The Many Faces of Tully

I find Jace in the lab. His glasses are reflecting the screen of his laptop and he seems to be really concentrating on it. That was until I stumble into the room. I curse slightly and catch myself. Drinking has its downfalls.

“Tully.” His tone is colored with disapproval. “What the hell are you doing in here?” He’s frowning at me.

I notice that he is still attractive with a frown on his face. It just might be because I’m still drunk. I probably shouldn’t be around him when I’m drunk. I might say something stupid. Oh well. I’d rather be with him than in my room.

“I’m sorry. What did you ask again?” I plop down next to him. The force makes my head bob for a second. I realize I’m pretty dizzy. I’m not in good shape at all, and Jace will be able to see that. He sees everything. Damn him.

“What are you doing in here? Why aren’t you sleeping?” He’s glaring at me.

“Umm.” I can't think of a good reason. “Uh, well we have research to do, don’t we? What are we researching today anyways? Who are we studying?” I try to distract him.

“You. I’m studying you today. You’re doing this to yourself on purpose, aren’t you?” He pushes his glasses onto the top of his head.

“Doing what?” I ask him. I reach forward and take his glasses off of his head. I stare at them for a moment and then put them on. “Why do you even need these?” I put my hand in front of my face and move it closer and further away to see the difference.

“They're blue light glasses. I really only need them for the computer,” he answers me right away, and then he shakes his head. “Stop changing the subject.”

“You’re easily distracted. You know, I used to think you were perfect, but if you need glasses then I guess not. Why doesn’t your power heal your eyes?” I cock my head and look at him through the glasses.

“I don’t necessarily need them. It’s a preference. They just protect my eyes. My eyesight is pretty great, I don't want to compromise that. They don’t need to be healed,” he explains.

“I see. Glasses are weird,” I cross my eyes.

“Tully, stop it. Why are you doing this to yourself?” he sighs, frustrated.

“Crossing my eyes? You’re not going to act like a parent and tell me that my eyes are going to get stuck like that, are you?” I don’t even know if I’m trying to distract him on purpose anymore. I’m too tired to think clearly.

“No, I’m talking about your mind and what state you’re in.” He’s cute when he’s mad.

“I’m in Iowa, aren’t I?” I cock my head to the side again. That’s such a weird gesture. Tilting your head to show confusion. Body language is weird.

“Are you doing this on purpose or are you seriously this delirious?” he asks me. I’m tired of seeing him frown. I want to see him smile.

“What?” I say. I look up from his lips to his eyes. They’re hard.

“When is the last time you slept?” he questions me.

“Um. What do you count as sleeping?” I frown. He’s going to make me sleep.

“You know what counts as sleeping Tully. Stop this. Is this because of your nightmare?” he accuses me. I flinch.

“No. It’s not,” I say stubbornly. “I slept the other day.” It wasn’t a lie. I did sleep the other day. Three days ago counts as the other day.

“Tully, you can’t lie to me. You need to sleep. You can’t stay awake forever.” He’s staring at me sadly now.

I don’t answer him. I put my feet up on the couch and hug my knees to my chest. This is my comfort position. I always resort to it when I’m sad or angry. I’m both right now. I’m angry that he can see right through me, and I’m sad because he’s right.

“You need to go to sleep Tully,” he says to me softly.

In my inebriated state I start crying. I’m shaking my head and sobbing. I don’t want to sleep. Sleep brings nightmares. I don’t want any nightmares.

I feel Jace wrap his arms around me and pull me into him again. How many times has he held me when I’ve cried? Three times now? Three times in a little less than five months. Now that’s just sad. I’m pathetic. I don’t turn into him this time. I stay curled up in my little ball of misery.

I feel him pat my hair gently as he tries to calm me down. I wonder how he knows how to do this so well. I wonder if his girlfriend was a crier too. I’m a huge crybaby, always have been. And Jace thinks I’m strong. He’s wrong.

It takes me a while to calm down. By the time I stop crying I’m worn out. I can hardly lift up my head and my arms can’t stay wrapped around my knees. I start to sag into Jace. Do I dare sleep though?

“It’s okay Tully. Go to sleep, I’ll be right here. You’re safe,” I hear him say softly. I let his words fill me and I close my eyes. I fall asleep in seconds.

When I wake up I’m horizontal. My whole body feels heavy. I must have been sleeping for a long time. I open my eyes and I see that I’m still in the lab, but the lights are off. I realize that my head is on Jace’s lap and his hand is on my shoulder. I don’t want to move, but my arm is asleep and I really need to stretch.

I sit up slowly and look at Jace. His head is lolled backwards and his mouth is hanging open slightly. I smile and stretch my arms above my head. I’m happy that I didn’t dream at all. I probably sensed Jace’s presence in my sleep and he made me feel safe. He always makes me feel safe.

His hand falls off my shoulder and lands on the couch. I wonder what it would feel like to hold his hand. To intertwine my fingers with his. To have him trace his thumb slightly over mine. I’m way too caught up with him.

I look at my watch and gasp. It’s 3:30 in the morning. I slept all day and half the morning. I guess I really needed to sleep. Jace jerks awake when I gasp. I guess he’s a really light sleeper. I wonder when he fell asleep last night, or how long I was sleeping on his lap. Did he stay here all day?

Jace groans and rubs his eyes. He looks me up and down. “Finally awake are you?” He smiles.

“Yes I am. Thank you, and sorry for falling asleep on you,” I say to him. I probably have sleep lines all over my face. I need to go shower and get ready for the day.

“You needed it. It didn’t bother me any.” His smile widened.

“I’m sure it didn’t.” I can’t help but to smile back. I missed his smile. I should make it my personal goal to make him smile more often. “Well, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go get ready for the morning.” I stand up.

“What if I said I do mind?” I turn to face him and he’s raising his eyebrows at me.

“Uh, well too bad. It was a rhetorical question,” I retort.

“So we spend the night together and you just leave?” he teases me. “Is that the kind of girl you are?”

“That’s exactly the kind of girl I am.” I wink at him. “I had a great time last night. I can’t wait until we do it again,” I say seductively.

“Neither can I.” He smiles. I just shake my head and leave.