An Unexpected Love Story

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

I sat on the curb, waiting for my dad, and I had a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I hadn't heard from Drew all night long, but other than that the night went really well. Although I was technically too young to work as a projectionist, I was learning a little here and there for when I turned 18. It was only a year and a half away. I sighed, discontent. All I wanted was to hear from him. I didn't understand why he hadn't messaged or called me.

As my dad pulled up to the curb, my phone began to buzz. I didn't feel like answering anyone so I hit ignore, placed the phone in my bag, and climbed into the Tahoe. "Hi," I said dismally.

"Gracie?" my dad said, perplexed.

"Hmm?"

"Are you ok?"

"I'll be fine. Just a doozy of a night at work."

"Oh. Okay then."

Upon falling, face first, on my bed, I fell into a fitful sleep. Dreams turned into nightmares. Nightmares turned into spending periods of time awake, writing in my journal. I was concerned for the man that had quickly become a large part of my life. When morning finally came, I was exhausted. I trudged into the shower. I drug my clothes onto my body. I raked a brush through my long hair. I practically slid down the stairs causing my heart to race. My mother had luckily made a pot of coffee before leaving for work. There was a little note and a to-go cup beside the coffee maker: "Gracie, help yourself =) xoxox."

I smiled, but it was more like a grimace. My mommy loved me. After drinking most of the pot, I poured the rest into the convenient to-go cup. I grabbed a granola bar and sat on my front steps. My mornings really didn't vary much from the routine I had established when Emily started driving. I pulled out my phone and glanced at the 10 missed calls and 14 new text messages. My eyes widened and I checked them immediately. All 10 missed calls were from Drew. I raised an eyebrow. 'Sounds like drunk dialing to me,' I thought. The fourteen new text messages were sloppily typed and grew more confusing toward the end. He basically wanted to talk to me, was horrendously drunk, and wondered why I wasn't answering. To the last message, I hit reply:

I was totally asleep the whole time you were calling and texting. Hope the hangover you're bound to have doesn't kill you. xoxox.

I chuckled a little as I thought about how awful his day was going to be. Emily pulled into the driveway then and I climbed into the car.

"Gracie!"

"Mmm," I replied.

Emily raised an eyebrow, "What's the problem?"

"I'm exhausted."

"Why?"

"Drew's roommate was arrested yesterday. He didn't come into work. I didn't hear from him for the rest of the evening, and I was worried. So I guess I was thinking about it so much that it bled over into my subconscious. I had awful dreams last night."

"Awww, I'm sorry love."

"Yeah, and when I finally checked my phone a minute ago, I had 10 missed calls and 14 text messages. All from Drew."

"Wow."

"Yeah, he was drunk."

Emily laughed, "I bet. He's going to hate today."

"Oh yeah. I hope everything went okay for him."

She nodded in agreement and the remainder of the ride to school was silent. Actually, the remainder of the day I was silent. I was too tired and too thoughtful to talk to anyone. I nodded and tried to remain polite, but I didn't open my mouth for anyone. At the end of the day all I wanted to do was go to sleep. I grunted at Emily as I climbed into the car and she laughed, "Bad day?"