My eyes open to bright, white sunlight. At first, everything is unclear, but when my eyes adjust, all the memories of last night-some horrible, some amazing- come flooding back. I’m lying on my left side, facing my window. I attempt to roll over onto my back, but something’s retraining me. It had to be the same thing that’s warm breath is tickling the back of my neck.

Emery’s snuggled into the back of my neck, sound asleep. His right arm is draped protectively around my waist, as if he had been pulling me into him all night. My whole back is pressed tightly into the warmth of his chest, giving no wiggle room.

I sigh happily, and close my eyes again. This moment is perfect. Sure, Emery is the criminal bad-boy who tried to kill me, and harmed me multiple times, but right now, I could easily forget all of that. I’ve never really had a boyfriend, except for last year, but that didn’t last long. Mary introduced me, because he had some classes in school with her. But because he lives in Springdale, I rarely got to see him. Now this, this snuggling with Emery is something complete different. Something I never want to change.

“Emery!” Dads voice calls from downstairs. “Time to wake up!” Emery stirs from his sleep, and I keep my eyes shut tight. For some reason, I have a feeling that pretending to be asleep is better than Emery knowing I’m actually awake.

He groans like a teenager when they have to wake up for school. His arm pulls me into him, and he snuggles deeper into the back of my neck.

“Emery! Did you hear me?” Dad sounds unsure, like he doesn’t know if he wants to come upstairs and wake him up, or if he should just let him sleep in after last night.

“Huh?” Emery jerks up into a sitting position. I feel his eyes on the back of my head, and try my best not to move whatsoever. He groans, and I hear him scratch his head. The bed shifts as he climbs out of it, and stumbles towards his mattress.

The zipper on his backpack squeaks as he opens it. He insisted on keeping his clothes in there, even though half of them were on the floor, and I offered him an empty drawer in my dresser. When I hear the bathroom door shut behind him, I flop onto my back, and stare at the ceiling like Emery did last night.

He had done a complete one-eighty, and I was absolutely enjoying it one-hundred percent. This was the side of Emery I thought that he didn’t have. But could he go back to being a bad-ass, cruel jerk?

Two Hours Later:

I sit on my window seat, resting my chin in my hands. Staring out the window, I watch my family and Emery below me. Mom’s raking up scattered hay, Dad’s carrying rotting board pieces that have blown off the barn, and Emery is attempting to get the cows into the field.

My mind wanders with happy thoughts of last night. No one has ever been able to calm me down during a storm; not even my own parents. But the first time it happens with Emery, he can calm me down in a second, by something as simple as holding my hand.

I flinch, as the phone rings, shaking me from my thoughts. I run to my bedside table and pick it up, wondering who could be calling.

“River, its Mary,” I hear the sound of shuffling kids in the background, which is no surprise considering she’s in school. She must be in the hallway.

“What’s up?” I sit on my bed, and I hear Mary yell at someone to shut up.

“One second, I’m going to the bathroom so I can actually here you.” For a few seconds, all I can hear is laughter, movement, and yelling. Then, it all stops. “There. Anyways, so are we still on in two days?”

“For what?” I ask dumbly, picking lint off of my blue jeans.

“Going into Redwood with Emery,” I roll my eyes, and then sigh.

“I don’t think he’s asked my dad yet, but you will never guess what happened last night.” I go into the story of the most recent events, telling every single detail so Mary, being her usual curious self, wouldn’t ask.

“Aren’t you glad that I made you embrace him?” Mary says happily. If she was here in person I would smack her arm. “He totally likes you, River.”

“No he doesn’t,” I respond quickly. I didn’t even have time to think about my words, but instead they came flooding from my mouth regardless. “Guys like him don’t like girls like me.”

“River,” Mary whines. She hated whenever I denied things that she thought were completely true, even when they would turn out to be false. “Why else would he have slept with you all night?”

“Maybe because I couldn’t stop shaking the entire room, and I had his blankets?”

Mary exaggerates a sigh into her cellphone, and I move it away from my ears so I don’t become deaf. “Well, I’m right. But you’re just going to have to wait and see what happens tonight.”

“No, Mary you’re-“ I’m cut off by the loud, ringing bell on the other side.

“Got to go, I’ll talk to you tomorrow! Bye!” I have no time to respond as he hands up on me. I drop the phone into the holder and fall onto my back on the bed. Mary’s words ring in my mind, and I wonder what tonight will be like. Will Emery sleep beside me again? I hope so, but a nagging feeling in the back of my mind tells me not to get attached. He would be gone in a few months, and girls like me don’t get involved with boys like him. I would just end up getting hurt in the end.

However, Emery is the most interesting that’s ever happened to me. So what if getting hurt by him is entirely worth it?