Chapter 33: three days

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Dream POV.

After the party three days ago George hadn’t left his room, and I was starting to worry about him with each hour that passed. Okay, that was a lie. I had been worried about him the entire time that he had kept himself in there.

We’d gotten home just before 1am, and I helped him up to his room, because he had fulfilled his promise of being shit-faced drunk by the time the evening was up, and it was difficult for a drunk man to get anywhere on crutches. I managed to convince the wasted Brit to get changed before taking a few minutes to look over his ankle which was still swollen but it had gotten slightly better.

He had always been the type of person to sleep in, but when he was in bed for over thirty hours without even leaving for food I got concerned. At first I had come to the conclusion that he’d gotten hung over and was just sleeping it off, however once a second day had passed I sent Karl in to check on him.

The brunette spent an hour delivering food to George and trying to make conversation, but when he came to talk to me afterwards he said George was just curled up on his bed, saying and doing nothing. I had also sent Bad to check on him, having him deliver some more food a couple hours later, but there was no success with him either.

I felt like it had something to do with the party. I mean, it had to do with the party because that was the only reasonable explanation. We went to the party and then George came back and he hadn’t talked to anyone since then.

My hand dove into my pocket, grabbing out the locket and opening it, brushing my hand over the photo of the brunette. “What happened to you then George?” I asked the photo quietly, as though I would get the answers from it. My fingers brushed over the features in the photo with a soft, sad, gaze.

I knew I wouldn’t get an answer and so after examining the beauty in the photo for a moment I snapped the locket shut and buried it in my pocket, before standing up from my desk. I’d go and check on George myself, it would be more meaningful after all.

Without wasting any time I walked over to George’s room and knocked gently, listening patiently for him to tell me to come in. Once he allowed me, I walked in and saw him sitting on the bed, he was in a fresh set of clothes and his hair was damp which shows that he had at least moved around to shower.

“Hey George,” I greeted him with a smile, feeling happy that he was taking care of himself.at the very least and not just wasting away under the covers.
“Hi Dream,” he responded quietly. As I walked over to the bed I saw him stand up, quickly fixing his bed before glancing at me. “I assume you want me to go clean something.”

“Not at the moment.” I reassured him. “I just wanted to check on you.” He seemed surprised that I said that, his gaze switching from caution to confusion.
“Why do you want to check on me?” He questioned, taking a step away from me as he did.
“I haven’t seen you since we went to the party at the Casino.”

“Oh,” his eyes widened at the memory before nodding. “Sorry about not talking to you after the party. I was just drunk, and then I had to think about Alex. I just can’t believe that he actually went with the drug dealer thing. I thought it was just a faze!”

“A lot of people did,” I hummed, remembering how at school most of us thought he’d give up at some point after he started. We were all surprised when he didn’t, especially when I took over the mafia and found out that he was one of the people who brought from us. But that was enough reminiscing for now.

“How is your ankle going? You aren’t needing your crutches anymore.” He smiled as I said that, glancing down at the crutches which were on the floor.
“My ankle is better,” the brunette stated. “I checked when I was in the shower, the swelling has gone down and so has the bruising.”

George mentioning he was in the shower made a blush coat my face, and I took a deep breath to compose myself before smiling. “It’s good to know that you are feeling better,” I said once I’d controlled myself. “I’ll go get you something to eat in a little bit. Want me to get some fast food from somewhere?”

George POV.

It had been several days since the party, however I couldn’t get over the fact that Alex had started running a casino which took advantage of people. The revelation made me rethink the entire thing I agreed to.

For hours I laid in my bed and stared at the phone that I had been given by Officer Soot and Officer Blade, wondering what I should do with it. After learning about Alex I wanted to just leave. It felt bad to help out the police and betray my old school friend, but at the same time was he still my friend? I haven’t seen him in years and he hurt people.

My gaze stayed focused on the two contacts in the phone, the ones that would get me out of here if I called it. I had debated for ages if I should call one of the numbers and just get out of here or not. The entire time I was listening to music, I had been told by the two officers that I shouldn’t download anything, however I did anyway.

I’d logged into my spotify premium and was listening to my playlist. My wireless headphones had been taken when I got here, however I did have a pair of older headphones that had been here in case my wireless headphones ever went flat. One of my ears had a headphone bud in, and the other ear I was using to listen for anyone coming.

Suddenly I heard a knock, which made me rip my headphones out of my ears and bury them under my pillow before sitting up. “Come-come in.” I said, faking a smile and trying not to give away the fact that I had something hiding. Much to my surprise, it was Dream. As he walked in he seemed to smile at me from under his mask as he greeted me with a ‘hey George’.

“Hi Dream,” I responded quietly, standing up as he walked towards me. I figured that he would probably have wanted me to do something, clean his office or mow his lawns or something shit, and so I said that out loud. “I assume you want me to go clean something.”
“Not at the moment.” He replied. “I just wanted to check on you.”

That didn’t make sense to me, why would he want to check on me? He hadn’t ever checked on me before. “Why do you want to check on me?” I asked.
“I haven’t seen you since we went to the party at the Casino.” He informed me, continuing to walk closer and I started to worry that maybe he knew something.

“Oh,” I responded, attempting to remain calm. “Sorry about not talking to you after the party. I was just drunk, and then I had to think about Alex. I just can’t believe that he actually went with the drug dealer thing. I thought it was just a faze!” I cut myself off before the rant went on any longer, but at the mention of my old school friend I couldn’t help but remember it.

I remembered the day that he had told me loudly that school was a waste of time. He stood up in front of the history class and said that loudly and firmly before leaving and not coming back. I had told Darryl, Nick and Clay about it at lunch and all four of us were certain he just did it to get out of detention and that he’d be back in a couple of days, but he never did come back.

“A lot of people did,” I heard Dream say quietly, and I immediately began to speculate that maybe he knew Alex, but I brushed off the thought as he continued speaking. “How is your ankle going? You aren’t needing your crutches anymore.”

I glanced down at the crutches which were on the floor as he said that, in all honesty I had been so desperate to hide the headphones I forgot to grab them as I stood up, but I managed to grit my teeth and smile at him. “My ankle is better,” I told him. “I checked when I was in the shower, the swelling has gone down and so has the bruising.”

There was a pause for a moment and I swore that I could hear Dream’s breathing from where he stood, but eventually he spoke. “It’s good to know that you are feeling better. I’ll go get you something to eat in a little bit. Want me to get some fast food from somewhere?”

“Sure. Anything's good,” I awkwardly responded, and he just gave a small nod at me before turning and leaving me alone in my room.
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1597 words

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