With Grayson's sudden absence from her life, Mia tries her hardest to carry on as normal; to continue as though she had never met the man who turned her world upside down in only a short amount of time.
With the help of her best friend Hailey, and...
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The evening grows colder, but I just use it as an excuse to mould myself to Grayson under the huge blanket that smothers us as we lay clumsily over the patio furniture.
Chloe has told us all sorts of stories from her time in Italy, and thankfully the talk of Plasma has fizzled out from Phil's part. When the champagne finally hits my bladder at full pelt, I decide to head off to the toilet, leaving the Cooper family to relive some old memories.
My head swirls as I enter the bathroom, the space probably bigger than my entire bedroom. As I sit to relieve my bladder, I begin to wonder why I'm always the first to succumb to the effects of alcohol.
I place my head in my hands, waiting for the dizziness to fade.
"Mia, honey?" A knock breaks me from my thoughts. As I open my eyes, I begin to realise that I've probably been in here longer than I think. "Mia, are you okay?"
I scramble up, clean myself off and flush the chain before hurling my jeans back up onto my waist and throwing the door open. Outside, Chloe looks more than concerned.
She edges closer to me, her blonde hair gleaming against the spotlights of the house. "Mia. Are you alright? You've been in here a while."
I press my eyes closed for a few seconds, then look past Chloe to see that Grayson and his parents are still sat in the garden, the moonlight spilling over them.
"How long was I out?" I ask quietly, confused.
Chloe cocks her eyebrow. "You passed out? You've been in here for a good thirty odd. I said I'd come check on you in case it was girl issues. Grayson persisted it was him of course but I made the boy stay put. He can be a little overprotective sometimes." She rolls her eyes and lets out a smile.
I sigh, resting my head against the doorframe. Seriously, I need to stick to soft drinks from now on. "Too much champagne," I clarify. "It didn't really hit me until I got in here."
Chloe giggles, her arm curling around my shoulder. "You should go lie down honey. I'll tell Grayson you're fine. No doubt he'll be up to join you in no time though."
"Tell him I'm okay," I say matter of factly. "It's nice for him to spend time with his family, so tell him not to follow me up. Please, thank your parents for me too."
Chloe nods. "Sure. How about a walk tomorrow. Just me and you?"
With dazed eyes, I smile and nod, excited for the chance to spend some one on one time with Chloe again. "Thanks Chloe. Night."
"Night Mia."
Upstairs, I stagger into mine and Grayson's bedroom and dig out a T-shirt. Once I'm changed, I brush my teeth and decide to flick through the TV channels. I stalk to the bedside cabinet and throw the drawer open to retrieve the remote, but instead I'm met with a phone, switched off and clearly not used in a while.
