My eyes flutter open and I begin to sit up. I immediately groan and my hand goes up to my head. I start to recall last night's events and mentally slap myself for drinking some stranger's drink. Never again.
I start to look around and realize I'm not in my bed or room. I'm in Jordan's room. I push the covers off of me and swing my legs out of bed. As soon as I stand up, I begin to feel nauseated. My hand goes over my mouth and I rush into Jordan's bathroom. I barely make it to the toilet.
When I'm done, I flush the contents down the toilet and lean my head against the wall. How come the first time I drink, I didn't feel like this. Not that I'm complaining, I just wish I would have had a heads up of what I was getting myself into.
"Midget, where are you?" I hear Jordan call from his room.
"In here!" I yell back. He comes in the bathroom with a bottle of water and something else in his hands. When he sees me, he puts the stuff down on the bathroom counter and comes by my side.
He kneels down beside me. "Midg, you okay? You look like hell." He says.
I laugh a little, "Thanks. I can always count on you to make me feel better."
"Sorry. I went out to the store to grab some Aleve because I took the last two this morning and I figured you would have a headache by the time you woke up. I also grabbed us a sausage and biscuit from McDonalds." He says.
"Well, could I get those Aleve because my head is killing me and I don't think I can stomach any food right now." I say.
"You have to try and eat something, Midget, or you'll just end up even more sick." He says, grabbing the water bottle and pills off of the counter.
He hands them to me and I swallow the pills along with half the bottle of water. Jordan helps me up and then backs away from me, holding his nose.
"What?" I ask.
"Midget, I'm not trying to be mean when I say this, but your breath is kicking. There's an extra toothbrush in the cabinet. Please use it. I'll be downstairs when you're done." He says.
I throw the water bottle at him, but he quickly runs out before it hits him. I grab the extra toothbrush and brush my teeth before heading downstairs. When I get to the kitchen, Jordan is eating a biscuit with strawberry jelly dripping from the biscuit onto the plate.
"Midget," He says with his mouth full, "Come join me."
I sit down in front of him and he passes me a biscuit out of the McDonald's bag.
"What happened after I passed out last night?" I ask, unwrapping the paper around the biscuit.
He chews his food and drinks some of his orange juice before answering. "Well, I had Troy and Jake carry you to my car while I fussed with Alyssa about taking you to the hospital. I told her you would be fine. Anyways, I ended up winning the argument. I took you back to my place and laid you down in my bed. Jake said it probably wouldn't have been a good idea to take you back to your place." He says.
I immediately start to search my back pocket for my phone. "Have you seen my phone?" I ask.
I probably have a million messages from my mom and dad. I didn't tell them I would be staying somewhere else.
"Don't worry. I texted your mom last night that you would be staying with Alyssa. She said okay." He says.
I sigh in relief. "Thank God. I still need my phone. I need to text Alyssa and let her know that I'm okay."
He digs in his gym shorts pocket and hands me my phone. "You have way too many pictures of Dylan O'brien on your phone." He smirks.
"You went through my phone?" I ask, getting mad.
"Calm down. I only went through your pictures. I deleted the ones of you and Stephen for you." He says.
"You did what?!" I yell.
He seems surprised by my tone. Did he think I was going to thank him for that.
"I deleted them for you. I mean, you two aren't together anymore and I thought maybe you just forgot about the pictures and forgot to delete them." He says.
I take a deep breath. "Jordan you had no right to delete those photos of Stephen and me. I wanted to keep those for memories. Those were the only pictures I had of him and me."
A look of disbelief is on his face before it contorts into anger. "What do you mean memories! You two broke up! You shouldn't want anything that reminds you of him! Especially after last night!" He yells.
"Maybe one day he'll decide he wants to be my friend. The photos weren't all taken while we were together. Some were taken when we were just friends! It doesn't even matter why I wanted to keep them! You had no right to go through my phone!" I yell.
"You are so confusing! You act like you want me one minute and then the next you're all I love Stephen still! Make up your damn mind, Abby!" He yells.
He hardly ever calls me Abby. He must be really pissed. I'm so mad myself, that I can't even say anything. We're both just staring at each other. Finally, I find my voice.
"Take me home, please." I say. He doesn't say anything. He just grabs his keys and walks out the front door. I go back upstairs and grab my belongings and put on my heels. I go back downstairs and leave the house before getting into the car with Jordan.
He's gripping the wheel hard and I can tell he's frustrated and pissed. I look out the window and lean my head up against it. It's quiet and I hate it. I guess Jordan does too, because he turns the radio up so loud that I feel like my eardrums are about to burst. He pulls into my driveway and I get out without saying goodbye. He drives back out and leaves without a wave or a goodbye.
I get into my house and start to head upstairs, but I'm stopped when I hear my name. I turn around to see my mom and dad.
"Hey, did you have fun at Alyssa's house last night?" My mom asked.
I put on a fake smile. "Yeah. We had a great time at the Halloween party and we ate so much candy that we got sick, so I think I'm going to go lay down for a while." I say.
"Alright. Jake and his parents are coming over for dinner tonight." My dad says.
"Okay." I say, before running upstairs. I drop by bags on the floor as soon as I get into my room and flop down on my bed. Jordan is so infuriating. I text Alyssa letting her know that I'm okay and that she should come over for dinner tonight. She said she was glad I was okay and that she would come over tonight.
I put my phone down beside me and pulled my covers over me. Before I knew it, I dozed off.
*****
I woke up to my phone vibrating under me. I pulled the phone from under me and swiped across the screen, answering the call.
"Hello?" I answer, still not fully awake.
"Hey, it's Jake. Did I wake you? You sound like you just woke up." He says.
"Uh, yeah. I kind of just woke up." I start to sit up and look at the time on my nightstand. It's four fifty-six p.m.
"I was just calling to let you know we're headed to your house. Are you okay? You had a pretty wild night last night." He says.
I yawn, "Yeah, I did. I'm okay. I'll see you when you get here." I say, before hanging up the phone.
I get out of bed and turn on my light. I look at myself in the mirror and cringe. I look awful, but I don't have the strength in me to try and look good for Jake and his family. They've seen me in a pair of sweatpants thousands of times.
I grab a t shirt and my black sweatpants and throw them on. I start to run a brush through my hair before putting it up into a pony tail. When I'm done, I go downstairs and go into the kitchen.
Dad is stirring something together while my mom is setting the table. I sit down in my usual spot and lay my head down on my arms.
"Sweetheart, are you okay. You've been asleep for a while. Are you sick?" My mom asks.
"No. I'm fine." I mumble.
"Are you sure. You don't seem fine." She says.
I lift my head up. "I'm fine. Just tired, I guess. Jake said he was on the way." I tell her.
"Okay. If you want to talk just let me know." She says.
I nod my head and get out my phone to call Alyssa. "Hey, girly." She answers.
"Hey, we're about to start dinner. Are you still coming?" I ask.
"Yup. On the way. See you when I get there. I think the police is right behind me and I don't really want to get pulled over." She says.
I laugh, "Okay, bye." I say, before hanging up.
A knock at my kitchen door lets me know that Jake is here. I get up and answer the door. Jake's parents are still in their business outfits which tells me they just got off of work.
"Marcus. Melissa." I smile and hug them. They give me a hug back and say how they haven't seen me in forever. I let them walk in and then Jake walks in rolling his eyes at his parents.
"Be nice." I whisper to him.
"I'm trying. We would have been here sooner if they hadn't been on the phone with a client. They get off of work just to do more work." He says.
"They're here now. That's all that matters. Alyssa is coming, too." I say.
"Great. Just the person I need to see." He says.
I stare at him confused. "Are you two arguing?" I ask.
"Yeah. Last night at the party she got mad at me because I agreed with Jordan that we shouldn't take you to the hospital. You would have gotten in a shit load of trouble if your parents found out you were drinking. I knew you would be okay. If someone did drug you, they wouldn't give you something that could hurt you." He says.
"No one drugged me. I drunk out of someone else's cup and it had something in it. Something strong." I tell him.
"See. She was over reacting as usual. Anyways, she slapped me before telling me I act like Jordan's little bitch." He says.
My eyes go wide and we sit down at the table together. "I'll talk to her." I say.
He nods his head before saying hey to my parents. A few minutes later, a knock on the front door lets me know Alyssa is here.
"I got it." I tell my parents before getting up to answer the door. I open the door and Alyssa comes walking in.
"I'm starving. What did your dad cook?" She says.
I close the door before quickly following behind her. She stops dead in her tracks when she sees Jake, causing me to run into her back.
She turns around to face me. "Why didn't you tell me Jake was going to be here?" She says.
I decide to play the dumb game. "Is that a problem? You guys have both been over my house for dinner plenty of times." I say.
She sighs. "Will you just sit in the middle of us. Things aren't going too well between him and me."
I nod my head. "Okay." I say. We head over to the table and we both sit down. Jake is sitting on my left and Alyssa is sitting on my right, but I can feel the tension in the air.
My dad blesses the food before we start to pass it around. Dad cooked steaks, mashed potatoes, salads, and for dessert strawberry cheesecake. The food makes my mouth water and I regret not eating the biscuit Jordan bought for me. Jordan. I hate arguing with him, but he can so frustrating at times.
"Are you okay?" Alyssa whispers to me.
I look over to her. "Yeah, I'm good." I smile, but I know she sees right through it.
I drown my salad in ranch before stabbing my fork through the lettuce and other vegetables. Jake, Alyssa, and I are all quiet. Mom and dad make small talk with Melissa and Marcus, but there isn't much conversing because they're too busy with their phones.
"Are you kids okay? You guys are awfully quiet." My mom says.
"Fine." All three of us say. My mom, dad, Melissa, and Marcus give us a questioning look.
"Something is obviously wrong and we don't want to hear the word fine again." My dad says.
"Dad, please." I say, begging him to let it go.
"No, Abby. You're dad is just being a caring parent. Unlike some people who haven't looked up from their phone since we sat down to eat." Jake says.
My mom gasps while Melissa and Marcus look up from their phones. They place their phones on the table and look at Jake who looks pissed.
"Jake, don't talk to your mother and me like that again. Especially in front of John and Karen. Now apologize." Marcus says.
Jake holds his father's gaze. "I'm sorry John and Karen. I'm sorry that my parents like to work so damn much that they can't be respectful and eat dinner and have a conversation with you guys. I'm sorry that their job comes first. I'm sorry that their job comes first before their own damn son. I'm sorry that you guys had to take me everywhere I needed to go when I was younger. I'm sorry that they pawned me off on you guys all the time. I'm sorry that I have shitty parents." He says.
I stare at Jake with my mouth wide open. Even Alyssa is looking at Jake like he's gone crazy. I'm sure whatever anger she had for him is gone. Only a concerned best friend is showing on her face right now. Marcus and Melissa look like they want to kill Jake right now. My mom and dad are trying to figure out what to do.
A knock comes at the door, breaking everyone's attention from Jake. "I'll get it." My mom says.
She stands up and leaves the room like her life depends on it. I turn to Jake and grab his hand under the table, giving it a little squeeze. It's the only thing I can do right now. I don't know what to say or how I can help. He squeezes my hand back, letting me know he's okay.
My mom comes back into the kitchen with someone else behind her. Jordan. Great. He came at the perfect time.
"Abby, can I talk to you for a minute?" He asks.
"Right now isn't a good time. Can it wait?" I ask.
"Just go, Abby. I'm okay." Jake says.
"No, you need me. He can wait." I say.
Jordan seems shocked that I just said that and so does Alyssa and Jake.
"Go, Abby. I think I can handle everything here." Alyssa says, smiling at me.
I don't want to go, but Jordan is going to stand there until I agree to come with him.
"Okay. I'll be back in a minute." I say, getting up.
I head out the door to our patio and pool. I sit down beside my pool and Jordan sits in the other chair beside me. I hear thunder all of a sudden. Whatever Jordan has to say he better make it quick because if it rains, I'm going inside whether he's finished or not.
"Why are you doing this to me?" He suddenly says.
I look over at him. "Doing what?" I ask.
"Making me fall for you. I've never felt this way about any girl before. What makes you different? I argue with you and then drop you off at your house like I don't care when really all I want to do is apologize to you and kiss you over and over again. Midget, you drive me insane. Every thought I have has been about you lately. I can't stand not being next to you at times. I feel incomplete whenever you're not by my side." He says.
My heart is beating rapidly, but I'm not going to forgive him like that. I stand up and pace back and forth.
"You don't mean that. You can't keep saying stuff like that and then expect me to forgive you then next time put me back in this same situation. Do you like seeing me upset and mad over you? You say I drive you insane?! You have no idea how insane you make me sometimes." I yell.
He stands up and faces me. I feel a drop of water on my face. It's just one drop of rain. If it starts to pour, I'll leave.
"Why can't I mean it? Because I'm Jordan? The player? The guy who doesn't do relationships? There are a lot of things I didn't use to do until you came along Midget. I'm crazy about you. I can't stand it anymore. I don't want to be just friends anymore. I want more. I want you." He says.
More drops fall on my face before it starts to pour, but I don't dare move. "How do I know you're telling the truth? How do I know you're not lying to me?" I ask.
"Because... Because I love you, Midget. Remember what I said that day at the park? Well, I feel all of that. I can't stop thinking about you. I always want to be near you. Every time we touch, my body feels like it's on fire. I tried to fight these feelings for you, but it's no use. I can't. I never felt this way before and it scares me, but if I'm going to feel this way about someone, I'm glad it's with you." He says.
Jordan just said he loves me. He loves me? He loves me! "Kiss me! Jordan, kiss me!" I say.
He grabs my face and smashes his lips against mine. The kiss isn't rushed or anything like that, but it's slow and passionate. Our lips move together like they were made for each other. My whole body is on fire and my knees are getting weak. Jordan wraps one arm around my waist and I'm grateful for that because I was bound to fall any moment. His tongue slides across my bottom lip and I let his tongue enter my mouth. He deepens the kiss and I feel like I'm on cloud nine. Kissing Jordan was better than I imagined it would be. He pulls away from me and rests his head against mine. We're both panting loud.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." He says, looking into my eyes.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted you to do that." I reply.
I can cross out kissing in the rain off my bucket list. My hair is soaking wet and so are my clothes. Jordan looks the same as me. He kisses me again, but this kiss doesn't last as long as the first one.
"We should get inside." He says.
I nod my head. I go to walk back in and he comes up beside me and grabs my hand. I look up at him and he smiles at me. I look down and smile to myself. We get back inside and the first thing I hear is shouting.
Jordan gives me a confused face expression before we both rush into the kitchen. Marcus nose is bleeding and my dad is trying to hold Jake back, but Jake is overpowering him. Jordan immediately goes over to help my dad out, grabbing Jake.
I look over at Alyssa who looks like she's in shock. My mom and Melissa are helping Marcus with his bloody nose. I rush over to Alyssa and shake her.
"Alyssa!" I yell. Fear is in her eyes and she doesn't even look like she's fully here.
"Alyssa, what happened?! Talk to me!" I yell while shaking her harder.
"Abby, I need to get Jake out of here!" Jordan yells over at me.
I feel like all the pressure is on me to do something and my mind is racing right now. I take a deep breath and look back at Jordan.
"Take him to my parents' room and lock the door. Don't unlock it until I tell you to." I tell him.
Jordan does what I tell him to do and takes Jake to my parents' room. I turn to my mom.
"Take Alyssa upstairs to my room." I tell her.
She nods her head and leaves Marcus side to take care of my best friend. When they leave the kitchen, I turn to my dad, Melissa, and Marcus.
"What happened?" I ask my dad. My dad is about to speak, but Marcus beats him to it.
"That little shit punched me. Not once, but three times. I'm sending his ass off!" Marcus says.
"Now Marcus, that isn't necessary. He's just upset. You didn't really help the situation with what you said." My dad says.
"What did he say?" I ask. No one says anything and I ask again.
"What did he say?!" I shout. Melissa jumps and I can tell I've scared her. This is probably the first time she's seen me act this way.
"He said that when Melissa was pregnant with Jake, she should have aborted him like he told her to." My dad says.
My temper rises and my skin feels like it's on fire. "You bastard! How could you say that to him!" I yell.
"Abby!" My father says. I ignore him and stare at Marcus and Melissa.
"He's a good kid! He hasn't done anything bad to deserve shitty parents like you. I used to defend you guys to him. I used to say you guys cared about him, that's why you worked so hard. To provide for him. But he was right this whole time. You don't care about him! You never have! You guys can just leave! He'll be staying at my house tonight!" I yell.
I walk out of the room with my dad calling my name. I'm pissed and I don't know what to do. I knock on the door of my parents' room.
"Who is it?" I hear Jordan say.
"Abby." My voice cracks a little. I feel so overwhelmed right now.
The door opens and I immediately walk in, ignoring Jordan on my way in. As much as I enjoyed our first kiss, figuring out what we are is the last thing on my mind right now. I sit down beside Jake and wrap my arms around him. He immediately breaks down in my arms and a tear slips from my eyes.
"What did I do, Abby? What did I do to deserve parents like that? Why don't they love me?" His voice cracks at the end and my heart breaks for my best friend.
"I'm so sorry, Jake. You did nothing wrong. They're the ones that are messed up and don't realize they have a perfect son. If they don't love you, then I do." I say.
"I love you, too." We both look up to see Alyssa at the doorway with Jordan standing behind her.
She rushes over to both of us and wraps her arms around us. "Jake, I'm sorry for slapping you and being a bitch. I love you so much. I'm so sorry." She says.
"I love you guys, too. I'm sorry for scaring you back there. I would never purposely hurt you, Lyssa. You know that." He says.
"I know. It's my fault anyway for trying to pull a football player off of someone. The fall on my butt taught me a good lesson." She laughs.
I laugh and Jake lets out a sad laugh. "You guys are definitely staying at my house tonight." I tell them.
They nod their head in agreement. I look over to Jordan and silently tell him to wait for me in the kitchen. He nods his head and leaves.
Jake lets everything out and Alyssa and I listen patiently to him. When he's done, his eyes are puffy and red. I take him up to the guest room and tell him to sit there while I go get his clothes for him to sleep in. I'm glad he left some of his clothes over here at my house. I don't think I would be able to go to his parents' house without cussing them out. I can't believe his dad would say something like that to him. I grab his clothes out of my dresser drawer and turn around to see Alyssa standing at the doorway.
"Hey. You okay?" I ask.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just going to go get some clothes to sleep in and for school tomorrow. Plus, I have to get my softball stuff together." She says.
"Thanks for reminding me about softball. I completely forgot. Bring extra clothes to keep here, so whenever something like this happens again, you won't have to leave." I say.
She nods her head. "Okay. By the way, Jordan is waiting for you downstairs." She says.
"Okay. Will you let him know I'm coming?" I ask her.
She nods her head before leaving. I leave my room and go to the guest room. The shower is running, so I place his stuff on top of the bed before leaving. I go downstairs and enter the kitchen to find Jordan sitting at the table with his head down.
"Hey." I say. His head snaps up and he meets my eyes. He looks concerned for me and in about three seconds, he is standing right in front of me.
"Hey, you okay? Tonight was kind of crazy." He says, placing his hands on my forearms.
"I'm fine. I'm more worried about Jake. He's hurt and I don't know if I can fix things. I plan to talk to his parents whenever I'm done being pissed at them." I say.
"You should take your parents with you. Maybe they can help." He suggests.
"Yeah, I'll think about it." I tell him.
"Listen, I'm going to go. I really wanted to talk about us, but it's getting late and I didn't tell my parents I'd be out this late. Maybe, I can take you somewhere off campus for lunch tomorrow?" He asks.
"That'd be great. Thanks for helping me tonight. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here." I tell him.
"Anytime you need me, just call. I'm always here for you, Midget." He says.
I nod my head and we stand in front of each other awkwardly. "The hell with it." He says, before pulling me by my arm and kissing me.
I close my eyes and relish in the moment. I've never been kissed like this before. So passionately. It's like the kiss is consuming me, but I love it. Kissing Jordan is like my own little taste of heaven.
He pulls away from me and pecks my lip. "I love you, Midget." He says, rubbing my cheek with his thumb.
"I love you, Giant." I smile. I mean those words, too. All this time I've been fighting my feelings for Jordan, but I've decided not to fight them anymore. Jordan loves me. Hearing him say the words out loud feels unrealistic. I feel like I'm running through a field of rainbows and sunshine, whatever the hell that means. What I'm trying to say is, even through everything that just happened, this guy in front of me can make my day in a matter of seconds. He's always been the one.
He gives me a sad smile, "You're too good for me and I'm too selfish to let you go. Good night, Midget." He kisses me on the forehead and leaves before I get the chance to ask him what he means.
Alyssa comes walking in right after he leaves. "What's going on between you and Jordan?" She asks.
I sigh, "A lot. I'll fill you in later on everything. Right now, we have a friend upstairs who needs us." I say.
"I stopped by the store and bought a big tub of cookie dough ice cream. His favorite." She says.
"Good thinking." I say, before grabbing three spoons and making my way to the stairs, but I'm stopped by my mom and dad. I hand the spoons to Lyssa and tell her I'll be up there in a minute.
"What's up?" I ask my mom and dad.
"Listen, we just wanted you to tell Jake he can stay as long as he wants. We plan on talking to his parents tomorrow. If they really don't want him we were thinking that maybe Jake could live with us. It's just a just in case plan, but Jake is like our son and I hate that all this happened tonight." My mom says.
"Even if you knock some sense into them, things won't be normal again for Jake. They've really hurt him." I say.
"We know. Tomorrow we'll go by his house and get some of his clothes. I don't want you, Alyssa, or him stressing over what to do next. Let your mom and I figure that out, okay." My dad says.
I nod my head and turn around to go upstairs, but my mom calls my name again.
"Let Jake know if he's not feeling up for school tomorrow, that he can stay home." She says.
I notice my mom said home and it makes me happy to have parents like them. Even though Jake isn't their real son, they treat him like they would Matt. I run over to both of them and hug them.
"Thank you guys so much. I love you more than you can imagine." I whisper.
"We love you, too." They both say before kissing me and hugging me. We all say good night to each other before I run upstairs to the guest room.
When I get in there, Amityville is playing and I make myself comfortable on the other side of Jake. Alyssa and I both lean our heads on Jake's shoulders and eat the ice cream.
"Why did you guys pick a horror movie?" I ask.
"Because being scared shitless takes your mind off of anything." Jake says.
I smile a little. "Jake, mom said you can stay home from school tomorrow if you want." I tell him.
"I'll most likely go to school. I don't want to miss practice, plus it'll be a great distraction." He says.
I nod my head. "Okay, well, the offer still stands if you change your mind." I say.
"Thanks, Abby. You and your parents have always looked after me like I was their own and I can't tell you enough how grateful I am. At least I know I'll always have you guys." He says.
"Hey, just because we're not blood related doesn't mean we're not a family. All three of us are a family right here." I say, looking at Jake and Alyssa.
"I love you both. You guys were always like my little sisters." He smiles, kissing the top of both of our heads before ruffling our hair.
We push him playfully off of us and laugh. "We love you, too, Jake." Alyssa and I say together.
______________________________________
Hope you guys like this chapter. When I originally started writing it, none of the stuff that happened in here was supposed to happen. The fight with Jake's parents, Jordan and Abby arguing, and Jordan and Abby's first kiss. Their first kiss was going to be in chapter 20, but some times things happen unexpectedly. Anyways, it only gets better from here.
Don't forget to vote and comment what you think. I love reading you guy's comments. Some literally have me crying because I laugh so hard about what you think about the characters. Also be expecting Matt to show up soon (;
Creative_Mind23