The Speech

Chapter 9

Jackie's POV

I run into Dylan's room, hoping that Avery is buying me time downstairs. The first thing I see is him passed out on the floor. Fuck I knew I should've checked on him earlier, it's been hours since I was up here but I was too concerned with how I'd look if I left them to go check on Dylan. I quickly kneel down beside him, nudging him til he wakes.
"Dylan come on, you've gotta get up now." I say in a panic. He starts to come to, lifting his head.
"What?" He says in a groggy voice. I start to pull him up and he winces.
"Dylan I'm serious, you've gotta work with me here." I beg and he manages to get to his feet. I guide him to his bathroom, closing and locking the door behind me.

"Here, sit." I tell him, setting him down on the toilet. I go over to the shower blasting the cold water on. I walk back over to Dylan, squatting down in front of him.
"Listen." I say direct, grabbing his face. His eyes half open now, stare at me.
"Your parents are home and will be up here at any minute to say hi to you. I've got to get you sober pronto." I tell him. Suddenly there's a knock at the door.
"You in there?" I hear his dad say from the other side. I look at him with pleading eyes.
"Say yes." I whisper.
"Yeah!" He musters out.
"We're all going to dinner tonight so be ready by 7pm." His dad responds.
"Say okay." I whisper once more.
"Okay." He responds, weaker this time. I let out a shaky sigh, dropping my head to my hands.

I feel his hand stroke my hair back, then reach down to cup my chin.
"Are you kay?" He slurs out. I giggle.
"Let's just get you in the shower." I say, standing up and grabbing his arms. Once I get him standing I realize there's no way he won't fall over in there.
"Fuck I'm gonna have to get in too aren't I?" I say more as a rhetorical question. Opening the shower door I brace myself for the freezing water, making sure to push him into it first.
"Fuck!" He loudly says. He jumps from the shock and shoves the both of us into the wall. I let out a laugh from both relief that this worked and from his reaction.
"What are you laughing at?" He asks, not as amused as I am. His wet hair drips down on my face and I realize how close we are, cornered in this shower. My laughter now fading to just a grin, he looks down at my lips and I know what he's thinking.

Avery's POV

My parents give me half an hour's notice to call Jayden and get ready for dinner. Everything is always on their time schedule, as if ours don't fucking matter. Theo sits on my bed as I touch-up my makeup.
"They always choose some fancy ass steakhouse with insanely small portions. They'll rack up a bill for hundreds of dollars and for what? To be hungry still?" I rant. I can never figure out what it specifically is about my parents that bother me, so I tend to get held up on the little things instead. Theo always listens though.
"Such a pity." He jokes. I get up and go to my closet pulling out a red silk dress and slipping it over my head.
"Too much?" I ask, exiting my closet. He looks up at me.
"Too much for Jayden. Are you sure he deserves it?" He says. I nudge his shoulder.

"Shut up." I walk over to my dresser and grab a necklace from the top of it.
"Help me?" I ask him, motioning to the necklace. He walks over to me and swoops all of my hair to one shoulder. Placing the necklace around my neck, his fingers softly graze my collarbone sending goosebumps up my neck. My phone suddenly dings, breaking my trance. I walk over to my bed, grabbing it to read the text.
"Be there in 5." It reads. Theo takes a seat next to me.
"Jayden?" He asks. I nod slowly, knowing he's gonna leave now. Why don't my parents ever invite him? What is so wrong with Theo? He pulls me into his chest, squeezing tightly.
"Have fun." He says, right before leaving.

Theo understands how I feel about my parents a bit more than Jayden does. It's not that Jayden doesn't get it, it's just.... Well they adore him, and they shower him with compliments and conversation every time they're around. So it's hard for him to grasp my discomfort with them. It's okay though, cause I'd rather Jayden be there than not. He helps mellow my parents out a bit and that's better than nothing.