Let Me Love You | A.G

XXXIII

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"Oh my god," The person breathes out frantically over the phone, "I'm so glad you answered."

I furrow my brows in confusion, "Might I ask who this is?"

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I'm all over the place right now. This is one of Mac's friends," She rambles.

"Is everything alright? You sound very upset," I question. This whole situation was starting to give me a headache. The line goes quiet, "You still there?"

"Yeah, sorry," She sniffs, "Just a little in shock. U-Uh are you sitting down right now? If not, you might want to."

I let out a nervous laugh, but still decide to follow her instructions. I was freaking the fuck out internally, "Is something wrong?"

She lets out another heavy breath but this one was shakier than the last, "It's about Mac."

That was the moment my heart dropped to my ass.

"Babe, you're missing the movie," Ariana whines as she enters the room. I hold up a finger to signal that I needed a second.

"Hello, are you still there?" It was now the woman over the phone who became concerned over my wellbeing, "Yes! I'm still here."

Ariana signals me to put the phone on speaker and I do just that.

"Is there anyway you could get to Florida within the next few hours?" She asks which evokes a look of confusion from both Ariana and I.

"I don't understand. What's this all about?" I question the woman as I was extremely desperate for an answer at this point.

"I'd rather not go into detail about it over the phone. Please just say you'll be here soon," She pauses briefly before continuing again, "Actually, I gotta go right now, but just let me know."

And with that, she hung up. I place my phone back in my pocket, ignoring Ariana's curious stares.

"Baby, what's going on?" She asks softly, but I don't respond which makes her worry a little more.

I finally breathe out as if holding my breath was gonna erase the conversation I just had, "Something happened to Mac and she wouldn't tell me what."

"Listen, if you get packed right now, I'll have a plane ready for us in the next hour, okay?" She cautiously approaches me, cupping my face in her hands, "We're gonna get through this."

In the next couple hours, we had gotten the earliest flight possible to Florida and packed our things before driving to the airport.

"Fuck," I mumbled under my breath as we sat in our seats, waiting for the plane to take off.

Ariana looks over at me as her lips curve into a frown due to the worried expression on my face. She reaches over to squeeze my thigh. I smile softly at the gesture as I looked up to meet her eyes.

Her eyes held the same look I had; uncertainty for the future.

I couldn't help but wonder what the hell was actually going on with my brother. I knew he struggled with his addiction, but the last time I checked, he was going to rehab. He promised me he would get clean.

Now I'm stuck waiting for this damn plane to take off as I worried about my younger sibling's wellbeing.

The looming thoughts circling my brain were slowly killing me.

"Calm down baby," Ariana whispered ever so softly in my ear as she gently rubbed my thigh. I hadn't even realized my leg was shaking till now.

"What if this time he actually..." I trail off, not really wanting to say the words out loud.

"No, no don't start thinking like that. He's f-fine. H-He's going to be... fine," She stuttered out, almost like she was trying to convince herself.

A hundred thoughts were going through my mind, but only one left my mouth, "Is this why you broke up with him?"

Her eyes widen at my sudden outburst, "Can we talk about this later, Jay?"

"We were supposed to talk two months ago, but every time I tried to talk about it, you would change the subject," I huff, already visibly frustrated.

"Jayce. Leave it alone, please," She tells me with pleading eyes. Scoffing, I decide to keep my mouth shut as the plane took off shortly after.

We arrived three hours later in Florida where we quickly became accustomed to the warm weather—even in the middle of February—compared to the grey skies and cold weather in New York.

The drive to the Grande residence was eerily silent; no one made any sudden movements, nor did anyone attempt to start a conversation.

Joan was the first one to meet us in the driveway as we pulled in, rushing over to the car as we climbed out.

Shortly after, Ariana and I placed our bags inside the house and made our way towards the hospital—along with Joan and Majorie—where my brother was being kept.

"You're finally here," A woman approached the four of us as we entered the hospital. I assume this was who I spoke with on the phone.

"You're Mac's friend right?" She nods her head as I continue, "Sorry that we haven't been properly introduced yet, but can you finally tell us what's going on?"

Her eyes widen at my sudden shift in tone, "Oh, of course! I just didn't want you to hear this over the phone," She says in a panicked whisper.

She continues, "U-Um, Mac, me, and a couple of our friends went to this party last night and almost as soon as we got there, someone offered us all a drink and then walked off. Me being me, I told everyone to simply just throw it away due to safety reasons, but just before I had fully gotten my words out, Mac had already downed the whole cup."

"So he was drugged?" I asked in almost a whisper; not really talking to anyone in particular as I took in the words that the younger girl was saying.

I couldn't shake the feeling that this was a personal attack, especially since they were offered these drinks as soon as they got there.

"Did you see this person's face before they walked off?" She shakes her head again.

I huff in slight frustration. Not because I was upset with her, but more because I was upset by the thought that someone put a target on Mac's back.

"We'll figure it out," I feel Ariana's fingers intertwine with mine, causing me to turn my head to her as she stares back with sympathetic eyes, "Breathe, okay?"

I give her a slight smile, turning my attention back to the girl in front of me, "So, where is he?"

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A/N: I know, long time no see right? Life's just been kicking my ass since I graduated, but trust me, I'm still determined to finish this book sooner or later I swear. Just bare with me, y'all aren't ready for what's about to happen next