I glanced over at Ernest, and he was already looking back at me. Just the two of us in this room, and the atmosphere felt charged with something unspoken. Damn it, we'd shared a hotel room before and it was nothing like this., Now, here we were in this spacious two-bedroom apartment, and yet it felt as if there wasn't enough room to breathe, as if the walls were closing in on us. After a brief lock of eyes, Ernest broke the silence,

"I think I should crash on the couch.

", I was speechless.,

"Your bedroom is a space for your real boyfriend, I... yeah, the couch is fine for me,

" he said, making me feel somehow guilty for relegating him there., But I knew what he was doing - this was his way of applying pressure, his way of saying he wanted to be more than just a placeholder., They say honest men have deep tricks, and that couldn't be more true., But I wasn't about to fall for it.

"Suit yourself,

" I said with a shrug, quickly retreating into my parents' bedroom., Lying in bed, sleep eluded me. The fear I had in the hallway before was still there., If Ernest hadn't shown up, even with my defenses up, I'm not sure I would've come out of that situation unscathed., Funny how timing works - Ernest just happened to show up when he did., My thoughts drifted to him as I looked towards the door. It was closed, so I couldn't see outside. Was he really sleeping on the couch instead of in my room?, I could hear Ernest moving around outside, probably getting ready for bed, confirming he hadn't settled down yet., Listening to those sounds, I was reminded of when I was a kid, falling asleep to the sound of my parents moving around the house. It was a comforting, grounding noise., Now, lying here, that sound made me feel safe., I intended to wait until I thought Ernest was asleep before checking on him, but my eyelids grew heavy., I woke up in the middle of the night needing the bathroom. Stepping out of my parents' room, I was reminded of Ernest's presence. Glancing at the couch, I saw his tall frame awkwardly sprawled out, legs hanging off the edge. He'd improvised a footrest with a chair but was covered with my pink throw blanket., Double standards., If he wasn't my real boyfriend, and not sleeping in my room, why use my pink blanket?, But just seeing him there, knowing he came to protect me, really warmed my heart., The past few nights, waking up alone to use the bathroom, I'd been unable to fall back asleep. The emptiness of the house, the loneliness, made me feel so pitiful., It was as if the world had abandoned me, leaving me unloved and uncared for, with no one to comfort me through a night's tears., But now, with this man here, someone who would protect me if needed, I slept soundly, waking up refreshed around nine., Thinking of Ernest, I listened for any sounds from the living room. Silence. He must have left for work on the amusement park project, and I hadn't even asked him about it the night before. Walking out to the living room, the couch was tidy, as if he hadn't even been there., I wandered into the bathroom, lost in thought, and stopped short when I saw a note stuck to the mirror.,

"Breakfast is on the table. The lighting setup went smoothly, should finish on schedule or even a couple of days early.

", Reading the note, tears welled up in my eyes., Search the website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.