It was 3 in the morning when Brian and his niece got to his apartment. It was a little bit of a mess. He hadn't had the motivation to clean. He was exhausted. "Sorry about the mess, kid."
"I don't care. I just want to be with you, away from them." Alexis seemed wide awake.
Brian yawned. "We need sleep. You can have the bed."
"No, it's your place."
"You're my guest. I'll sleep on the chair. I'll be fine."
Alexis laid on the bed while Brian laid on a chair, curled up like a dog. He almost immediately fell asleep.
The teenage girl looked around at the apartment, unable to sleep. It was quiet. There was no fighting, no loud noises, nothing but peace, at least inside the apartment, anyway. Inside her mind, it was the total opposite. She knew she should sleep, but she couldn't silence her thoughts. Finally, she got up and walked to the bathroom as quietly as she could. She looked through the medicine cabinet to see if her uncle has anything that would put her to sleep. She spotted some allergy pills and took three. Then she quietly went back out and laid on the bed. It didn't take her long to fall asleep.
"Alexis? Alexis, wake up."
Brian shook his niece. It was 3 PM, so she had been asleep for 12 hours. He was starting to worry, but he didn't show it.
Alexis groaned and turned over. Brian shook her again, and she slowly opened her eyes.
"Hey, kid, it's 3 in the afternoon."
"I'm tired."
"I know we didn't get home until late, but you've been asleep for 12 hours."
"I took some allergy meds to fall asleep."
Brian went into the bathroom and saw that three pills were missing. He sighed and went back to the living room, where Alexis had fallen asleep again. He shook her, and she woke up. "Why did you take my pills without asking?" he asked, annoyed.
"You were asleep, and I didn't want to wake you up. I couldn't sleep, so I took a few pills."
"Don't do it again. Ask next time."
"Sorry."
Alexis didn't make eye contact with him. He relaxed. "Don't worry about it. It's not that big of a deal. I just don't want you taking too many."
Alexis got out of bed. She noticed Brian's laptop was open. "Working on another script?"
"Yeah," he replied, unhappily. "I just can't come up with any good ideas. I guess I should relax and get my creative juices flowing. Anyway, I should probably take you home."
Alexis panicked. "No, please, don't send me home yet!"
"Calm down, Alex. I'm sure your mom and dad have worked things out by now."
"Can't I stay another hour?"
"Yeah."
Alexis got up and hugged him. She laid her head on his shoulder. "Everything is going to be alright," Brian said, trying to comfort her.
"Hold me," she said, like a child.
"Uh, you're a little old to be held. You should ask your dad to do that, or get a stuffed animal."
"He doesn't like physical affection," Alexis said, "not from me, anyway."
Brian didn't understand females. He had dated a lot of them, but he didn't understand their need for physical contact. Hugs were okay sometimes from certain people, but what his niece wanted was a little odd. On the other hand, she seemed very upset, and if her being held made her feel better, then he supposed it wouldn't hurt.
"Okay, I'll hold you, but just this once."
Brian folded the hideaway bed back into the couch and sat on the couch. Alexis sat by him and laid her head on his chest. He put his arm around her. He felt silly, but he sensed that she was starting to feel better.
They sat like this for awhile until Brian got up. "It's time to go," he said.
The teenage girl nodded, a little calmer now. They left the apartment and went to Peter and Lois's house.