wild and running || a.b. (series on hold)

Chapter 19

I open the door cautiously and there stands Marie with bloodshot eyes. She pushes past me and stumbles into the apartment, clearly intoxicated. I stand frozen in shock as she slurs, "Hey everyone!" She laughs and continues walking as I follow behind her. The sound of conversation stops abruptly and the focus is conpletely on drunk Marie. "Damn," She says walking over to Ashley and sitting on his lap, "you're hella hot." She whispers to him while removing his cowboy hat and placing it on her head. "What are you doing?" I ask her in a serious tone and her head snaps to me. Her humorous, drunken mood disappears from her caramel brown eyes and she busts into tears, "Ivory," she whimpers, "he left me." I gasp and my hear sinks to my stomach. She's going through the pain I felt one to many times all those years ago. She gets up and stumbles towards me. The boys stay silent, a sorrow left unspoken. She gets up and tries to drunkenly walk towards me and I grab her before she falls. "Come on, love. Let's go upstairs." I say while guiding her up the metal staircase to a spare room. She cries on to my shoulder, and my mind races to find words to say.

I eventually get her into the spare room and I sit her down. "I'm going get you some of my clothes. Stay right here and lie down." I whisper while holding her cheek. She nods and collapses on to the bed. I slowly walk down the hall and I begin to dig through my drawers to find her a comfortable shirt and shorts to wear to bed. I hear footsteps coming down the hall and I sigh in relief as Andy appears in the door frame. He has a look of concern and sadness spread across his face. "Familiar situation isn't it?" He frowns. "Yeah... Sure is." I mutter in response and he wraps his long, lanky arms around me, hugging me tightly. "He left her... I knew there was something wrong..." He whispers into my hair. "There has to be more to the story." I say pulling away from him. His eyes lock with mine and he plants a gently kiss on my lips, curing some of my anxiety. "I'm sorry she barged in like this, I had to idea... I can take her back to my i if you and the guys-" I begin running my mouth but he cuts me off; "Shh... Baby, it's okay. Go take care of her. The boys are leaving soon, and I'll be up to help you with Marie. I'll get her some crackers and some water. Also, keep the bathroom open, she might be comiting later. It seems like she had a lot to drink." I nod. "Thank you." Through uneasy silence, he leads me back to Marie and I slowly open the door, in case she had fallen asleep in the time.

The door opens to reveal a depressed Marie lying on her back, staring blankly at the ceiling. There were no tears falling from her darkened eyes. The memory of complete numbness rips through my heart and my eyes start water. I remind myself that I have to be strong for her and I suck it up. I walk over to the bed and she doesn't acknowledge my presence. I place the clothes on the bed and after a few moments she sits up and grabs the clothes.

"So what happened?" I ask hesitantly as she begins to change, moving very slowly, as if she didn't have motivation to do anything.

"I had a miscarriage." She says quietly.

I flinch at the piece of information that was just thrown my way. I did even know she was pregnant! "William got really upset and he's gone to stay with his parents for a while. He left just now. He took all of his stuff and said he needed some time."

I stood speechless.

"I'm so sorry." I whisper.

"Don't say sorry." She says once she's done changing. I keep a close eye on her, aware that she's still in her extremely drunken state. She sits back on the bed and hugs her knees tightly, almost like that action was holding her together emotionally, so she wouldn't fall apart.

"Is that what you've gone through so many times?" She says while staring at the wall ahead of her. "Yes..." I mutter. "Did you ever feel numb? Frozen in time?"

My heart aches for her.

"Yes." I choke while holding back tears, almost being unsuccessful.

"I'm sorry. I thought you were being overdramatic. It's pretty hard. I can see that now." She says in a tone showing no emotion whatsoever. I nod in response just as the door opens to reveal Andy. She doesn't look at him, which is understandable. He quietly places the crackers and water on the bedside table and then walks back out the door after squeezing my hand tightly. I turn to Marie who looks purely exhausted and wasted. I walk over to her and sit beside her. "You need to get some rest. Sleep is what's best for you. Trust me, I know." I rub her back comfortingly and fluff up her pillow. She slowly moves from her protective position and crawls under the quilt. I'm relieved that it's not a huge comforter, Marie prefers thin covers. I bend over and kiss her forehead. "Sleep well, I'll see you in the morning."

"Thank you. I love you." She says slowly.

"I love you too. Goodnight." I say while flipping the lights off and shutting the door. I stand in front of the closed door and put my hand on it. I say a silent prayer for her and turn on my heel towards Andy's room. I still hear a slight murmur from the floor below, so the guys should still be down there. I feel my depression creeping up on me and decide to turn around and go downstairs, knowing that me being alone in Andy's room wouldn't help me very much. I walk on my toes down the stairs and the boys turned to me. "What happened?" Jinxx asks with a can of beer in his hand.

I think, at this moment, I may need a drink myself.

"She had a miscarriage, and her fiancé left her." I say while putting my head in my hands and releasing a breath I didn't realize that I had been holding. "Poor Marie..." Andy whispers. I pad over to the recliner and sit in it.

"What a selfish bastard." Ashley says. I nod in agreement. Ashely doesn't even know William or Marie, but his judgement is correct. I yawn and lean back on the chair. "I think that's the signal for us to go boys." CC says while standing up. "You don't have to go. I'm just kind of tired. This isn't my place anyway." I say. "I know," he says, "but you deserve some rest." I drop my head as all of the boys get up. Jake holds his hand at to me and I grab it. He stands me up and gives me a hug, along with all of the other boys. They say goodbye and I wave without saying a word. I feel so awful. When they're gone, I sigh and walk past Andy as I begin to cry. "Sweetheart, come here." He says while grabbing my wrist. I begin to break down and he holds me close. He begins humming a song I don't know as he sways us back and forth. It was strangely comforting and I eventually stopped crying. His long arms were still wrapped around me, "I'm sorry." My words are muffled because my face is buried in his chest.

"You don't need to apologize, baby. It's okay. It's alright." He coos while running his fingers through my hair. "Can we go to bed?" I ask in a raspy tone. "Of course." He says and then picks me up. "You didn't have to carry me." I giggle slightly. "I know." He says as we go up the stairs. He lays me on the bed and digs through the dresser and gets one of his black shirts for me to wear. They fit him perfectly, but they're big on me. "I need shorts." I say sleepily. "Just put that on." He says while removing his shirt. Too exhausted to get my own pair or to even care. I slip off my skirt and socks as Andy gathers his clothes in a pile to put in the dirty clothes hamper. I pull off my shirt and he grabs my other clothes off the floor, along with the shirt from my hand. He walks out of the room and I take the opportunity to remove my bra quickly before he comes back and slip the shirt over my head.

I make myself comfortable and cozy under the covers just as he walks in the room. I struggle to keep my eyes open to be able to tell him goodnight. "Ivory... You look so exhausted." He says in a concerned tone. "I am." I say looking at him with watery eyes. He quickly flips off the light and gets into bed. He pulls me closer and I completely let go of the fact that I'm not wearing shorts. "I'm sorry this has happened." He whispers while running his hand along my body comfortingly. "Don't say sorry." I slur, being in the verge of unconsciousness. "Sweet dreams, love." He lifts himself up on one elbow and kisses my cheek softly. I fell asleep and had no dreams for once...

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Why hello there! Thank you all for your patience. I'm so sorry I haven't been able to update. I know things are sad right now, but it will get better. I love you all and I hope you enjoy! :)

Also, thank you all so much for the comments, votes, and reads! It means so much to me. It gives me motivation to keep writing. You guys make me smile.

Thank you lovelies ^.^

-em