I'M BACK BITCHES! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THIS CHAPTER? COMMENT, VOTE, SHARE!!!! PLS!!!! ILY!!!!
LEO
I watch Gabby leave, frustration bubbling in the pit of my stomach. She's pissed at me, she doesn't want anything to do with me anymore, so why am I still thinking about her?
Why is anyone thinking about her? I noticed the brown haired boy she was sitting with earlier, noticed the way that he looked at her. Like he wanted to take her upstairs and ravish her. I know that look all too well. But on Gabby? Flabby Gabby? The fact that two guys are into her is beyond me. It confuses me. It frustrates the Hell out of me. How the Hell do they have the balls to pursue her? I guess I understand why Aaron doesn't give a shit, but these other guys that have hit on her...they stand to lose everything by being with her. Don't they?
A very drunk, very suggestive looking Emily approaches me. Her eyes are half shut and she wears a sultry smile. "What do you say we go upstairs for a quick hookup?" She purrs, putting a tiny hand on my chest and running it up and down.
"Not tonight." I gently grab her wrist and place her hand back where it belongs--away from me.
She looks confused. "Why?"
"I just don't want to, Em. I'm not in the mood."
"You're always in the mood." She looks up at me with her big, bright eyes and pouts.
"I prefer to fuck when my partner is in her right mind, and clearly you are not." I raise an eyebrow at her. I bend down to whisper in her ear. "It's not fun when she's too far gone to even remember who's inside her, driving her wild."
She gasps, biting her lip. "I think you've just sobered me up."
"Good. Then you can go home and get to sleep before it's too late. Then call me in the morning and we can work on a hangover cure that requires two people." I shoot her a quick wink and leave her standing on the makeshift dance floor. I find my way to the kitchen, complete with two keg stands and a whole lot of alcohol. I down a shot. Then two. Then five. Countless shots later, I'm drunk.
I'm no alcoholic, I know when to stop drinking, but I need to get blackout...just for tonight. I need to step out of my brain and poison the shit out of myself with this cheap 80% vodka until every fucked up part of me is gone and I am left with only my most primal thoughts, feelings and senses.
The vodka starts to go down like water.
I can't remember the last time I was this drunk, but this frat party is as good a place as any to create this memory.
'Just one more shot' I promise myself. Just enough so I won't remember this in the morning.
Just enough so I don't remember the girl driving me wild. Because try as I might, so far, none of the alcohol that I have consumed is enough to drive away any and all thoughts of Gabrielle fucking Hampton.
--------------------------------------
GABBY
I eagerly add Adam back as a friend. Then I refresh my feed, looking to see the stories. Perhaps Camille and Emily are still at the party. They probably are, where else could they have gone? I realize, suddenly, that I don't have Leo as a friend on Snapchat. I guess it makes sense, though. We're not exactly friends...
Sure enough, Camille has posted a story. She's looking as gorgeous as ever with an equally hunky man by her side, his arm wrapped around his waist. In the background I see Emily talking with Leo, her hand trailing up his chest...
I exit out of the app, suddenly feeling very alone. I send a quick text in my family group chat. My dad responds almost immediately.
Me: Where r u guys?
Janice picked me up from the party dressed in a gown so I'm assuming her and dad went somewhere fancy.
Dad: Janice & I are out at Ramsey's charity event and will not be back until 1 AM or 2 AM. Haley is out with friends, she said she will probably sleepover & Bianca is at Harvard!
Me: Funny, I thought Bianca was here! Thx for clearing that up!
Dad: You are welcome! Love you.
I let out a sigh and toss my phone to the side, laying in bed, feeling sad and pathetic.
The doorbell rings. My brow furrows in confusion. It's 12 at night. Who could be here so late? A boy looking for Haley? A pizza delivery man at the wrong mansion? A serial killer?
Hesitantly, I make my way down the stairs and to the foyer. I look through the peephole for the door and see a soaking, bloody Leo waiting on my doorstep. Without hesitation, I fling the door open and usher him inside.
"What happened to you?" I look out onto the street and notice that it's raining now. He opens his mouth to speak but some blood gushes out instead. At first, I panic, thinking he's internally bleeding, but upon further inspection, I realize that he just has a very busted lip.
"Come in." I rush to help him inside. My first instinct is to tell him to be quiet, but no one but me is home. "Follow me." Hesitantly grabbing his forearm, I help him to my room and then into my bathroom. He's left a trail of blood on the floor but miraculously has avoided the carpets. By the time he reaches my shower, my once cream marble floor is drenched in red.
"Sorry." He winces after he speaks.
"Jesus." I sigh. "Can you undress and take a shower?"
He eyes me warily but nods. I give him a tight-lipped smile and shrug. "Well...holler if you need anything."
After I shut the door to the bathroom behind me, I silently curse. Holler? Really?
A thought occurs and I spin and quickly knock on the door. No water is running, so he isn't in the shower yet.
"Yeah?"
God, his voice is hoarse and tired sounding.
"Throw your dirty clothes out here! I can wash them."
Silence. Then, "okay." Seconds later, the water starts running. The door opens and a hand gripping a shirt, shorts, and boxers appears. I grab it and the door shuts immediately after.
I rush to the laundry room and set the washer to 20 minutes. Then I go back to my room and sit on my bed, unsure what to do with myself. Leo is still in the shower when my phone alarm beeps, signaling the 20 minutes are up. I rush back to the laundry room and put the clothes in the dryer for 20 more minutes. Usually, it would have to be longer but since this is such a light load, 20 minutes should do the trick.
When I get back to my room, Leo is sitting on my bed with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. I gasp as I see the bruise already forming under his eye. His lip is swollen and red. I look lower. How does he still look like a Greek God even when he's been beaten senseless?
I lower myself onto the bed, leaving more than enough distance between us. "What happened?" I ask, carefully. I don't know which Leo I'm dealing with tonight. I'm on thin ice.
"I don't really remember." Leo rasps, wincing and rubbing his lip. "I was hooking up with...um, I was in one of the rooms and I guess the dude whose room it was not very happy that someone else was getting lucky in it."
"He must have been pretty mad to beat you up like that."
"Well, I knew the guy already. Coincidence, right? We weren't on exactly good terms to start with. I hooked up with his sister and he was not very happy about it."
"Jeesh."
"I hit him back. He got the worst of it, actually. I think I broke his nose. I didn't stay to check. As soon as I hit him too hard and I heard the crack...I was out of there. I'm sorry for showing up, this was just the first place I thought of..."
"It's okay. Haley isn't here though." He probably wanted to use his injuries as an excuse for her to clean him up and then kiss his boo-boos better.
He looks confused for a second. "Why would that...oh. Yeah, bummer. Well, thanks for helping me out. You didn't have to."
"I know."
Of course I didn't have to. I shouldn't have wanted to. I should kick him out, right here and now. Tell him to go screw himself. I hate him, I have to. Do I have no self-respect? Why do I keep letting him back into my life?
"Do you mind if I shut my eyes? Just for a minute? I'm still pretty wasted." Leo sighs, already making his way under the covers, still only wearing a towel.
I shouldn't. I can't let him back in--I know how this ends. He breaks my heart. He sucks me in and leaves me with nothing.
"Okay." I shut off the lights. I sit on the edge of my side of the bed. After a while, I hear Leo's breathing slow. He's asleep. I find myself laying down and beginning to drift off as well, but not before I lock the door to my room. As I lay in bed, with more than enough distance between the beautiful sleeping boy and me, I think:
Leo Hamilton will destroy me.
But for tonight, just for tonight, he will sleep in my bed.