Meant to Be

Chapter 11 - Grilled Cheese

I woke up and it felt like someone was hitting me in the head with a sledgehammer. Last night was a jumbled up blur. The last thing that I remember is falling next to the fire. I stood up and I headed straight for the bathroom. I noticed that I was wearing the same clothes as last night. Oh well. I peed and then walked to the mirror. I looked awful. My hair was a tangled mess, my dark makeup was smeared all over my face and my clothes had mud spots on them. I quickly washed my face and headed out of the door.

I went into the kitchen to get some pain killers and water. I noticed someone stirring on the couch. I chuckled. Nick must've passed out on the couch again. I took the pills and downed the water. I thought that it would be funny to scare him. His whole body was under the blankets. I snuck over, planning my attack. When I hovered over his body, I noticed that he was slightly snoring. He only snores when he is in deep sleep. This was going to be fun.

I moved my arm towards the blanket. I yanked it off and at the same time yelled, "Roar!" When I realized that it wasn't Nick, I tried running back to my bed. It was too late. He jumped up. "What the fuck?" He screamed. He looked so mad! I couldn't help but laugh. When he saw my face, his frown turned into a smile. Then back into a frown once he realized that I was the one who scared him. "What did you do that for?"

"I thought that you were Nick. You.. um.. had your face under the blanket. I didn't know that anyone stayed over besides the girls. I'm sorry." I said while looking at the floor. He walked over and started laughing.

"Shut up!" We heard a very tired voice yell through the closed door. We sat at the kitchen table and started talking. "Do you remember what happened last night?" He asked.

I felt my heart drop as I remember what happened with Jake. "I do, until I started chugging bottles. It took affect faster than I thought that it would." I laughed, trying not to think of the douchebag.

"Oh." He looked down at his hands.

"Did I do something stupid?" I asked, getting serious.

"Do you want to know what happened?" He asked me, I nod. After he told me his side of the story, I just sat there in silence for a moment. He was the one who helped me last night.

"Thank you." I said and walked over so that I could hug him. He looked a bit taken back by the gesture, but wrapped his arms around me anyway. Just then, the door opened. I stepped back from Josh. "Uh.. Looks like I interrupted something. I'll go back-"

"You don't have to Robert. It was only a friendly hug." He smiled slightly and walked to the bathroom. Josh looked like something was bothering him. I studied his face while he was staring at the ground.

"What's wrong?"

He looked up. "Nothing, it's fine." He paused. "I have to get going. Do you know who could give me a ride home?"

"I can, if you want." He smiled and nodded. Robert walked out of the bathroom and towards me. He hugged me.

"I'm going to take Josh home. He doesn't have a ride and you don't have a car." I laughed as I poked his arm.

"Be careful." He said as he walked back to his room.

"Let me change. I'll be right back." I went to my room and grabbed clothes. I walked to the bathroom to change, since Robert and Rebecca were asleep on his bed. Well, Rebecca was. Robert was playing a game on his phone. I quickly changed, brushed my hair and teeth, then walked back to the kitchen. "Well, let's go." I said before walking out of the door. It was kind of silent while we were driving. I wasn't really paying attention to the road, until Josh started laughing. I sharply turned my head.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

He pointed behind us. "That was my street."

"Shit!" I quickly made a u-turn, checking for cars first. It was illegal, but I really didn't care. Not until I saw red and blue flashing lights appear from behind the bushes. I slammed my hands on the steering wheel as I pulled over. The cop walked to my door and I rolled the window. "Do you know why I pulled you over today, ma'am?" All I did was nod. "License and registration." I got my license out of the console and my registration from the glove box. The cop took them and went back to his car.

"Fuck! I should've just turned at the next street. I can't pay for this ticket. I don't have a job. This is-" I was interrupted by laughter. "What?" I finally asked, angrily. The cop walked back and handed my papers back.

"Alice, meet my brother." I calmed down a bit. His brother?

"Thanks for mentioning that before I had a fucking panic attack!" They both laughed.

I was so relieved that he didn't give me a ticket, but still upset that Josh let me freak out like I did. I guess it does make up for when I scared him this morning.

I found out his brothers name was Jensen, he was twenty-four and married. He lives close to Josh and his family. He also has a three year old daughter.

**

I drove up to the gate and he jumped out before I could offer. When we got to his house, he asked, "Do you want to come inside? Mum is making grilled cheese and her homemade tomato soup!"

"Uh, sure. Thanks!" I didn't really like sandwiches, but I haven't eaten today.

"Mom, I'm home!" Josh yelled as we walked through the door.

"Took you long enough." Maggie yelled as she walked through the kitchen. She stopped when she saw me. "Oh. Josh didn't mention he was bringing someone to lunch. Well," She said as she pointed across the room. "There's an extra chair over there. Bring it up to the table."

Maggie set our plates at the table while we were washing our hands. "Jim, lunch is ready!" An older man slowly walked into the kitchen with the help of his cane. We talked about random things as we ate our food. It was actually one of the best meals I've had in a while.