Beautifully Broken

Piper grows quiet and stares at the TV. She looks lost, struggling with a faraway thought deep in her mind. I rub my finger down her nose, light as a feather, earning yet another small smile. “What’s going through that pretty little mind of yours?”

Piper shakes her head. “Nothing really. I guess I was just thinking that we have something in common. Your mother was never around. She abandoned you in the literal sense of the word, whereas mine was there for a decent portion of my childhood but never gave a crap about me. And then she went to jail.” She giggles and holds a hand up. “High five for mommy issues.”

Our hands slap together. I’m not sure why we’re celebrating our shitty childhoods, but Piper’s laughing again. She slips her bottom lip between her teeth. I watch it slide out, a thin trail of saliva glistening in the light. She has to be doing it on purpose. There’s no way she doesn’t realize that it turns me on, making me want to suck on that lip and kiss her. I know I said I wouldn’t touch her, but fuck it.

I lean in too quickly. Or perhaps I bobbed and she weaved. Whatever the case our foreheads slam together in the most awkward, uncoordinated, non-kiss in the history of kissing.

“Ouch,” she whispers, her hand rubbing the sore spot.

I’m beyond embarrassed. I wasn’t even this lame when I was twelve. I need to get Piper to think about something other than that failed attempt at a kiss. I stand and walk to the armoire by the window.

“Where are you going?” she asks, a hint of fear in her eyes.

I open the wooden doors and search our DVD collection. We have hundreds of them. All arranged alphabetically, so finding the one I’m looking for is easy. I could load the Disney+ app, but there’s something satisfying about holding a DVD. I grab it and walk over to the TV; it has a built-in disc reader. I open the case and slide the disc in. “We are going to watch the original Beauty and the Beast and then maybe the live action. If you’re up for it.”

“Shut up,” she says, her lips curving in playful irritation.

“Get ready to have your mind blown, my little librarian.”

Piper reaches beside her and chucks a decorative pillow at me. I instinctively block and it falls at my feet. “You’re gonna wish you had that to drown out my awful singing.”

Thirty minutes into the first movie Piper’s fallen asleep. She’s not in my lap, but her pillow touches my leg. A small win for such a guarded girl. I get up, careful not to disturb her, and go outside to check on the party. It’s dead. The music’s stopped. Keg’s empty. Trash is overflowing with plastic cups. Everyone’s gone except for a couple guys passed out on the lounge chairs.

I look at the clock on the wall by the outdoor shower on the side of the pool house. One-thirty. It was only eleven when Piper and I went inside. Where did the time go? I yawn, the night finally catching up to me.

I toss a towel over Logan, one of the guys passed out on the patio, and jump when the pool house door creeps open. I look over my shoulder to see Cooper and Sarah sneaking out. They freeze like a deer in headlights when they realize they aren’t alone.

Looks like her ego’s all better.

Cooper rubs the back of his neck, probably embarrassed to be caught mid walk of shame. “Sorry, man, I guess we fell asleep in there.”

Sarah gives Cooper a quick kiss on the cheek then waves goodbye. We both watch as she stumbles around the sleeping drunks and out the gate. She probably shouldn’t be driving but I’m not about to invite her to stay lest it sends mixed signals.

“No problem.” I tell Cooper. “You can crash here for the night if you want.”

“Nah, my mom will kill me. I’m supposed to be the good kid,” he says with a sad smile. “Have you seen Piper?”

“Yeah.” I hitch my thumb behind me. “She’s asleep on the couch. Want me to get her?”

Cooper’s eyes widen. “No shit? Can I see?” He follows me back into the house and to the living room. Piper’s still asleep, softly snoring right where I left her. It’s not a big deal, but the way Cooper’s looking at her, all wide eyed and proud like a new dad, something’s up. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

I cross my arms, peeking around him to see what’s wrong. Everything’s fine. Piper’s out cold, her chest rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm. “What?”

“She almost never sleeps.”

“You’re joking, right?”

He shakes his head. “Nah. She’ll close her eyes when she thinks I’m watching, but I can always tell when she’s faking it. I think I’ve caught Piper really sleeping once in the last six months. Most nights her alarms go off every twenty minutes because she’s afraid to dream.”

I can’t begin to imagine what insomnia must be like, even if it is by choice. I love sleeping. I’d sleep until noon everyday if my body would let me. Unfortunately, my training schedule has me up around five, even on the days when I don’t have school or practice. “How do you know all this?”

“We share a bed at home. When she doesn’t sleep, I don’t sleep.” Cooper studies my face. Lord only knows what he sees. Confusion? Worry? Frustration? Jealousy? He raises a brow and chuckles. “We’re just friends, dude.”

Fuck. Am I that obvious? I need to get myself in check. I like Piper, a lot. But I don’t need her or anyone else thinking I’m a jealous prick. Even though I am…jealous. “Why doesn’t she sleep?”

Cooper crosses the room and grabs a blanket out of the basket in the corner, then lays it over Piper. ?

?Night terrors. She would get them when we were kids, but they’ve gotten worse this year.”