Living with Tayler Holder

Chapter 19: Vinnie to the rescue

"Oh you're so grown are you?! You don't pay the bills! You don't put food on the table! You don't have a job! So no, you can't do what you want because you still need me!" He shouted. I knew he was right but I wasn't going to admit it.
"I don't need you! In fact, I'm out of here."
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I went upstairs to pack a bag before leaving.
As I was packing some things to get out quick, Vinnie walked in.
"What are you doing?" He sighed as he came and knelt down beside me.
"I'm getting out of here." I said as a tear slid down my face. I quickly wiped it away, but it was too late because Vinnie had seen it.
"Hey, it's obvious you don't want to leave. Maybe talk to Tayler about it?" He said.
"Nah, no chance. I'm off." I said getting up.
"Where are you going?" He asked as he walked after me as I stormed down the stairs and then out the front door.
"I..I don't know." I said not slowing down. Vinnie ran ahead and stood in front of me.
"C'mon. You're coming home with me." He said as he grabbed my rucksack.
"I don't need your charity." I said trying to get my rucksack out of his hands. Vinnie moved back so I couldn't grab it.
"Look it's not charity. I just don't want to see a friend out on the street ok?" He said as we started walking to where he parked his car.
"One night only. Then I'll find somewhere else." I said looking him straight in the eye before he drove off.
"Yh whatever you want." He smiled as he drove on home.

After a short drive we arrived at Vinnie's apartment.
"This is me." He said as he opened the door to his flat. It was pretty modern and had a really pretty view from the window. I walked over to the sofa and sat down not really knowing what to do with myself.
"Come on." He said as he pulled me up from the sofa and lead me to his room. It was very Vinnie. He had a few fairy lights above his bed, LED's like mine and an entire gaming setup in the corner. It was super cool.
"The bathroom's down the hall to the left if you wanna get changed." Vinnie said as he was searching for something in his wardrobe.
"Thanks." I said as I walked to the bathroom with all the stuff I needed. I had a quick shower before changing into shorts and an oversized t-shirt I had picked up. I looked at myself and realised it was Tayler's shirt and an instant pool of regret formed in my stomach. I shouldn't have left things like that. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
"Hey Grace, are you ok in there?" Vinnie asked.
"Yh I'll be out in a minute." I said in response. I took three deep breaths before leaving the room and going to Vinnie's living room and sitting down next to him.
"So, what we watching?" I said as I grabbed the remote from his hand and channel surfed.
"Grace you can't just act like everything's normal when it's not." He said as he took the remote back from me and changed it to Disney channel. Jessie was on.
"I used to loveee this show." I gushed completely ignoring what he had just said. Vinnie turned his whole body to face me.
"I know you regret what you did." He said seriously.
"So what if I regret it. I can't change what I did. Tayler doesn't want anything to do with me anymore. I've burnt that bridge. Besides, I don't need him. I don't need anyone." I said avoiding eye contact.
"Stop with this whole 'miss independent' act. I hate to say it Grace but sometimes you can be real selfish. All you care about is yourself and you don't stop and think about how other people feel. How do you think I felt knowing someone who I thought was my friend went on a date but failed to mention it to me. I had to find out myself. You haven't spoken to me in days and even when I'm at your place you seem to forget I exist. And stop this entire pity party right now. Tayler cares about you more than you'll ever know. I've just had to listen to him crying on the phone and I've had to reassure him that you don't hate him. You know what? You don't deserve to have someone as caring as Tayler in your life." To say Vinnie was angry would have been an understatement.
Then and there the walls I had built around myself in order to stay protected broke down. I started sobbing on the sofa and Vinnie was absolutely shocked. His eyes widened as he pulled me into a hug and I sobbed into his t shirt.
"Look, I didn't mean to be so harsh." He said regretting what he had said.
"No, no, you're right." I said as I tried to move out of the hug but Vinnie still held onto me as I lay my head on his chest.
"I have been selfish and I'm so sorry. I haven't been considering your feelings or anyone else's. I'm too focused on wanting my own independence that I've completely disregarded how Tayler feels. I need to get home and apologise." I said getting up.
"Hey, hey, hey, not today yeah. It's past midnight already and Tayler knows you're safe with me."
"Thank you." I said as I gave Vinnie a hug and walked back to the sofa to lie down.
"What are you doing?" He asked. "You're sleeping on my bed tonight."
I just rolled my eyes and then shut them. There was no way I was kicking this boy out of his own bed. Suddenly I felt my body being picked up. My entire body froze and I'm sure Vinnie noticed. He put me down instantly.
"Oh my god I'm such a tool. I'm so sorry-" he blurted out.
"It's fine. I don't mind when you do it. I don't know, it makes me feel...safe." Vinnie smiled at me before picking me up bridal style and taking me to his bedroom. He put me gently on his bed before going to leave the room.
"Wait. Please stay with me." I said as I looked at him. I couldn't really see his face through the darkness but he ended up coming over.
"Sure. But this is entirely platonic." He said as he got in the bed and lay next to me.
"Of course. Night Vin."
"Goodnight Grace."

The next morning I woke up to feel an arm wrapped tightly around my waist. It took me a while to realise what had happened but then it clicked. I tried to move Vinnie's arm to get out of the bed but as soon as I touched it I heard a groan from him and his arm tightened even more. He was still asleep so I'm not sure he realised what he was doing. I turned in his grip to face him and I did the only thing that would wake him up. I leaned in slightly closer and tickled him. Vinnie woke up with a start and I couldn't help but laugh.
"Haha, very funny (!)" he said sarcastically as he looked at me. I noticed the silence in the room and how Vinnie sort of just started at me.
"Um..Vin, can you move your arm please?" I asked him as I gestured to his arm. His eyes widened as he realised why I had woken him up. His face flushed a light pink colour and he avoided all eye contact with me. Wait, was 'the one and only Vinnie Hacker' embarrassed? I let it slide though and got out of bed. I walked to his bathroom to freshen up and then changed into a tracksuit quickly. I didn't want to spend too long getting ready as Vinnie was probably waiting to drive me home. I walked out of his bathroom and packed up my things so I was ready to leave. As I walked to the front door all I heard was Vinnie's voice.
"Hey! Sit!" He said as he walked from the kitchen to the living room with two plates of pancakes. I rolled my eyes as I put all my stuff down and walked to the sofa which Vinnie was sat on. All he did was hand me the plate and turned on the tv. He put on some Jessie as we watched it and ate together. After eating I turned on my phone to see 24 miss calls. 20 of them were from Tayler and 4 of them were from Lucas. I called Tayler first.
"Hey Tay. I'm so sorry, please can I come home?" I asked him.
"Of course. I'd never kick you out, no matter what you did. I love you ok."
"I love you too."
I put down the phone as Vinnie went to take out plates to the kitchen. Whilst he was gone I texted Lucas.

Grace
Hey, sorry for not answering the calls. I had a crazy night. Xx

It wasn't long before he texted me back.

Lucas
No worries babe. I just wanted to know my girl was safe xx

I couldn't help but smile at my phone.
"What's with the smile?" Vinnie said as he grabbed his car keys.
"Oh nothing. Just my boyfriend being my boyfriend." I laughed.
"Boyfriend? Oh that's cool I guess. Lets get going." He said as he walked out first. I could swear I say some disappointment in his face.
"Don't worry, you're still my number 1 guy. Don't tell Kio." I said whispering the last part.
"Plus I'll tell you all the juicy details."
"Sounds great." Vinnie said as he opened the door so we could leave.