Page 74 of The Perfect Spiral
Everywhere we went, I was either overlooked or forgotten. My voice seemed to have deserted me, leaving me unable to express my feelings. I felt utterly depleted.
“Let’s give her some time. She’ll come around eventually,” Sam gently suggested to them. I knew my brothers were out there. Their footsteps were as familiar to me as my own heartbeat.
“I’m not budging from this spot, Sam,” Knox declared, his voice resolute. I hoped he wasn’t planning on camping out there allnight. “I’m staying right here until she opens that damn door. I’ll stay all night if I have to.”
Well, that answered my question.
“Dude, you can’t seriously be planning to stay here all night? You can crash in the guest room, but you can’t just sleep out here on the floor,” Max reasoned, his voice echoing the sentiments of the others.
I knew Knox was stubborn enough to ignore everyone once he’d made up his mind. But I didn’t expect the next words that tumbled out of his mouth.
“I can and I will. I’ve been camping before, I’ve slept on worse floors. I can handle it.” And he did. He spent the entire night right there.
Kyle joined him, sprawling out on the floor outside my room. Wes, Brett, and Tyler eventually followed suit. My mom was cursing up a storm after tripping over them multiple times during the night.
“I’ve tried reaching out to Hannah and Andy, but she’s not answering their calls or texts either. Hannah’s on her way over—ah, speak of the devil!” The sound of footsteps outside my door and the ensuing commotion told me Hannah had arrived.
“Fill me in, now!” she demanded, and they all recounted the day’s events. Knox’s voice was conspicuously absent. Had he left?
“Look, she’s not responding to me or Andy, which hasn’t happened in a long time. You guys should get some sleep. I’llstay out here with her for a while. If I make any progress, I’ll let you know, okay?”
So, he was still out there. As stubborn as ever.
“I’m not moving. I caused this. I need to fix this and make it up to her,” he insisted.
“Alex, can you make a noise so we know you’re okay and not lying dead on the floor?” Hannah’s voice came through the door, earning her a slap from someone.
“Ouch! Chill out, I’m just checking. We don’t need to break down the damn door, Kyle!”
I scanned my room for something to make noise with and picked up a pen, dropping it onto the wooden floor.
A collective sigh of relief echoed from the other side of the door. They could rest easy knowing I wasn’t lying in a pool of my own blood.
After a while, their voices faded into a low murmur as they settled down for their impromptu sleepover in the hallway outside my room.
My eyelids grew heavier with each passing minute, and soon, I surrendered to the pull of sleep. I was relieved to finally drift off after spending what felt like an eternity in my room.
I had no intention of leaving anytime soon. A deep, restful sleep was exactly what I needed after the day I’d had.
Chapter 26
Awakening to a sliver of sunlight piercing my eyelids, I sigh, rolling over and tugging the covers up to my chin. The soft, rhythmic snores from outside my room coax a small smile onto my face. They actually camped outside my room last night?
Did I overreact yesterday? It wasn’t the first time I’d been overlooked when I was out with Knox. But it was the first time I’d been alone with him, without the buffer of a friend to share in the experience of being ignored by the throng of girls he magnetically attracts.
The soft tap of fingers on my door pulls me from my thoughts, grounding me back in reality. I roll over, reaching for my phone to check the time.
I don’t remember falling asleep.
“Sis? You awake?” Sam’s whisper filters through the door.
I sigh audibly, swinging my legs over the side of the bed and padding to the door, my feet cracking in protest after hours of rest. I sit down on the other side of the door, tapping lightly in response. I see her fingers curl under the door, reaching for mine.
“ET phone home,” we both say, giggling softly so as not to wake the others.
“Open up, Al.” Following her request, I unlock the door, revealing Sam slumped against the frame, her body angled towards me. She offers me a weary smile, the toll of a sleepless night evident in her eyes. I peek out the door to find the boys sprawled on the floor in a variety of uncomfortable positions.
They’re going to hate me for this. My gaze lands on Knox, fast asleep opposite my door, cocooned in a sleeping bag and surrounded by pillows.
