Lesson 147- Sometimes you just need to go to sleep, things will look better when you wake up.

When I wake up, it’s bright because I didn’t think to close Tori’s curtain, my head hurts, my arm is aching and my jaw is super stiff. Ugh, I think some painkillers might be in order… And some water. I might be a little dehydrated. I stop in the bathroom just long enough to splash some water on my face, being careful of my bandages. That helps a little bit at least. I shuffle my way out of Tori’s room and find him sitting on the couch in the living room. He freezes up when he sees me. I tilt my head in question but he’s just blinking in surprise and looking at me. I glance down at myself. I’m totally covered, is it because I borrowed his shirt? Damn, did I take one he actually cares about or something.
“Sorry, I needed something to sleep in. Is this okay?” I confirm. I probably should have asked first, but going out to ask about something to sleep in after randomly making out with him seemed… Off. Like maybe I was trying to ask for something more? Which I definitely wasn’t. Not because I’m not interested or anything… But it’s just not the right time.
“It’s okay. You look…” He trails off and his ears go pink. I raise an eyebrow. I think I want him to finish that sentence.
“Yes?” I prompt. He considers for a moment and I can tell he’s trying to think of a good answer.
“Comfortable. Like you belong here. I like that.” He adds and I give a half smile. Only half because the right side of my face is way too sore for things like smiling.
“Thanks, I’m glad. I wouldn’t want you to be unhappy having me here. I know you aren’t used to having guests.” I comment. Torin shakes his head.
“You’re different. Not like a guest. You’re… I don’t know… You.” He responds.
“Thanks Tori.” I tell him happily. I wander off to the kitchen and grab a glass of water, sipping at it awkwardly on one side. I think the right side of my face might be a little swollen. It feels stiff and moving my jaw is harder than it should be. Torin follows me into the kitchen and I find myself blushing as I look over at him standing in the doorway. I can’t help but glance towards the bench. Nope, not thinking about that right now. I was probably fueled by adrenaline last night because right now the thought of anything touching my face sounds miserable. No kissing for me. On the bright side, at least I kissed him last night since I can’t do it today.

“You didn’t sleep very long.” Torin comments, a little disapprovingly.
“Didn’t I? I feel like I did. What time is it?” I ask, a little disoriented.
“About two in the afternoon. After the night you had I thought you would sleep way longer.” He comments. I frown.
“Have YOU slept yet?” I demand. He shrugs.
“I napped a little…” He trails off and I don’t believe him at all. I prop up my hands on my hips.
“Bed. Now Tori. Go get some rest.” I order.
“I should check your bandages first. Your face looks… Painful. Do you need medication?” He fusses over me and I sigh. I want to argue but he’s kind of right.
“Medication would be great.” I agree reluctantly.
“I’m changing your bandages too.” He insists. I’m not sure if that’s totally necessary at this point. But I don’t fight him on it. The argument would take longer than just doing it.

Once I’m all sorted out, I send Torin to bed again. He hovers around, hesitating.
“Will you be alright? Do you need anything? Food? Do you need something to do? Are you sure you’re alright?” He asks again. I roll my eyes and grab Torin’s hand. I lead him to the bedroom and gesture for him to lie down.
“But-” He starts. I cut him off.
“No arguing. I’m still a little tired. I’m going to rest too.” I climb into the bed and pat the mattress beside me. Torin hesitates and I raise an eyebrow.
“Tori. Sleep. It’s fine. I’ve slept cradled in your lap before. This isn’t nearly as close as that.” I remind him. Torin nods but he seems nervous and a little tense as he closes the curtain, blocking out the light. Then slips in beside me. Yeah there is no way that guy is sleeping like this. He’s too anxious. I roll in a little closer to him and rest my hand on his chest. I can feel his heart racing but he moves his arm underneath me so I can rest my head on it. I cuddle in a little closer. I fight the urge to yawn because it will probably hurt my face. So I just close my eyes and feel as Tori’s heart slowly returns to a normal rate. After a few minutes, Tori starts stroking his fingers through my hair gently and I’m basically out. Despite my pain, I don’t think I’ve ever been so comfortable.

When I wake up again, Torin is still sleeping. Not surprising since I slept a lot longer than he did. Through the crack in the curtain I can see that it’s starting to get dark, so it’s been at least a few hours. I’m still lying half on top of Torin so I carefully extract myself, I don’t want to wake him up. I exit the room, tip toeing and closing the bedroom door softly behind me. I need to clean up a bit. A shower is probably out since I don’t want to get my bandages wet. But I could probably manage a bath. Hopefully Torin has one around here somewhere. I explore his home and it doesn’t take me long to find the main bathroom which thankfully has a bathtub. I set it to fill and look around for stuff to wash up with. There is basically nothing in here other than hand soap. I suppose that isn’t really a surprise. Torin probably uses the ensuite and he doesn’t have guests. Why would he stock the main bathroom? Reluctantly, I sneak back into the bedroom and raid his ensuite. I find some men's body wash and one of those awful two in one shampoo slash conditioner combinations. Ugh, I am going to have to find this guy some better products if I’m going to be stealing them. Still, it’ll do for now. I head back to the main bathroom and carefully climb into the tub. Washing my hair without wetting my face or right arm is a lot of work, but I manage okay. By the time I get out of the bath, I feel a lot more human. Annoyingly, I still have nothing to wear. I guess I’m going to steal another shirt from Tori. I could wear the same one, but I’m all clean right now. I want to wear something completely clean. Wrapped tightly in a towel, I head back to the bedroom and raid Torin’s dresser again. I glance over at him and confirm he’s still asleep, then I pull the shirt on over my towel, then slip it out from underneath. I reluctantly pull on the same underwear, unwilling to walk around without any. Either Torin needs to go get my stuff, or I need to go back to the bar today because I really need clean clothes.

Torin starts to stir and I sit on the edge of the bed.
“Hey.” he murmurs, cracking his eyes open sleepily.
“Hey Tori. Feeling a bit better?” I ask and he nods, slowly sitting up. He frowns.
“Your hair is wet.” He observes.
“I took a bath. I really need my clothes and stuff, Tori.” I remind him. He sighs.
“You said that you don’t think my magic will hurt you, that you are willing to risk making a bargain. Do you really believe that?” He asks hesitantly. I nod firmly.
“Completely.” I answer. He sighs again and collapses back into the pillows.
“Then… Let’s make a deal.”