Chapter 20
Finn
Eric’s room looked exactly how I’d imagined it would look, yet at the same time, it looked completely different.
I’d been wrong about the colors. I’d expected there to be a lot of white. That it would look sleek and modern. Eric gave off these stoic, serious vibes that bordered on cold, and I thought his room would reflect that.
And it did.
But instead of shiny white with black accents, there was a lot of natural wood mixed with blues.
Calm. Stoic. Somewhat classic.
I turned my head, taking it all in.
Contrary to my apartment, where everything was one big room, this looked like a real bedroom.
As in, there wasn’t that much here. A bed, a couple of dressers, dark wooden doors leading to a walk-in closet, a door leading to an en-suite bathroom, and a TV mounted on the wall opposite the bed.
There was a lamp standing in the corner, right next to the window, and a side table holding a luscious-looking plant was placed underneath a mirror in a thick golden frame.
And then there were the curtains. Heavy, dark navy, fully shut curtains hanging from golden curtain rods. I’d seen similar ones—though green, not blue—in the living room. Hell, there’d been a black one behind the fucking front door. And, if I remembered correctly, brown ones in the kitchen too.
“Are you allergic to sunlight, or what’s going on?” I joked, nodding at the curtains.
Eric turned even paler than he usually was.
“Actually… uh… yes.” He nodded, balling his hands into fists at his sides to hide the slight tremble I’d noticed. “It’s, uhm… a permanent side effect of my accident.”
I blinked.
“You got shot, and now you have light sensitivity?” I asked, furrowing my brow.
That did not sound correct.
“Yeah?”
Was he asking me that? He should be the one to know about his condition. Was he trying to pull off a joke?
“Really?”
He sighed. “It’s hard and complicated to explain, but yes, I’m extremely sensitive to sunlight. Which is why we have those blackout curtains everywhere. And it’s extremely important to keep them in front of the windows during the day.”
I blinked. This sounded less and less like a joke.
Instead, it sounded more and more like a weird-ass lie. But…
“You’re serious, aren’t you? You’re not trying to pull my leg?”
“No.” Eric took a deep breath. “I’m not joking, though I used to wish I was.
Not being able to go outside during the day kinda sucks.
I mean, sometimes I can. If it’s raining.
Or I use a lot of sunscreen. Wear UV shirts.
That kind of thing. But I haven’t been outside on a warm and bright summer day for three years. ”
His voice was filled with longing, eyes darting to the windows as if he were hoping he’d see the sun outside.
I couldn’t imagine being trapped inside while everyone else was out, living their lives. It had to be incredibly hard. And it definitely explained his vague excuses whenever I’d asked him to meet in the morning. Or the afternoon. It also explained why he’d never stayed the night.
My chest constricted, and I grabbed his hand, wanting him to feel my support.
“Next thing you’ll be trying to tell me you’re a vampire, huh?” I laughed, squeezing his hand.
I wanted to make light of the situation, but Eric just flinched, averting his eyes.
Aww, fuck.
Not the right moment for jokes.
“Sorry. That was probably insensitive.”
“It’s okay,” he mumbled, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed heavily.
It really wasn’t. Using sarcasm to cope with a medical problem wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. And maybe I’d relied on it too heavily for the past couple of weeks.
I walked over to Eric’s bed and sat down, patting the silky-smooth comforter until he sat next to me and I could rest my head against his shoulder.
“That’s why you never spent the night at my place, right?”
I felt his curt nod, his posture rigid.
“I’m sorry I didn’t make you comfortable enough to tell me.”
Eric sighed.
“It’s not you, it’s me.”
I chuckled and earned the tiniest of snorts from him as he realized what he’d said.
“It really is, though. I come with a lot of… issues. And I have yet to figure out how to talk about them.”
I gripped his hand, squeezing reassuringly. “Whenever you’re ready, you can talk to me. I promise, I’m not gonna make fun of your medical conditions again, okay? And if you need me to do something to make you more comfortable, tell me.”
He swallowed audibly, holding my hand so tightly that his hand was almost crushing mine.
“Okay.”
“And if you tell me where to get those blackout curtains, I’ll happily get some for my apartment. Just in case. But we can also just meet up here. I’m happy to spend the night. And maybe I can put your kitchen to good use.”
Eric let out a laugh, but it still sounded a bit strained.
“You’re amazing, Finn. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you, but you’re absolutely amazing.”
I wasn’t as sure about that, but I’d take the compliment, because damn, it made me feel all warm and giddy inside. And I really needed not to feel all jittery and scared.
Fuck that stalker.
Fuck his notes.
Fuck the fact that he’d made me feel unsafe in my own home.
I was amazing. And I wouldn’t be going anywhere. This stopped now.
I’d expected us to stay in Eric’s room for the evening, cuddled up in his massive bed, watching a movie or a show on his flatscreen TV.
Instead, I was sitting on the living room couch, wedged between Bennie and Eric, with two giant pizzas on the table in front of us.
“We could play Mario Kart?” Bennie suggested, playfully waggling his eyebrows. He had a plate with a slice of pizza precariously perched on his knee.
Eric rolled his eyes. “You just want to win.”
“Damn right, I want to win!” Bennie cackled. “You owe me one.”
Eric blew out a breath, then took a huge bite out of his pizza slice, chewing extra thoroughly. I bet he was doing it just to piss Bennie off.
If so, it was working.
Listening to them bicker while sitting between them was a bit like a tennis match. I was constantly busy, turning my head from one to the other, trying to keep up with their verbal sparring.
They were like oil and water.
Complete opposites.
Fighting like fucking siblings.
But beneath it all was a layer of familiarity that came from knowing someone inside and out.
And somewhere between my second and third slice of pizza, I realized I wasn’t just meeting Eric’s friend and roommate. It felt like I was meeting his family.
“Hey, Finn, what do you want to do? Want to try your hand at beating me in Mario Kart?”
I shrugged.
To be honest, I didn’t really want to play games. I was tired as fuck.
Bennie studied me intently, a grin still tugging at his lips. After a couple of seconds, he sighed. “Fine. Let’s watch something… what about Supernatural?”
Eric cringed, but I nodded.
“Sounds good.”
“Have you seen the show?” Bennie asked.
I nodded. “It was really popular when I was in high school.”
“Perfect. In that case, I want to watch an episode where Dean is in purgatory. Because I really like my namesake. You know? Benny. The vampire?”
I could swear I heard Eric snarling, but when I looked at him, he looked perfectly composed, if a little exasperated. But that seemed to be normal for him when he was in Bennie’s proximity.
“While Bennie’s putting on the show, I’m gonna get us something to drink. Finn?”
I sighed.
I know I shouldn’t, but…
“Do you have Coke?”
Eric looked at Bennie, who nodded. “Yes, I bought a couple of cans. They’re in the fridge. I also got Fanta, beer, ginger ale…”
Eric’s eyes snapped back to me, waiting expectantly.
“Still Coke for me.”
He gave a quick nod, then got up and disappeared.
Bennie let out a sigh, watching his roommate until he disappeared into the kitchen.
I took another bite of pizza. If I was chewing, I didn’t have to talk.
It wasn’t like I didn’t like Bennie. He seemed to be a funny guy.
But these short stints, where you were suddenly alone with your boyfriend’s friends, were always awkward.
Especially since Eric would be back in a minute.
That didn’t leave much time to start a conversation.
“Soo…” Bennie finally said, cocking his head at me. “Did Eric go over the rules with you?”
I furrowed my brow.
“What rules?”
Bennie giggled. “Apparently not. Okay. Basically, it’s not the rules, but just the rule. Singular. Keep the curtains closed during the day.”
Ooh.
Damn. He and Eric might be fighting like cats and dogs, but he sure as shit was looking out for his roomie.
“He told me about that. I still don’t quite understand how getting shot can make him sensitive to sunlight, but yeah, I’m aware.” I nodded. “I already plan on buying curtains for my own apartment.”
Bennie looked momentarily confused, but after a second, the grin returned to his face.
“Good man,” he said, patting my shoulder. “Eric so doesn’t deserve you, but I’m glad he has you.”
I wanted to tell him he got it all wrong, that I wasn’t sure I deserved Eric, but before I could voice that opinion, he was back, smiling at me as he handed me an ice-cold can of Coke.
When he sat down, he put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me against him. I let out a little sigh, the tension slowly seeping out of my body as the show started.
Now this I could get behind.
Chilling, watching TV, eating and drinking junk, all while being cuddled by my boyfriend.
Yep, definitely a good way to end a sucky day.