Always You

Chapter 6

Slowly and reluctantly, I uncover my face and pry my eyes open. For a split second I forget where I am, but the football jerseys are a clear reminder. I sit up and rub my eyes in attempt to get them to focus in the darkness that surrounds me.

I have no clue what time it is. I don't even have a clue about why I'm sleeping on Ryan's floor.

As I stand up, the memories from last night, or more like a couple of hours ago, flood my mind. The second I came out of the bathroom Ryan threw up. Although the puke was disgusting in the least, I'm just glad I didn't have to make him throw up. An hour later he puked again, and 20 minutes after that he puked again. When he finally ran out of alcohol to throw up, I had to force him to drink water. And when I say force, I mean literally shove water down his throat.

The rest of the night consisted of Ryan howling at his own jokes while I yelled at him for being too loud. I'm surprised we didn't wake up the whole neighborhood, let alone his mother. He wanted to take a ride on his motorcycle a few times throughout the night, to which I obviously had to say no to. It got to the point where I had physically sit on him just so he wouldn't stand up and grab the keys to his motorcycle.

I knew the alcohol had fully left his system when he could walk to the bathroom without tripping over his own feet. When he sobered up, he stopped making jokes and his speech was no longer slurred. When I finally let him sleep, he ended up passing out on the couch rather than sleeping in his own bed.

The last thing I remember before falling asleep was the sound of crickets chirping in the summer night. It was peaceful and made me feel content. Although Ryan's floor gave me back pains and I smelled of puke, something about the sound calmed me to the point where none of it mattered.

And then I passed out.. now I'm here.

I can barely make out the couch and the bed because of the darkness that surrounds me. Since Ryan lives in his basement, the light of day can never make its way to his room. I can't even tell if the sun has risen, so instead I pull out my phone to check the time.

Great, it's dead.

I sigh before standing up and walking towards Ryan's nightstand in search for a charger. I try to be as quiet as possible while walking across the hardwood floors but I should've known better. Ryan has woken up from the slightest creak in the floor or tapping on the window ever since we were kids.

"Jade?" His groggy voice stops me as I'm picking up the charger from the ground. "You're still here?"

"Uh yeah I fell asleep. I just need to charge my phone and then I'll leave." I say. I can't make out his figure through the darkness but I can hear him stand up from the couch and walk towards me. When he flips on the light, my eyes travel down to his body. He's shirtless and only wearing boxers, his toned abs seemingly carved to perfection. His chest glimmers with small beads of sweat and he rubs his sleepy eyes as he approaches me.

"What happened last night?" He sighs before sprawling his body on his bed.

"Long story."

"I barely remember a thing. All I remember is throwing up and that you're the one who brought me home after the party." He mumbles into his pillow. "My head hurts." He groans.

"Yeah, that's what happens when you have a hangover Ryan." I say sarcastically. "It's a well deserved punishment for almost drinking yourself to death and forcing me to have to look after you." I say and plug my phone into his charger. I resist the urge to watch the muscles flex in his back while he lays there and instead make my way towards the couch.

"You could've left me at that party or left after I fell asleep. No one's forcing you to be here." He mumbles.

I sigh before sitting down on the brown couch that Ryan was just lost in a world of dreams on a few minutes earlier. The heat from Ryan's body emerges onto my arms as I rest them on the couch.