Ezra was asleep in my car when I climbed in. Whatever drugs he had been taking had knocked him out. I shook his shoulder, trying to get him to wake up, but he didn't budge. I was not quite sure what to do. I couldn't remember exactly which street Ezra's place was on and he wasn't going to wake up to remind me. He was softly snoring and slumped over in the passenger seat. I pressed my head against the steering wheel, knowing that I was out of options. I couldn't just leave him on the side of the road.

"Please be out of the apartment tonight Brynn." I wished out loud. Explaining to my best friend why he was back and passed out at our apartment was not on my list of things I wanted to do tonight.

I pulled up to my apartment about 20 minutes later and I shook Ezra again. He opened his eyes long enough to smile at me and then fell back under.

"Ezra, we're at my apartment. You can crash on my couch tonight." He lifted his head again and nodded. His eyes were rolling back in his head, unable to focus.

I got out of the car and went around to the passenger door to open it for him. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and held on to the door to help me pull him to his feet. I wrapped one arm around his back and the other held onto his stomach as I walked him up to my apartment. He seemed so much more out of it since I had him go to the car. He must have taken something else while he was waiting for me to get off work.

I unlocked the apartment and limped him inside. We stumbled towards the couch and he collapsed, unable to hold himself up any longer. He leaned against the back of the couch and I knelt down in front of him to remove his boots. He looked down at me with tender bloodshot eyes and moved his hand towards my face. I jumped back quickly and he couldn't hide the hurt that crept over his face. I was willing to let him stay here on my couch tonight, but that was it. There would be no touching, no sideways glances, and no falling for him again.

I bent back down and finished removing his boots and placed them on the side of the couch. I stood up in front of him and he watched as I stretched out my sore muscles. His hand reached for the bare skin on my stomach and I backed away, trying to pretend I didn't see it. He watched me quietly. Ezra had never been this quiet before. It was unsettling.

"I'm going to go change." I told him as I turned to walk back to my room. I shut and locked the door behind me and grabbed some leggings and a sweatshirt. I decided to put a sports bra on since I had to go back to the living room to finish getting him settled in. Ezra always liked to watch me and I didn't need to give him another reason to look.

When I made it back out to the living room, Ezra had fallen back to sleep. He looked so much younger when he slept. All the cares fell away from his face. He was so beautiful it hurt.

I sat down on our recliner, pulling my feet into my body and wrapped my arms around my knees. My eyes were fixed on him, watching the rise and fall of his slow rhythmic breathing. I thought through all the things that had happened between us to get us where we were now. None of this felt real. My eyes closed when my exhaustion overtook me.

"Riley, Riley..." Brynn pushed at me hard, waking me up from my dreamless sleep.

"Hey Brynn," I said, turning over in the chair and closed my eyes again.

She smacked me hard on my shoulder. "Wake up. You need to explain."

I looked over at the couch and Ezra was still out. In my sleep, I had forgotten about my unplanned houseguest. I stood up groggily and motioned for her to head to her room. I didn't want Ezra overhearing this conversation. I pushed her door gently until it latched behind us.

"Shhh." I said, reminding her the walls were paper thin.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Brynn asked loudly.

The story poured out of my mouth in a rush. I explained that he came to the bar the other night and I saw him at the party. I gave her every detail about what happened at the bar with the guy he knocked out. Her mouth was hanging open the whole time I was explaining.

I finished up with, "Brynn, he is using. I am not sure what he is on. I don't know where to take him or even what I am doing." I placed my hands over my face. The tears were streaming down like a waterfall.

"Here's what we'll do. Let's let him sleep it off tonight. Tomorrow you two can talk once he wakes up. I'll go somewhere to give you guys some privacy." She gave me a warm hug. Brynn was such an amazing friend and I was happy to have her here to help support me through this. No one else in my life would have understood why I let him come back with me tonight.

"Brynn, I'm sorry I am such a mess."

"I get it." She said softly. "You loved him. It's hard to turn that off, even if he hurt you. I've been there too."

Relief flooded through me, knowing she had my back. Brynn offered to let me sleep in her room with her so I wouldn't be alone. She tried to take my mind off the troubled boy on our couch while she rattled on about some of the newest guys she had met lately. I fell asleep with a smile on my face over some of the dreadful stories she was telling me.

Ezra was still sleeping when I stumbled groggily out of Brynn's room and went to make my routine pot of coffee. I stood next to the kitchen counter with the hot cup in my hand, watching him sleep. His hair was a messy, sweaty tangle on top of his head and I wanted to go brush it off his face. Instead, I just stood there thinking about what it would feel like.

"You look like a stalker." Brynn said, yawning and stretching.

"Should I try to wake him up?" I asked her while sipping my coffee again.

"Nah, let him get his beauty sleep."

"I do have an errand to run today for the wedding. Anna is going to kill me if I don't get my dress fitted today. She made this appointment two months ago. Are you comfortable staying with him?"

"Yeah, I can hang around." Brynn brushed it off like it was no big deal.

"Thanks for not freaking out on me." I sipped the hot coffee again.

"You owe me." She said with a smile on her face. "You have dish duty for the next month."

"Deal."

My jeans were tight on my hips and I danced, trying to pull them up before I slipped an eggplant long sleeve shirt over my head. Simple and easy. I paused and looked over at the couch before I left. I still couldn't believe he was here. Ezra was in my apartment and I was the one who let him in. There was a chance Ezra would wake up and choose to leave before I got back from my fitting. My mind wasn't ready to accept the possibility that this might be the last time I would see him again. I was torn between trying to hold onto him or finally let him go.

"Call me if he wakes up." I called out to Brynn before shutting the door.