh crossed his arms over his chest.

I feel tiredness creep up on me. "Can we just please do this tomorrow?" I sigh.

"No, Tyler. You've been denying me all day about this conversation."

"I promise we can do it tomorrow. It's been enough of a long day, and I'm exhausted. I still have to figure out how to get Arina to sleep and what I can wear to bed. So please, another day?" I quietly say. I really did not want to be in another argument with him.

Josh just stares at me, and I can tell he's thinking about what I just told him. Finally, he relaxes.

"Fine, tomorrow morning we're talking. Let me get you something to wear to bed." He quickly says and leaves the room before I can protest.

I don't want to wear his clothes. I can't let any part of me get attached.

I start to look around the room again, and a group of picture frames on a dresser catch my eye.

I walk over to them and almost smile at some of them.

One held a photo of Josh playing his beloved drums. Everyone knew that he loved to drum. I never forgot that. Another was just a family photo, one with his brother, another with his two sisters, and one of...me?

I take the picture and look at it closer. It was around the time I was a junior in high school. We were going on a trip for choir, so it was taken at the airport. Debby went with me, and she took it on her phone, and I caught her right as she took it. I had no idea she actually kept the photo though. But what was concerning me more, was why Josh had this framed and in his room?

"After you left I was having a hard time without you and not being able to find you. Debby gave that to me and it's been up since."

Josh's voice startles me as I jump and look over at him. He rested against the doorframe, arms loosely hung to his side, and I caught some fabric in his hand.

I just looked down at the photo for another moment and put it back to where I found it.

And for the first time today, I let out some form of a laugh. "Debby could've given you a much better photo." I looked back over to him, and he seemed almost in awe. But I didn't know it was because of my laugh.

He just kept looking at me though. I started to feel awkward under his gaze and I shifted around awkwardly. "Um...can you not stare at me?"

That seemed to snap him out of whatever trance he was in, and he cleared his throat. "Sorry. I, uh, have some clothes you can sleep in. They might be big but they're the smallest I had."

I walk over to him as he explains, and reach out to take the clothes. He hands them over, and I try to hide my shiver as his fingers graze mine.

Damn mate bond. I feel it getting stronger and as time goes on, it's harder to separate myself from him, harder to act cold, and harder not to feel some sort of attraction towards him.

"Thank you." I mumble.

"It's no big deal. Um...should I get Arina something to eat?" He slowly offers.

I glare at him. "Not you. Have someone else do that."

He looks like he's about to protest, but I walk away and into the bathroom to take my shower.

———

I look at myself in the mirror. The black shirt went down to my mid thigh. He offered me some boxers as well, but I really don't want to put those on.

Ruffling my hands through my wet hair one last time, I walk out back into his room.

I smell some sort of food going on downstairs and it practically calls me over.

Going down to the first floor and into the kitchen for the first time in years, I see Arina babbling on with my sister and mom.

"And then Ms. Angie let us paint with our fingers! So I painted Nemo!" She exclaimed.

Maddy and my Mom pretend to be surprised.

"No way! You can paint Nemo? I could never!" Maddy tells Arina.

I laugh and that catches their attention. "Hi mommy!" Arina gets off the chair carefully and runs over to me.

I pick her up and she buries her head in my neck.

"Hi pumpkin. Did you get anything to eat?" I ask her.

"Yea! Grandma fed me some spaghetti with weird green leaves."

I mentally laughed as she was referring to salad. "And did you eat those weird green leaves?"

She took her head out of my neck and made a weird face. "Grandma made me."

I look over to my mom, and mouth a thank you. Goddess bless mothers. They're amazing. And I'm not just saying that because I am one.

I see my mom nod back in a your welcome kind of way.

"Alright pumpkin, it's bed time. Wanna say goodnight to aunt maddy and Grandma?" I turn so Arina faces them. She gives them an adorable smile and a wave.

"Night night Maddy! Night night Grammy!"

Maddy and My mom both wave back and say a goodnight as well, and I leave the kitchen.

"Alright, do you want to sleep in your room tonight, or with me?" Arina's face scrunched up for a moment, before she decided she wanted to sleep in her room.

Arina helped me find her room, and I tucked her in under the purple sheets. "Alright pumpkin, try to sleep."

Arina smiles. "I love you mommy."

I kiss the top of her head. "I love you more."

"Not possible! I love you more than Marlin loves Nemo!" She argues.

"Oh, that's a lot! How am I ever going to beat that?" I ask her.

"You can't. So I win!" She giggles.

I laugh with her, before finally going to the lights and I turn them off.

"Goodnight pumpkin."

"Night mommy." I hear her reply. I close her door, but not all the way, as I know she doesn't like the door all the way closed.

I walk upstairs to josh's room, and notice a note on the bed.

Goodnight. Sleep well.

-J

I sigh and put it on the nightstand next to the bed.

I shut off the lights in the room and climbed into the warm sheets. However, it didn't bring me as much comfort as being in his shirt did.

But no one needed to know that.