Chapter 98

Chapter 22 I didn't know why, but I never particularly liked New Year's Eve. Yeah, it was a holiday where we celebrated our achievements and looked forward to a new year, but I never really celebrated it. Besides, looking at this past year, there was no way I wanted to celebrate it. Just thinking about it made me sad. My boyfriend was diagnosed with depression and tried killing himself twice, and was close to doing it a third time. We got into a huge car crash, which caused him to be in a coma for two weeks and for me to be paralyzed waist down for two months. Even though all of that happened last year, it still felt like it just happened. And now, I was pregnant and still in university. It wasn't as bad as being pregnant in high school, but still. I was going to have to put my life on hold soon to raise my son. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Grayson asked. "Because I can." "Grayson, go have fun," I said. "I promise I'll be fine. And I will call if I need anything." "Alright," Grayson said, walking over to me and kissing my cheek. "You'll know where to find me. I love you." "I love you too," I said before he left. There was a party going on that Grayson's friend was throwing and he got invited, and was even told to bring me, but I didn't really want to go. For one, I hated parties, even if I went that one time. And two, I had a strong sense of smell and did not want to be in a place that reeked of alcohol. Grayson wasn't sure if he should leave me here alone, but he hasn't been to any parties recently and he has been stuck at work, so I thought it would be fair if he went to let loose. I didn't want me to be the reason he was stressing out. Besides, I wasn't too pregnant so I could handle being alone. I settled onto the couch with a bag of popcorn and turned to the one thing that would always be with me; Netflix. I was on it too much, but there were so many good movies too watch. In the middle of the second movie I was watching, my cell phone started ringing. I looked at the caller id; Belle. "Hello?" I answered as I paused the movie. "Poppy, I know you hate parties, but you have to get down here," she said in a rush, her voice almost drowned out by the music in the background. "Why? What's wrong?" I asked. She sighed. "It's Grayson. I don't really have the time to explain. He's fine, but... Just get down here." "Okay, I'm on my way," I said before hanging up. I turned off the TV and grabbed Grayson's sweatshirt, pulling it over my head. I grabbed my house keys and left the apartment, locking the door behind me. Grayson, before he left, told me that the party was at the same place when I went to one, so I knew where it was. As soon as I walked in, the smell of alcohol filled my nose and I started feeling nauseous. However, I had to look for Belle. Or Grayson because he was apparently the reason I was here. I walked around the house, trying to find either of them. However, I was coming up with nothing. When I was around the kitchen, I heard a familiar voice. Mina. I knew she didn't like me, but maybe she might be able to tell me where Belle or Grayson was. I turned the corner, not believing what I was seeing. I found Grayson, on the bright side. On the not-so-bright side, Mina was hitting on him. Clearly. She didn't see me yet, so I stood there, honestly wanting to see what happened. "I told you, I have a girlfriend," Grayson said, his words slurring a bit. That was why Belle wanted me to come. Grayson was drunk and from what Belle and Devon told me, Grayson being drunk wasn't the best thing. "But you and I both know she's not here," Mina said, stepping closer to Grayson. His back was pressed against the wall, so he couldn't really move anywhere. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her." "Mina? Guess what?" Grayson said. "I would know. And it will hurt her." "What are you so afraid of?" Mina asked. "Just once, Grayson. Just one kiss." "No," Grayson said. "I have a girlfriend and I don't cheat, especially on her." Mina snorted. "Yeah, right. You're telling me that you've never cheated on her yet? She's not that special." Grayson didn't reply. Instead, his eyes moved to mine and he broke into a wide smile. "Heeeeyyyy!" he said enthusiastically as he walked passed Mina. He threw his arm around me. "Came for the party?" "Are you drunk?" I asked. "Whaaat? No," Grayson denied. "Absolutely not." I raised an eyebrow. "Maybe a little." "Only a little?" I asked. "I think it's time to get you home." Grayson frowned. "But I want to stay and party. I was going to count to midnight and everything. Like, five, four, three, two... two..." "One?" "Yes! One!" Grayson exclaimed happily. "I always forget one..." Belle walked into the kitchen just then, holding Devon's hand. "Oh, good, you found him!" she said with a smile. "We lost him and couldn't find him anywhere." "Yeah, I found him," I said, looking at Mina. "Just in time, really." She scoffed and walked out of the kitchen. Belle looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. "She was hitting on Grayson. Luckily, he kept saying he has a girlfriend, but Mina still wouldn't leave." "And my girlfriend is amazing," Grayson said. "She's sexy and pretty and she's really, really gorgeous. And one time, she wanted to be Princess Peach, but I wanted to be Princess Peach, so she let me be Princess Peach." I looked at Belle and Devon. "Is he always like this when he's drunk?" "Oh, you have no idea," Devon said with an eyeroll. "He's always talking about the most random stuff and half the time, I have no idea what the hell he's talking about." "Hey! No cursing!" Grayson scolded. "There's children here!" "Grayson, there's no children here," Belle said with a sigh. "But still," Grayson said. "Nobody should curse. "If you didn't want anyone cursing around him, you wouldn't have said son of a female dog yesterday when you stubbed your toe," I pointed out. "Whaaat?" Grayson said. "I never said son of a bitch yesterday. I don't curse, remember?" I sighed. This was going to take a lot of patience. "Come on, Grayson, let's go home. We can count to midnight there, okay?" Grayson curled his lips into a pout. "Oh, alright. I guess I can count there. That's if I don't forget one..." I thanked Belle for calling me before I wrapped my arm around Grayson's waist and slowly lead him out of the house. It was a struggled because even though he said he would come home with me, he tried staying at the party. Eventually, he stopped struggling and let me lead him back to our apartment. When we got back home, I closed the door and tried taking off Grayson's jacket, but he quickly grabbed my hand. "Wait," he said in a quiet voice. "You can't." "Why not?" I asked. "Because I have a girlfriend." I sighed. "Grayson, I am your girlfriend." "Nooooo, my girlfriend has brown hair," Grayson said. "And brown eyes. They remind me of... of that thing that you eat. It tastes like brownies." "You mean brownies?" I asked. "Yes! Brownies! They remind me of brownies!" Grayson said. "Grayson, I promise you that I'm your girlfriend," I said. "Just look in my eyes, okay? It's me, Poppy. Your Flower." Grayson stared into my eyes for a bit before smiling. "Hi, Flower. I swear, I'm not drunk." "I didn't ask if you're drunk," I said. "Now will you let me take off your jacket?" I started pulling down the zipper, but he stopped me again. "No, you can't. You're pregnant, remember?" "Grayson, we're not going to have sex," I said. "I'm taking off your jacket so I can hang it up so you can go sleep this off." "But... But I have to stay up until midnight," Grayson objected. "I can't forget one, Poppy! I can't!" I sighed as I took off his jacket and hung it up on the coat rack. I never had to deal with a drunk Grayson before. I never ever seen him when he was drunk and so far, I was not liking it at all. He was making no sense whatsoever. I took his hand and led him to the bedroom. "There, now lay down." "I told you, I can't forget one," Grayson said. "I have to count at midnight." "It's only ten," I said. "Midnight isn't for two hours, so you can sleep for a little bit and I'll wake you up before midnight, okay?" Grayson sighed loudly before he flopped onto the bed. "You know, I'm not as bossy as you." "What?" I asked. "I'm not bossy." "Yeah, and I'm not drunk." "You are drunk." "... You have no proof." "Grayson, just go to bed, please," I said. "I promise that I'll wake you up before midnight so you can count down and won't forget one." Grayson closed his eyes, snuggling with one of the pillows. "I'm not even tired," he said, followed by a yawn. "I bet that I can... I can stay..." He soon began snoring, which made me release a sigh of relief. Thank goodness for that. I did not want to deal with a drunk Grayson any longer. No matter how cute he was. He wouldn't even let me take off his jacket because he had a girlfriend. Sure, I was his girlfriend, but the fact that he didn't recognize me, therefore wouldn't let me take off his jacket proved that he would never do anything to hurt me. I went back to the living room and continued the movie I had to pause for when I went to get Grayson. When the movie finished, as well as half of another one, there was some shuffling coming from our room. I looked over and saw Grayson rubbing his forehead. "God, my head hurts," he muttered. "How did I get home? Wasn't I at a party?" "Yes, you were, but I had to get you because you were drunk," I said. Grayson sighed and went to the kitchen to get some Advil before sitting down beside me. "Did I say anything stupid?" he asked. "I can't tell, you said a lot of things," I said with a smile. "For example, you were going on and on about how you have to count at midnight because you can't forget one. And you said my eyes remind you of something that you couldn't remember the name of. It's the thing that you eat and it tastes like brownies." "... What was I talking about?" "Brownies." "God, I'm stupid!" Grayson said, leaning back in the couch. "And now I have a headache." "By the way, thank you," I said. Grayson looked at me. "For what?" "A lot of the time, drunk people hook up with other people even if they have a boyfriend or girlfriend," I said. "But you didn't. Mina was hitting on you, but you kept telling her that you have a girlfriend. And when I tried taking off your jacket, you stopped me and told me that you had a girlfriend because you didn't recognize me." "Really?" I smiled. "Really. I didn't even care that you didn't recognize me. Even when you're drunk, you wouldn't hurt me. So thank you." "Of course I wouldn't hurt you," Grayson said, smiling back before he gave me a kiss. "I'm going to head off to bed." "But the countdown is soon," I said. "You can't forget one." Grayson groaned. "Screw one. I'm going to bed." "Me too," I said, turning off the TV and following him to our bedroom. We both got changed into pajamas and I climbed into bed as he turned off the light. He laid down beside me, pulling me closer and kissing my forehead. Grayson's finger traced slow circles on my pregnant belly as he stared at it with a thin smile. "I can't wait for him to be born," Grayson said. "I can't wait to hold him and cuddle him and raise him." I smiled at Grayson. "Me too," I said, pressing my lips on his before snuggling into him. I closed my eyes, soon falling asleep in his arms.