Piece It Together - Gavin Reed

7

The boy snuck into his parent's room, his movements were slurred and sloppy. He'd been in the room many times before for the same thing every time - his dad's gun. He picked the weapon up from out of the drawer, closing it and taking it to his room. He closed the door, opening the chamber and leaving it so there was only one bullet left. Closing and spinning it, he pointed the gun at his head. His hand shook with nerves, wondering if this would be his last.

The cold metal nipped at his nerves, his thumb reaching to turn the safety off. Finger on the trigger, he sucked in a breath and pressed down.

The faint click that sounded in his ear was enough for him to let a shaky breath escape his throat. Sweat dripped from his forehead to his nose, and his hand gripped at his hair. His anger was heard through his shallow breaths, putting the gun down on the floor and covering his face as angry tears fell.

His body shook with rage. Rage towards his feelings that controlled him. Rage towards the person he had become.

Tapping his hands against the wheel, he looked around as he drove. It was a habit he couldn't shake, his eyes constantly darting to look at as much as possible. It made him feel safer. Noticing someone stumbling down the street he drove down, he let a chuckle escape his throat. It was when the figure wander underneath a street lamp that he realised who it was. Y/n stumbled drunkenly through the streets, a box that was slipping and breaking from the rain under one arm and a suitcase being dragged in the other.

Parking the car, he rushed to her aid, "What the fuck are you doing in the streets?"

"Gavin...?" She dropped the box, flopping onto him, "Gavin..!"

"Jesus, Y/n, you stink of booze."

"Jimmy's bar was open so I splurged, heheheh..." Her words were slurred, her body movements lazy. Groaning, he lifted her legs off of the ground and held her, carrying her to his car. He sat her in the passenger's seat, strapping her in with the seatbelt and covering her frozen, drenched body with his coat. Closing the door, he grabbed her luggage and put it into the backseat before getting back into the car.

"What the hell are you doing out here?"

"Jamie was sleeping with some other girl *hic* so I packed my stuff and left..." Her eyes filled with tears, "Why wasn't I good enough for him...?"

Taken back by her sudden hysterics, he gave her an awkward pat on the shoulder. He'd never seen her drunk, never mind this vulnerable. Sighing, he started the car again. "You can stay with me for now. I've got a spare room you can crash in." Pulling away from the pavement, he began driving the short distance to the house he lived in.

"He has all of my money..."

"What?"

"We have a *hic* joint account... all of my finances go into it..."

"We'll sort that out tomorrow, Y/n." He pulled up to the house, and parked the car in his driveway, "Come on, I'll help you to the house."

This all felt like a strange experience for him. In the past, the girl had never touched a drop of alcohol in her life. She was never the type to be irresponsible in that way so seeing her in such a drunken state really confused him. It felt so out of character for her that it made him feel out of character. Wasn't he supposed to hate her?

Stumbling into the house, he led her to the bathroom where she began to puke into the toilet. Holding her hair back, she was exhausted and in tears as she vomited her guts up. "I'm sorry, Gavin..."

"You're fine, I'm gonna grab your shit so you stay here."

"I'm not going anywhere..."

"Yeah, I can see that." Sighing, he left the house to his car when he grabbed her things, hauling them into his house. He put the suitcase down in his living room and the box down on his couch, the inside showing memorabilia. Pouring her a glass of water, he walked into the bathroom where he saw the girl slumped against the toilet. "I got you some water."

"Thank you..." She took the water and drank a small sip before slumping again.

"I'll leave some clothes on your bed for you to change into. I'd get some sleep if I were you and we'll talk in the morning, okay?"

"Yeah, okay..." He left, walking into his room where he found an old band t-shirt that read "Kiss" and a pair of sweatpants. Leaving the clothes in the guest room along with his jacket, he walked back into his room where he began to change into another pair of sweatpants. He began to remove his shirt, not noticing the girl at the door staring in awe until he heard her stumbling out of the room, causing a laugh to erupt from his chest.

Y/n changed into the clothes the man left, inhaling the familiar scent deeply before climbing into the comfy bed and falling asleep almost immediately.

"Priss, wake up!" Y/n jolted up, her eyes heavy as she looked over at the boy who had completed the work she had given him, "Why are you so fuckin' tired?"

"Sorry, it won't happen again..." She yawned, taking a sip of cold water, "I've just been up late studying recently. These exams are pretty important but I'll be okay."

"No, you won't. Come on, get ready for bed."

"I'm not a baby."

"Get ready now or I'm not coming over tomorrow."

"Fine..." Watching her trudge up the stairs, he began packing his things away. He hated that she was completely disregarding her safety just for her studies. He knew that she cared about her studies more than anything but it was still worrying. Walking up to her bedroom, he knocked on the door until he was given the go-ahead.

Sitting at her vanity, she brushed her hair out carefully with weak movements. "Get in bed, come on. You're just prolonging the inevitable."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going." She got into the bed, getting comfortable while Gavin tucked her in, "You're surprisingly attentive."

"Yeah, don't expect it to happen again."

"Wow, thanks."

"Good night, Y/n."

"Night, Gavin..." Her eyes drooped, immediately falling into slumber. The man smiled before leaving, making sure to not make too much noise before he left.