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CHAPTER TWELVE
WAKE ME
ASA
He glanced at the clock on the wall.
It was after 3am. He’d completely lost track of time.
After making cookies, he’d gone to have dinner with his dad. Out to the burbs for gnocchi. He’d thought about inviting her but didn’t think Cas would approve.
Maybe next time. Maybe not. The whole idea of it made him nervous. One thing at a time. Inviting friends over to meet his dad was often an event. Not because anyone planned it that way, it was just how his dad was.
He’d made it back to Lincoln Park around midnight but instead of going to bed, he reached for the guitar again.
And after three hours of jotting down notes and playing with a melody, he was hungry. For cookies.
He set the guitar back in its stand and stared at the sheet of paper he’d been scribbling on. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d written something just for himself. It had been a while.
He definitely deserved a cookie, he decided.
He should be able to sneak upstairs and not disturb anyone.
And by anyone, he meant Zara.
Her bedroom was two floors above the kitchen but he still tried to be as quiet as possible. Not because he thought she’d get upset if he was loud—she wouldn’t. But because it would be rude. He was a guest and he was not going to take advantage of her goodness.
He left his bedroom and didn’t close the door behind him. The downstairs was mostly dark except for the track lighting in the stair well.
Skipping the first three steps, he took two long strides to the first landing, turned?—
And stopped.
He almost yelled but he recognized Zara immediately and his brain processed the information quickly enough that his surprise died and turned to confusion.
She was sleeping on a step, her head resting on her folded hands on the step above, an open book fallen at her feet.
What in the world was she doing here?
He looked around, for what he didn’t know. Looking for someone to tell him what to do because he had no idea.
Should he wake her up? Leave her there?
Right away, he dismissed the idea of leaving her there.
But wake her? She was so tired that she’d fallen asleep on the stairs?
Nothing about this situation made any sense. He looked back the way he’d come. Was she… No. That would be ridiculous.
He picked up the book.The Hobbit. He shook his head. Nerd.
He set the book aside and rubbed the back of his head, having already made his decision but not knowing how to act on it.
Guess he could just…pick her up.
He practiced the motion with his arms. He would just…put one arm under her bent legs, the other kind of under her lower back, and lift.
Okay.
