TEETH [chris sturniolo]

21.

Chris rolled around in his bed once again, his pillow was warm.

"Fuck me" he groaned tossing and turning. "Fuck this" he reached put into his nightstand and grabbed his phone. He checked the hour, 1:23 am. Piper was probably asleep by then, it would be useless to text her.

So he laid, arm thrown over his eyes and took deep breaths trying to induce himself some sleep.

This is bad, he thought. I can't fucking sleep without her.

So he pulled his pillow from under his head and placed it beside him, tossing one arm around it and holding it tight. Embarrassingly, after a while he started drifting off, his brain painted a pretty picture for him.

Chris and Piper were on the beach, their friends were there too. The couple shared a towel, laid on top of hot sand and serving as a barrier between their laid bodies and the ground. Their shoulders were touching and they were looking at each other.

Piper's face was makeup free. Her cheeks and nose a little sunburnt, her freckled rested atop, sprinkled sparsely over her face. Her lashes were long, and had little sand (or salt?) grains making Chris think that she had just come from the ocean.

"You're staring" she said, whispering even though no one was near them. His brothers and her friends were far, laughing, playing with each other, Chris didn't care. How could he pay attention to anything else when the most beautiful human was in front of him? He wouldn't dare take his eyes off.

"Am I?"

"Yes."

He sighed.

"I don't know how I'll make it out alive. Of this."

"This? You mean me?" Her voice was soft, like she always spoke to him whenever it was only just the two of them.

"Yes. I'm already in too fucking deep. I'm scared" he admitted. "I don't want to loose you."

She smiled tenderly. Suddenly his dream changed, they were back at his room, his bed wasn't there for some reason, Piper was on the floor, rocking herself as she hugged herself.

"Piper?" he called out. "What's wrong?"

The girl looked up then and extended her arm, turning it over so he could see. Needles, bruises and blood. Syringes stuck up from the inside of her arm.

"I went back to my house" was all she said.

His eyes shot open, his phone alarm going off breaking the deathly quiet. He turned it off and sat on the edge of his bed.

He blinked the sleep away, confused and disturbed, Chris stood up feeling the need, the urge to check on Piper.

His heart sank when he opened the door and she wasn't there, the bed was made, he noticed. Then the bathroom door opened and Piper came out, wrapped in a light gray towel, water dripping from her hair onto the floor.