Love's Redemption (Chris and Maddie)

I looked at Brandon, who was also looking at me. The atmosphere in the room was a bit ambiguous.

It was absurd. We had slept in a hotel room together without any issues before.

Yet here, in this spacious two-bedroom apartment, it felt cramped, like even the air was suffocating.

After a brief, silent stare, Brandon spoke. "I think it's more appropriate for me to sleep on the couch."

I was speechless.

"Only your real boyfriend should sleep in your room. I... I'll stick to the couch," Brandon said. It made me feel like I was somehow mistreating him.

But I knew he was trying to pressure me. He wanted to become my actual boyfriend.

The old saying about quiet men being the most cunning seemed true.

However, I wasn't falling for it. I simply said, "Suit yourself," and quickly went into my parents' room.

I couldn't sleep. The lingering

not have been enough, and the consequences

that

I glanced at the door. It was closed, so I couldn't see outside. Was he

was unclear if he was washing up or doing something else. Either way, he hadn't gone to

I used to hear my

it back then, but now I

once he

the middle of the night needing to use the bathroom. As I got up, I remembered

in the house, I glanced at the couch on my way out and saw him sleeping there. His tall frame barely fit, and his legs were hanging off the side. He

Double standards.

was not my real boyfriend, so he wouldn't sleep in my room. But he was okay with using my

was there to protect me even

use the bathroom. After that, I always had trouble falling asleep again. I felt alone and abandoned in

no one to care for or love me. No one was there to comfort me if I cried at