I can’t control the grin that spreads across my face. “Cool. I’ll talk, and you can text—or I can text you back, if you prefer the silence?”I hadn’t thought about that.
Unknown
No, keep talking
A ruby blush spreads along his freckled cheeks and down his neck. Shaking my head, I try to not get distracted by how cute it makes him look.
“Okay, I can do that.”
My phone dings, and I quickly change his contact details to ‘Bailey’.
Bailey
You have an accent
Chuckling, I say, “I’m Scottish.” His eyebrows raise, but he doesn’t text me anything else. “So, gaming night Saturday?”
He pulls his bottom lip between his teeth briefly as he types another message
Bailey
Okay
There’sa knock on the front door, and I jump off the sofa, running to open it. “I got it!”
Bailey’s standing on the doorstep, grinning at me, and my stomach flutters. It’s been months since he started coming over, yet I’m still shocked whenever he smiles. He’s so different from the timid boy I found in the woods.
My phone dings.
Bailey
Move
I quickly move out of the entryway then start jogging up the stairs to my bedroom. “Come on. Homework first?” I ask, looking over my shoulder. He screws his nose up. “Nope, okay, no homework.”
The hours pass by quickly. When I look out of the window, I realise it’s pitch black, and Bailey’s fallen asleep on the beanbag with a pizza box on his lap—empty, except for the crusts he left behind. I pick it up and head downstairs to throw it away.
“Bailey’s still here?” Da asks, making me jump as he comes into the kitchen.
“He fell asleep,” I say, fiddling with my sleeve. “Um, can he just stay the night?”
“Sure he can, if he tells his parents.”
Bailey’s never slept over before, so I’m surprised when Da agrees so quickly. “Thanks!” I yell, racing to the stairs, taking two at a time. Excitement ripples through me when I realise we can stay up all night watching shitty horror films.
By the time I get back to my room, I realise there’s no chance of that. Bailey is still on the beanbag, but now he’s curled up on his side, like he’s trying to make himself as small as possible. One arm covers his head, and his knees are tucked in tight to his stomach. I hate to wake him, but he can’t stay like that. Looking at the bed, then back at Bailey, I decide it’ll be fine to share. It’s a double, so there’s plenty of room, and I can’t be bothered to find the air mattress Da keeps in the shit cupboard.
“Bay,” I whisper, poking him gently.
He stirs a little, and his phone falls from his pocket onto the floor. I pick it up and see it’s unlocked, showing our text thread. He’s listed me as ‘Teddy’ in his contacts. I look at him and frown. He’s never called me that before, and it’s not a nickname I go by. Everyone calls me Theo.
Bailey makes a soft noise and I quickly put his phone on the bedside table. He bolts upright, looking around the room a little frantically, until his eyes land on mine. His shoulders relax, and he puffs out a breath.
“Da said you can stay the night, seeing as it’s pretty late,” I say.
He blinks a few times, then stands up, stretching his arms to the ceiling.
“We can just share the bed, if you don’t mind?” I strip off my top and trousers until I’m down to my boxers. When I look up, Bailey quickly turns away from me.
