Me: Hey...

Jimmy: What are you doing up? It's the middle of the night

Me: I can't sleep. It's pretty difficult to block out an alcoholic on a rampage, no matter how used to it I am. I had a feeling you were still awake

Jimmy: You can come over here, you'd be able to sleep.

Me: Actually, I think it would be just as hard to sleep there just for an entirely different reason

Me: What's keeping you up?

Jimmy: I'm not sure. Do you end up stuck awake at night often?

Me: Almost every night.

Me: Here...

I attached an audio file of a cover of Creep by Radiohead, sung by Kina Grannis.

Jimmy: What's this?

Me: It's one of the songs I listen to when I can't sleep

Jimmy: Is there anything I can do to help you sleep?

Me: Probably not, my mom will pass out eventually

Jimmy: Did your brother leave?

Me: Yep, he left while I was with you filming the Tesla video.

Jimmy: If the song doesn't work, what else do you do to help you fall asleep?

Me: I usually don't. I end up doing homework or watching YouTube until my alarm goes off and just hope the next night doesn't go the same way

Jimmy: That's a terrible solution. If you don't want to sleep at my place, why don't you go to the Hallows?

Me: Hannah is out of town with her church group. If I walk into their house in the middle of the night, they'll think I got caught in my mom's way again and they'll freak out. They see that enough, I don't want to freak them out if I don't have to.

Jimmy didn't text me back, instead a few minutes later my phone started to ring with a FaceTime from him.

"I'd rather see your face while we talk," Jimmy smiled at me.

"I'm okay with that," I smiled back.

"Good. So, all of the Hallows know about your mom?" Jimmy asked.

"And my brother. Hannah helped me hide it in the beginning, but it's been happening for years so they all learned eventually," I explained shyly, being cautious that my mom wouldn't be able to hear me talking.

"I can't believe Chandler kept that a secret," Jimmy shook his head in disbelief.

"He did because I asked him to," I informed Jimmy, "I love that family, and they have tried more times than I can count to get me to move out or report my mom, but she's still my mom. There are times when she snaps out of it for a little bit to be my mom again too, and I'm not okay with giving up on her."

"You're not giving up on her by moving out, Nugget. You know that, right? She's still your mom and I get that, and I would never ask you to pretend she's not your mom, but moving out would be good for you," Jimmy insisted.

"I know, and for years I've been telling myself that I only have to get through senior year because then I go to college. That's what convinced Chandler and his dad to trust me because I was going to get out of here, but now I probably won't be getting out of here very soon," I sighed.

"Nugget, you can still go to college," Jimmy smirked at me, "you are the smartest person I have ever met."

"I can't go if I can't pay for it," I reminded Jimmy, "you know you won't fall asleep if you're talking to me, right?"

"I know, but if you're awake then I will be too. I have something for you, but I can't give it to you unless you promise me something," Jimmy smiled at me.

"Okay, what is it?" I asked.

"Promise me that you will accept my gift," Jimmy said seriously.

"How can I promise you that if I don't know what the gift is?" I asked.

"Trust me," Jimmy insisted.

"I do trust you," I smiled, "I promise."

"Good, now tomorrow I'd like for you to come over so I can give you the gift," Jimmy smiled.

"Do I get to know what it is?" I asked.

"You'll find out when you get here," Jimmy laughed.

"Okay, fine, I can wait until then," I laughed, "you drive me crazy, you know that."

"In a good way or a bad way?" Jimmy asked.

"Both," I smiled, "but mostly in a good way."

"Good, I'm glad," Jimmy smiled even wider at me.

All of the good feelings were broken apart as I heard a loud crash against my door. I turned my attention to the nightmare outside of my bedroom to figure out how I could fix it. My mom was screaming and pounding on my door, reminding me of the hell I live in.

"Do not open that door," Jimmy instructed me.

I looked down at my screen and held my finger to my lips to tell him to stay quiet. I sat up and watched my door carefully. I could see small shadows from under the door that I knew were from my mom standing there. Usually, if I'm quiet enough, she'll go away. It felt like I was watching the door for hours before she stopped screaming at me.

After the screaming stopped, I pulled a hoodie on over my t-shirt and carefully put my keys in my hoodie pocket. I'll probably still be cold in my leggings since it's December, but I wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible.

"What are you doing?" Jimmy asked.

"I'm climbing out of my window," I answered, "I don't want to be here if she comes back."

"Come over then, please?"

"I'll be there in a little bit," I answered before I jumped from the roof to the ground.

Jimmy and I hung up the call after he saw me climb into my car, he wanted to make sure I was actually leaving. Not that he doesn't trust me to leave, he just wanted to make sure I got to my car safely to leave. I made the short drive over to Jimmy's house. I've only been here twice, but I felt comfortable here.

I knocked on the front door and within a few seconds, Jimmy opened it smiling sleepily at me.

"Hey," Jimmy sounded relieved.

"Hey, I'm sorry, it's so late."

"Shut your mouth," Jimmy chuckled as we walked inside, "I wouldn't want you to be anywhere else."

Jimmy wrapped his arms around me tightly in an embrace, making me feel more at home than I ever had. This man really is something else.

"I'm curious," Jimmy smiled at me as I followed him up the stairs and to his room, "why don't you leave as soon as your mom starts acting like that? Instead of waiting."

"Because if she were to hurt herself, I'm there to help. It's pretty rare that she hurts herself, but just in case, I stay."

"She doesn't deserve you," Jimmy sat down on his bed and pulled me down to sit next to him, "but I'm glad you're here."

"I am too," I smiled.

Jimmy pressed his lips to mine for a few seconds, lightly biting my bottom lip before he pulled away.

"That is exactly what I meant by how I wouldn't be able to sleep here," I laughed.

"I'm sorry, I can't help myself," Jimmy laughed before he connected our lips again.

We kept kissing for a while. With Jimmy's arms around my waist, he moved us so I was laying down and he was hovering over me. I could feel his fingertips on my skin under my shirt, and I loved the way his fingers felt on my skin. I thought about how I might want more than just this, but I don't know how to let Jimmy know that. I also don't know if this is right time for it, but I want it.

Jimmy pulled away from me just long enough to pull his shirt over his head and toss it on the floor. He leaned back down to kiss me again, but before he could I pulled my own t-shirt over my head and dropped it off the side of the bed. Jimmy's face turned a little pink before reconnected his lips to mine.

We continued like that for a while, not quite going all the way, but still losing most of our clothes in the process.

"You're so beautiful," Jimmy whispered as he kissed my bare shoulder.

"Stop," I giggled softly, "I can be many things, but I don't know if that's one of them."

"I know you are, and you are that way effortlessly. I will never get enough of you."

We climbed under the blankets and Jimmy held me close to him as he lightly ran his fingertips over the skin on my shoulder and down my arm. There were goosebumps everywhere he touched me, like a trail from my collarbone to my wrist. This is my definition of absolute bliss.