flushed cheeks

(iv.)

"Flushed Cheeks"

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(iv.)

Sleep did not come easy to me after I had gotten home from the store, lying awake, my blanket acting only as a comforting weight. It was actually quite warm, almost no chill in the air anymore. So, I did not need the blanket, but I could not sleep without it. Pushing the soft material down to my waist and wiping a hand down my face, I stared up at the ceiling, just thinking about what had happened last night—how we had talked in such an unlikely setting. The grocery store of all places. It was maybe midnight by the time I had finally fallen asleep.

Still, the next day, as I did every day, I woke up early, a little bit before my alarm was due to go off. However, that morning it was to the sound of my phone beeping with a text that woke me. Furrowing my eyebrows, I grabbed the device from its usual spot beside my pillow to see the message was from an unknown number.

Unknown (1):

Hey, it's Jillian.

Jillian? Is that Jill's full name? I shake the thought out of my head. It had to be. Nobody else, with the exception of my mother, would have my number, and she would only have to walk down the hallway to talk to me. Further, she always called if she needed something and I was not nearby.

The fingers of my free hand sought out the softness of my usual companion, closing over the stuffed bunny's fuzzy leg and pulling it in to hold against my chest. I read the second message through the long ears now in my face.

Unknown (2):

Could you watch Ollie tonight, from about 4-8:00?

I have to take a shift for Lucas so he can help his mother with something.

I messaged back that I could, set my phone back on the bed beside my pillow, and blinked up at the ceiling, both arms now wrapped around the bunny. I had two classes that day, Literature and Psychology, from 10:15-11:05 and 1:15-2:45, and that was it. I did not have work until the weekend.

I usually ate lunch and finished up some of the reading for the next meeting for my literature class, but with Spring Break being next week, I would have to find something else to do while I ate. I thought back to the book Jill had left with me last week, when I had freaked out at the café. I could read that during lunch. My head bobbed up and down of its own accord, allowing my chin to brush over the softness of my stuffed animal. I ignored the heat flooding my face at the memory.

I was broken from my daze by the blaring of my morning alarm, and when I reach over to shut it off, I saw that there was another message from Jill. I did not open it, but the preview on my lock screen was enough for me to figure out what she had sent. Her address.

I threw my phone down on the bed and forced myself to get up, to get ready as a way to distract myself from the pounding of my heart. I dressed myself in my favorite outfit: a red and pink floral print corduroy overall dress, white t-shirt, and a threadbare cardigan I had taken from my mother years ago. Slipping on a pair of socks, I gathered my bag and phone, and slipped out of my room.

The house was silent as I walked down the hallway. There was not a single sound, not even the usual soft chatter of the morning news playing on the television. It was not too out of the ordinary for Mom to need to leave so early in the morning for work, but it was always weird for me when she had to. Swooping my hair over one shoulder, I messed with the ends as I grabbed the remote to turn on the TV. Some relief washed over me once the quiet was broken, and I made my way into the kitchen to get some breakfast.