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If one thing was guaranteed in Penelope Featherington’s young 14-year-old life, it was spending almost every Saturday night at her best friend Eloise’s house for a sleepover.
Penelope was halfway up the path to the Bridgerton front door when she remembered to turn around and thank her mother for dropping her off.
“Behave yourself and remember to thank Mrs. Bridgerton!” Mrs. Featherington called to her daughter before waving and driving off.
“Pen! So glad you made it!” Eloise cried as she opened the front door and hugged her. “Let’s put your stuff in the basement, we have everything set up down there.”
“We?” Penelope asked as she followed Eloise downstairs.
“Yeah. Benedict, Colin, Daff, Fran, me, and you. Well, Fran will only be around for dinner and the movie, then she’ll be going to bed.”
Penelope smiled, knowing it was going to be a fun evening. She adored all of Eloise’s siblings, especially Colin. He was always smiling at her and he was just so nice. He was the only boy she knew that was like that. Most sixteen-year-old boys were moody and hid in their room, but not Colin, and she loved that about him.
She was staring off, a smile on her face, lost in her thoughts, until she got smacked with a pillow. “Earth to Penelope!”
Shaking her head, she gave Eloise a sheepish smile. “Sorry. What did you say?”
“I asked if you were going to ask what movie it was, you always do.”
“Oh. What movie are we watching tonight?”
“ The Conjuring ,” Eloise said with a grin.
Penelope pasted a smile on her lips and in her most convincing voice, said, “Oh, cool!”
“What’s cool, other than myself?” Colin asked as he came down the stairs, arms full of snacks.
Eloise rolled her eyes at her brother. “Penelope was complimenting our movie choice, if you must know.”
“Ah, I see. You ready for a good scare, then?”
Penelope just nodded, that same fake smile on her lips. She eyed the snacks he had placed on the pool table. “Do you need help bringing anything else down?”
“I guess whatever you guys want to eat. Ben is bringing the drinks down.”
Penelope’s eyes widened at his answer. “You’re going to eat all that by yourself?”
“Probably. But I’d share with you,” he replied with a small smile.
“Don’t believe him, Pen. He doesn’t share with anyone. He’s a human garbage disposal, it’s disgusting.”
He laughed at that and gave a shrug. “What can I say? I’m a growing boy!”
Penelope giggled at his answer while Eloise scoffed. “You’re annoying. Go help Benedict with the drinks, Penelope and I will set up the movie area.”
After arranging the furniture, Eloise sent Penelope to gather every pillow and blanket she could find. Eloise was determined to get the seating area correct, and as she stood back and looked at the room, she decided she hated it.
Penelope, not being able to see over the load of blankets in her arms, narrowly missed being hit by a pillow as it sailed by her hips. Unfortunately, it did hit Benedict, who was right behind Penelope. “El!” he cried out.
“What? Oh, sorry. Just trying to get it right.” She walked over to the pillow and placed it on top of the pile Penelope had dumped on the couch.
“You’re lucky I didn’t spill any of these drinks, Mom would kill you.” Hollering back up the stairs, he called out, “Colin! Where are the rest of the drinks?”
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” he said from the top of the stairs. “Yeah, I got it. No, I won’t fall. Mom, it’s fine!” Benedict and Eloise smirked at Colin’s protests to their mother.
He came down the stairs with the remaining drinks, plus plates, cups, napkins, condiments, and cutlery. “Mothers,” he said with an eye roll. “I told her I was going to be fine, and here I am, in one piece!”
“Here, baby, let me help you!” Benedict said in a tone eerily similar to how their mother sounded. He took the drinks out of Colin’s hands as Colin told him to shut up.
Eloise laughed as she and Penelope took the paper products and put them next to Colin’s pile of snacks. “Oh, and Mom said we can eat down here, as long as we’re careful,” he said. “Which,” he said as he looked at his watch, “the pizza should be here any minute.”
As if on cue, Violet Bridgerton called down the stairs. “Boys! Pizza is here!”
Colin and Benedict ran for the stairs, elbowing each other to see who could get to the top of the stairs first. The girls laughed at their childish behavior, and started setting up the pillows and blankets.
Daphne brought Francesca down right after their brothers came back down with the pizza. “Are you excited for the movie, Fran?” Penelope asked as they grabbed a slice of pizza.
“Sure! Scary movies are my favorite!”
“Must run in the family, huh?”
Fran nodded enthusiastically. “Yup! Dad was a big horror fan. Not everyone is into it, though.” She shot a glance over at Daphne.
“Not really your thing, Daff?” Pen asked.
“It’s okay. But I’ve seen this already. I’ll probably end up reading. Have you seen this one before, Pen?”
“Oh, uh, no. My mom doesn’t like them, so I only watch them here.”
“Then you must be excited to watch it, right?”
Penelope took that moment to take a bite of her pizza, strategically avoiding the question. “Mm, this is delicious!” she exclaimed as she made her way to the corner of the loveseat, the farthest spot from the television.
Eloise, on the other hand, couldn’t be any closer to the tv, dragging her bean bag chair to the front of the room. The rest of her siblings took their seats as well, Daphne sitting with Francesca at one end of the couch, Benedict on the other end.
But it was Colin who noticed Penelope sitting by herself, and he dragged his bean bag chair over to her feet. Once he was settled, he felt a tap on his shoulder. “Colin, you don’t have to sit back here if you don’t want to.”
“I want to,” he said. “It’s no fun watching a movie by yourself.”
Penelope smiled, a small blush creeping onto her face. “Do you want a blanket?”
“No, I’m okay for now,” he said. “Thanks, Pen.”
“Everyone ready?” Eloise asked. The room answered in the affirmative and the movie started. Everything was going fine until thirty minutes in when Benedict got up and turned out the lights. That was when Penelope’s fears took center stage.
“Ow!” Colin cried twenty minutes after the lights had been turned out.
“Sorry, Colin. I was trying to get more comfortable,” Penelope whispered. He nodded and went back to his food.
She kicked him again ten minutes later. “Sorry!”
When it happened a third time, Colin glanced behind him and saw that Penelope’s hands were covering her face, and she was trying to bury herself further into the cushions.
To risk getting any more bruises, Colin got off his chair and plopped next to her on the couch. She removed her hands from her face and looked over at him. “What are you doing?”
“Watching a movie. Can I have that blanket now?”
She reached behind her and handed him a blanket and pillow. Colin noticed that she calmed down as soon as her eyes were off the screen, but when she turned around again, her tenseness was back.
Colin wondered if she was okay after another 15 minutes had passed, but at another scary moment, he could feel her shaking and jerking her body again, hands over her face once more. Colin scooted closer to her, and whispered her name, trying not to scare her even more. “Pen? Are you okay?”
She shook her head no. “I’m scared.”
“You can hide under the blanket, I won’t say anything.”
Grateful for his suggestion, she did just that. But instead of leaning into the corner of the couch, she leaned into him. Colin smiled and put his arm around her, drawing her closer. He could feel her calm down, her shaking eventually stopping. “You okay?”
He saw the blanket move, and heard a muffled “yes” before he turned his attention back to the screen. He was careful not to make any sudden movements, always alerting her when he needed to move.
Thirty minutes later, he said her name again. “Pen? The movie is ending in a few minutes. I think I should move back to the bean bag if you don’t want my siblings to know your secret.”
“Okay.” She sat up and stretched as they each returned to their original positions just as the credits started.
“What a great movie!” Eloise exclaimed. “I love a good scare!”
“Me too!” Fran agreed.
Benedict got up and turned the lights back on, and Colin stood as well, gathering the blankets and pillows from the floor.
“How about you, Pen? Did you like it?” Daphne asked.
Penelope looked at Colin for help before she answered. “Y-yeah. It was good.”
“We should build a fort!” he said at the same time. “It’ll be fun! We can all play UNO before Fran goes to bed. Pen, would you like to help?”
She nodded as Eloise, Daphne, and Fran got the blankets while Colin and Benedict moved the couches back-to-back for the fort’s frame. Benedict, being the oldest and tallest, opted to sit just outside while his younger siblings and Penelope crawled inside.
He tossed the flashlight to Colin so they would have more light to see the cards. After two rounds, Violet called down for Francesca. “Francesca! Time for bed!”
“Aww man,” she groaned. “Thanks for letting me crash your sleepover!” she said as she gave each of them a hug before crawling out of the fort and heading upstairs. “Try not to have too much fun without me!”
“Now that the child has left, how about we have some real fun?” Benedict asked.
“What kind of fun?” Daphne asked.
“Tell us a ghost story!” Eloise yelled.
Colin immediately glanced over at Penelope and saw her smile falter. “Or we could play another game,” he suggested.
“I was going to suggest a game of Hide and Seek outside, but I like Eloise’s idea. I just read a good one, it kept me up half the night.”
“Can we play Hide and Seek after?” Eloise asked.
“Sure, if you feel like venturing out in the dark after this,” he replied.
“I’ll stay for the story, but I draw the line at Hide and Seek,” Daphne said.
Eloise rolled her eyes at her sister. “Daff, come on! It’ll be fun!”
“Okay, fine. I guess I can stay for one or two games, depending on how long it takes.”
“Excellent! Ready for more scares, Pen?”
She was internally panicking, and Colin was impressed that she was able to answer normally, especially after discovering her fear of horror movies. “You know it!”
Eloise grinned at her answer before pestering Benedict to get on with the story. “Hang on, I need the proper lighting. Colin, hand me that flashlight, will you?”
Colin reluctantly handed it over, knowing what would happen to Penelope as soon as the lights went out. And unless she wanted her secret to get out, he couldn’t move over to her. Not with Daphne and Eloise being a few feet away.
So he did the next best thing. As soon as Benedict hit the lights and sat outside the tent again, flashlight illuminating his face, Colin leaned toward her slightly. He reached over and took her hand, squeezing it. It was his way of letting her know he was right there, and that there was nothing to be afraid of.
At the first sign of Penelope getting scared, Colin laced their fingers together. And when she started to shake, he started stroking the back of her hand with this thumb. She knew he was just being nice, but she appreciated it anyway.
“Every once in a while, if you listen real close, you can still hear the screams and the sound of a chainsaw coming from the woods,” Benedict concluded as he extinguished the flashlight.
Penelope breathed a sigh of relief amid Eloise’s cheering. Colin smiled and leaned closer so he could whisper softly, “You’re okay, Pen. The story is over.”
She nodded in the dark and whispered back, “I know.” Colin let go of her hand and leaned away from her and she clasped her hands together in her lap. She took a few silent breaths and shook out her neck and shoulders. She glanced over at him then, and even though he couldn’t see it, she mouthed the words “thank you” in his direction.
“Now, who’s ready for Hide and Seek?” Benedict asked as he turned the basement lights back on. “Outside edition, backyard only. You hear that, Eloise?”
“Ugh, no fair! Colin hides in the woods, too!”
“I only did that once, and then I got poison ivy!”
His siblings laughed at the memory, while Colin grimaced. That was not a pleasant experience, and he was glad Benedict came up with the “No hiding in the woods” rule. He did not want to relive that.
As everyone crawled out of the fort, Penelope stayed seated. Colin noticed she didn’t follow, so he crawled back in, a concerned look on his face. “You coming, Pen?”
“I-I don’t know. I don’t think I want to,” she admitted.
“Are you going to bed? It’s still so early,” he nearly protested. She was just about to answer when he said, “You can hide with me, okay? And we’ll definitely win, I have the best spot. You in?”
“Okay. Where do you hide?”
“That, my dear Penelope, is a surprise. But we better hurry if you don’t want to be searching first. And I would grab a hoodie if I were you, it might get cold. We’ll be hiding for a while.”
Colin ran to his room while Penelope grabbed a hoodie from her bag. They met up in the kitchen, then made their way to the patio where everyone was waiting.
Benedict had straws in his hand, and cut the tip of one before mixing them up. “Whoever gets the short straw has to search first, okay?” Everyone drew, and Penelope grinned when she saw that Eloise had drawn the short one.
“I hate searching first! Anyone wanna trade?” No one said anything, and she groaned in frustration. “Fine! But just know I am an expert searcher!”
“Not as good of a searcher as I am a hider!” Colin teased. “Good luck!”
Eloise began counting to 100, and everyone scattered. Colin dragged Penelope along until they got to their hiding spot at the edge of the woods. “Colin! I thought the woods were off-limits!”
“They are. But this bench is in our yard. No one ever comes back here. And if they do, I jump in the bush. No one ever finds me,” he said with a smug grin.
“But isn’t that cheating?”
“It’s only cheating if they find out, and no one has yet. And hopefully no one will,” he said as he gave her a knowing look. “I’ll keep your secret if you keep mine.”
They no sooner sat down when they heard Eloise yell, “Ready or not, here I come!”
“No way did she count to 100,” Colin grumbled. “We barely even sat down!”
Penelope smiled, knowing he was correct. “She does have a tendency to bend the rules,” she agreed. “She probably counted by 10’s.”
“Good thing we have plenty of time,” Colin said with a grin.
“Let’s hope, anyway. We both know how Eloise gets when she gets determined. She was so mad when no one wanted to trade straws,” Penelope said with a laugh.
They fell into a companionable silence after that, just listening to the sounds of the night. Colin was listening to Eloise, trying to determine if she was getting close. As far as he could tell, she was still by the house. Deciding to take a chance on Eloise not hearing them, he broke the silence. “So…why do you do it?”
Penelope turned her body toward him. “Do what?”
“Pretend.”
“Pretend?”
“Yeah. Why do you pretend to like horror movies? Please tell me it’s not because of my sister.”
He could just make out her face as she gave him a sad smile when she answered. “I…I don’t know. I guess it’s because she’s my best friend. And I know she loves them. That’s what friends do, right?”
“Not when they end up torturing themselves. Penelope, that’s not okay. Why don’t you ever say anything? I’m sure she would be fine with watching something you want to watch. It’s selfish otherwise. And not to mention not at all fair to you.”
She knew Colin was right. It wasn’t fair to her, but that’s the way it had always been. “I know,” she said as she looked down at her feet. “But it’s how it is. We do lots of stuff that we both like, but movies are her domain. And I know that the rest of you like those movies too. I would be outvoted every time. So I just deal with it.”
“But why?”
“It’s just easier. It’s not that I don’t like horror, I just hate getting scared. It’s better if we watch them during the day, because we always do things after. At night it’s worse. Especially when I’m alone in my room. And I don’t want her to think I’m a baby. She already thinks my movies are childish anyway,” she said, still looking at her feet.
“What kinds of movies do you like?”
She hesitated and shook her head, not wanting to say.
“It can’t be that bad. Tell me. If it makes you feel better, mine is The Wizard of Oz .”
She giggled. “Really? I would have pegged you as a Terminator or Back to the Future kinda guy.”
“Really. Those are good, though. Except the third Back to the Future movie. We don’t talk about that one. Now enough stalling. What movies do you like?”
“Disney movies. Or anything animated. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite. But she thinks they’re for babies.”
“I don’t. I like those movies, too.”
“You don’t have to say that to make me feel better. I know you’re just being nice.”
He gingerly pulled at one of her auburn curls until she looked at him. “I’m not, I promise. Next time, you should say something. I will choose your side every time. I get tired of watching her movies all the time. And if she doesn’t like being outvoted, that’s her problem,” he said matter-of-factly before adding, “And I’m sure my mother would appreciate Francesca watching more age-appropriate films, too.”
“Okay,” she said as she gave him a small smile. “Next time.” She knew there wouldn’t be a next time, that she would probably just stay silent as always.
Colin clearly did not believe her, so he continued. “I meant it when I said I would choose your side. So you better speak up next time.”
“Fine! I promise I’ll say something,” she said as she leaned back against the bench, staring up at the stars. They sat in comfortable silence for only a few seconds before a stick snapped behind them.
Penelope jolted upright, heart pounding in her chest. She jumped and let out a yelp when Colin put his hand on her arm. “It’s just an animal, Pen. You’re okay.”
Another stick snapped and she jumped again. That was when they heard Eloise’s voice get closer. “Pen! We gotta move to the bush!” he whispered. “Come on!”
Colin stood and went one direction behind the bench, Penelope going the other way. She knew she should’ve followed him the second it happened. She stepped in a hole, and as she fell down, her ankle stayed in place, the pain immediate.
“Ow!” she hollered, grabbing her ankle. Colin got to her as fast as he could, his voice flooded in concern.
“Penelope? What happened?”
“My ankle,” she cried out. “I twisted it in the hole.”
Colin took out his phone and put his flashlight on to look at it. “Oh, Pen, I’m so sorry. Can you move it?”
She whimpered when she tried to rotate it. “Okay, stop. Do you mind if I take a look?” he asked.
She shook her head no, wiping at a tear with the back of her hand.
He gingerly lifted her leg onto his lap and rolled her pant leg up. “It’s starting to swell,” he said. “But it doesn’t look like it’s bruising yet. I don’t think you broke it, probably just a sprain.”
“It hurts,” she said as she started sobbing.
“Okay, hang on.” He put her foot back on the ground and stood. He pulled her up, and he immediately put his arms around her waist to steady her. He helped her back to the bench and shot Eloise a message.
Colin: Pen got hurt. We’re out. Taking her back to the house
Eloise: Is she ok? I found Benedict, but haven’t found Daphne yet. I’ll call the game
Colin: I think she sprained her ankle. It’s going to take a bit to get there, you can keep searching if you want
Eloise: It’s going to take a bit? Where r u?
Colin: You never found us, I’m not telling 😈
Eloise: 😡
“There, it’s settled. Think you can make it?”
She nodded, and after he helped her stand again, they started making their way to the house slowly. Unfortunately, their height difference did not help matters, as Colin was several inches taller than her.
After a few minutes, Colin scooped her into his arms like it was nothing, and kept walking. “Colin!”
“What? Did that hurt your ankle?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Okay. Don’t worry, I got you, Pen.”
Colin continued to carry her into the house and down the basement stairs before he carefully put her on the couch. She looked over at him, and he wasn’t even out of breath.
Colin felt a buzz from his pocket and pulled out his phone to a text from Eloise.
Eloise: Saw you go into the house. Called “Olly olly oxen free” but she didn’t come out. Ben and I are searching now
Colin: Okay. I think we’re going to start another movie to keep her mind off her foot
Eloise: K
“Was that Eloise?” she asked him.
“Yeah, they’re trying to find Daphne. Then they’ll all come in.”
“Okay. I want to look at my ankle.” She rolled up her pant leg to see the damage. Her ankle was definitely swollen, but Colin was right, there wasn’t any bruising.
Colin leaned over to get a better look as well, and he brushed his fingers against her ankle. “Does that hurt?”
“A little.”
He nodded. “I’ll be right back. Think you’ll be okay for a few minutes?”
“Yeah. Where are you going?”
“To get ice. It’ll help with the swelling. Sit tight, okay?”
Colin was gone longer than Penelope thought he would be, and she started to get a little nervous being all by herself in the basement. She started to get up when she heard footsteps. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I was coming to find you.”
“Not with that ankle. And besides, I’m back now.” He put the things he was carrying on the couch next to her and crouched by her feet. “Mind if I take off your shoe? It’ll be easier to put the ice on. I’ll be careful.”
“Okay.” She gripped the cushions as she watched him untie her laces, then carefully loosen them to make the shoe removal easier.
Once he got it off, he looked up at her. “That better?”
She sighed in relief. “Much better. What is all this, anyway?”
“Brought my laptop too. I figured we could watch a movie to take your mind off your foot.”
“What movie?”
“You’ll see,” he said with a bright smile. “Want to watch it out here? Or in the fort?
“All my stuff is out here, but the fort sounds nice.”
“Okay, hang on.” Colin grabbed her pillow and blanket and crawled into the fort, then came back out for his own pillow and blanket.
“Anything else?” he asked.
“Well, I would like to change, too. Can you help me over to the bathroom?”
“No problem. I’ll run and change as well while you’re here changing. Just wait there for me to come back down before moving to the fort, okay? We don’t need you to injure your ankle more than it already is.”
Once they had both changed, Colin helped her to the fort and she slowly crawled her way in, Colin close behind her. He put the ice pack on her foot and propped it up on their pillows. As his computer came to life, he told her to shut her eyes. “Why?” she asked.
“I told you the movie was a surprise!”
After several seconds, the music started and as soon as she heard the words, “ Once Upon a Time, in a faraway land… ”, her eyes flew open and tears filled them. “ Beauty and the Beast !”
Colin smiled at her happiness and hit play again. They were only a few minutes in when they heard his siblings run down the stairs. “Colin! Pen! Where are you?”
“We’re in here, El!” she called out.
Eloise and Daphne crawled into the fort, both girls asking at once how she was feeling.
“Better, now that the ice is on it,” she replied. “Colin has been great.”
The girls shared a glance before Daphne said, “Glad you’re okay, Pen. Just wanted to make sure you were okay before I went to bed. Goodnight!”
“Night, Daff!”
Benedict moved out of the way for Daphne to exit before sticking his head in. “Sorry you got hurt, Penelope. I’ll have Colin show me where you got hurt tomorrow and we’ll fix it so it doesn’t happen again.”
“What? No way! I’ll take care of it. Nice try with trying to find out my hiding spot!”
Benedict knew he had gotten caught. “Sorry, El. It was worth a shot! Anyway, I’m going to bed too, unless you want another story?” Benedict said.
“No, that’s okay. Thanks, Benedict. Goodnight.”
“Guess that just leaves you, El. Or are you going to bed as well?” Colin asked.
“Depends. What are you watching?”
When Penelope didn’t say anything, Colin spoke up. Eloise rolled her eyes. “Pass. I think I’ll watch something on my phone instead. Have fun with that,” she called as she retreated.
“Will you at least sit in here with us? It won’t be any fun without you.”
“Sure, Pen. Let me get into my pyjamas and grab my headphones, okay?”
Colin nudged Penelope with his shoulder after they sat there for a few moments in silence. “Hey. How’s your ankle feeling? I really am sorry you got hurt.”
“It’s okay. It only hurts if I move it. The ice is helping, I think. But it’s a little uncomfortable trying to look at the screen and not move my leg.”
“Oh. Sorry, let me help.” He scooted closer to her and put his arm around her waist as he brought her upper body into contact with his own. “Is that better?”
Penelope felt her cheeks flame, and a strange sensation in her belly. She was suddenly nervous, and was relieved to see Eloise come back into the fort a minute later.
“You sure you don’t want to watch with us, El? There’s plenty of room.”
Eloise looked at the spot next to Penelope before glancing back up at her best friend. “I wouldn’t be able to see the screen. We can’t put it on your lap, Pen. You guys just enjoy,” she said with a sly grin.
Penelope nodded as Eloise put her headphones in. Turning her head toward Colin, she said, “Go ahead and start it.”
Before he hit play again, he whispered to her, “If you get tired, you can lay your head on my shoulder, okay?”
“Okay.” She realized his arm was still around her waist as he hit play, and she smiled. Despite her injury, this was the best sleepover she had ever been to.
The movie was almost over when Eloise yawned and took off her headphones. “I’m gonna go to bed. But I’m gonna sleep on the couch. It’s more comfortable.”
“Will you need a blanket? We used them all for the fort, I think.”
“I’ll run upstairs and grab one. Want me to bring you one too? For later?”
“Sure, thanks.”
Penelope was alone with Colin again, and she wished she wasn’t. Not because she wasn’t enjoying herself immensely, but because this was the part that always made her cry.
She started sniffling, and Colin leaned closer. “Are you okay? Is it your ankle?”
“N-no, I’m fine. I always cry at this part.”
“Ah. It’s a good ending, it makes sense.”
Eloise came back down as the credits were rolling. She threw a blanket in the fort for Penelope before calling out, “Goodnight, you two!”
“Goodnight, El!
“So…” he said.
“So…” she said back.
“Want to watch another movie?”
“Sure. What were you thinking?”
“Mulan?”
She smiled. “Okay.”
“Colin? Are you awake?” Penelope whispered quietly. She was working up the nerve to thank him. She could never put into words what she wanted to say to him. He had done so much for her in just a few short hours.
On the other side of the fort, she heard Eloise stir. It was a good reminder that if she was going to thank him the way she wanted, she needed to do it fast. She whispered his name again, lifting her head from his shoulder.
Did he fall asleep? That would make it easier, in a way. She stole a glance at him, his eyes shut peacefully. She gently moved his computer off his lap, careful not to disturb him.
She tried saying his name one more time. “Colin?” When he still didn’t respond, she sighed. She managed to get onto her knees, only sending a shooting pain from her ankle to her hip once. She hissed through her teeth and took a deep breath. She would definitely need to get her ankle looked at the next day.
Once the pain had subsided, she placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you. For everything,” she whispered right before she kissed him.
However, her touch must have woken him, because just as she was about to put her lips on his cheek, he turned his head. This caused her to catch the corner of his mouth instead, and she cried out in surprise. “Oh!”
She fell backward and scooted to the other side of the fort. She put her hands over her face, not wanting to look at him. In the process, she also forgot about her ankle until she stopped moving. The pain was excruciating, and the tears came unexpectedly.
So now she was not only incredibly embarrassed, but she was also whimpering and crying. All in a span of five seconds. She heard him say her name, but she just shook her head.
“Penelope.” He was definitely closer now. “It’s alright.”
“No, it’s not,” she said through her tears. “I’m so sorry. I tried whispering your name but you didn’t answer and then you moved and—”
She stopped talking when he placed his hands over hers, removing them from her face. He wiped away a tear and said it again. “It’s alright.” He pulled her toward him, trying his best to keep her ankle still.
“It hurts, Colin. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to, but it happened, and…I’m sorry.”
He didn’t know if she was referring to her ankle or the kiss, but he had to stop her rambling. “Please don’t apologize. You don’t have anything to be sorry for. Do you want to finish the movie? Or should we go to bed?”
Her answer was a yawn, but she wanted to finish the movie. ”I want to finish it, but only if you want to as well.”
“Okay. The ending is the best part, anyway.”
She smiled at his answer before frowning, giving her ankle a glance. “Actually…”
“Yes?”
“Would you mind readjusting the pillows under my ankle?”
“Of course. I will always take care of you, Penelope. Always.”
He propped the pillows back up and once she was comfortable, he put his arm around her waist again, this time squeezing gently before he continued the movie. She put her head on his shoulder again and soon after, she snuggled closer, sighing happily.
It was only a few minutes later that he felt her head get heavier on his shoulder, her breathing getting deeper and more even. He knew she had fallen asleep, and he didn’t want to wake her.
He let the movie finish as she slept, yawning a few times himself. Right before he closed his own eyes, he leaned down and softly kissed the crown of her head. “You’re welcome,” he whispered against her hair before he finally drifted off to sleep, a smile plastered on his face.