Are you mine?

Chapter 14

Hand in hand, Noah and I make our way down the stairs, only to be met with a rather worried-looking Syd. She must've been wondering where I was but she looks between us and realization washes over her expression. She gives me a knowing look and I let go of Noah's hand, trying to play it off like nothing happened between us. He seems to catch on to what I'm trying to do because he backs away from me, giving Syd and I space to have a more private conversation. "We just had to go do that stupid 15 minute dare." I try to justify myself.

"Last time I checked, he wasn't playing." She challenges me and I feel the heat rising to my cheeks.

"W-Well, he wasn't but-" I struggle to find my words.

"Girl relax," She rubs my arms reassuringly, "You don't have to give me any explanations."

"Nothing happened." I lie.

Syd gives me a suspicious look, "Sure hon," she says, and her tone tells me she isn't buying it. Mercifully, she decides to let it go and pretend like she does. "Anyway," she says, changing the subject, "Have you two seen Tyler? I can't find him anywhere."

"Uhm, no I haven't. Last time I saw him was when he went off with Ashley to do the dare, but that was like half an hour ago." I reply.

"I'm worried for him, the guys told me he got super drunk after he came back and now I can't find him."

"Oh, shit," my skin prickles with worry, "Okay I'll help you find him, I need to take him home."

"You guys need help?" Noah asks from behind me.

"Actually, yes." Syd replies.

"I'll go check outside, you girls look in here." He says rushing to the back.

"I'll take upstairs," I say and I run back up to look for Tyler.

I check Syd's bedroom, her parent's room and the guest rooms, but he's nowhere to be found. "Tyler!" I yell hoping he can hear me over all the noise, but I receive no answer.

"Tyler!" I keep calling out to him as I move through the hallways. I hear the faintest sound coming from Syd's bedroom, realisation washes over me. I forgot to check her en-suite.

I rush back in and swing the door to the bathroom open, turning the lights on only to find Tyler crawled up on the floor and leaning his head on the toilet. "Ty!" I shake him to see if he's conscious and he groans in response. I let out the breath I've been holding.  "Ty," I place my hands on each side of his face, his cheeks squishing between my fingers, "Can you hear me?"

He doesn't reply, instead his bloodshot eyes appear lost, like he's not looking at me but through me, his blue irises brighter than ever as they contrast with the red tones rimming them. "Come on, buddy," I sigh, hooking his arm around my shoulder and trying to get his limp body to stand up. I struggle, as he's way heavier than me, but grabbing on to the sink I finally find enough strength to pick him up. I carry him out of the bedroom and wonder how I'm ever going to get him downstairs without killing both of us in the process.

"Tyler!" Syd calls out when she sees us at the top of the staircase. Noah is standing beside her and rushes up to help me, taking two steps at a time. He's bigger and more muscular than Tyler so he throws him over his shoulder with ease and brings him down the stairs.

"Where do you want him?" he asks standing near the front door and Syd caresses Tyler's hair worriedly.

"Can you bring him outside to my car please? I brought him here and I need to take him home."

"Sure," he says taking my keys and heading out.  I assure Syd I'll take care of him and tell her not to worry before hugging her goodbye.

"Text me when you get home!" She calls out to me and I make a mental note to do so.

When I get to the driveway, Noah is standing beside my car with his hands in his pockets and I can see Tyler in the passenger's seat resting with his head against the glass.

"Thank you for helping with him," I say to Noah.

"Don't mention it," he says handing back my keys.

I give him a faint smile and as I'm about to get in the car he lightly grabs my wrist. "Wait." he says spinning me around and pinning me against my car. He leans closer and asks with a smile, "Can I get one last kiss?"

I let out a giggle and he frowns. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. That was just unexpectedly cheesy."

He fakes being offended for a second but drops his act almost immediately. "I was going for sweet, but I'll take what I can get." He tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear, leans, down and plants a soft kiss on my lips.

"Drive safe, Mads." He says opening my door for me to get in my car. Once he closes it I look at him through the window and he smiles, making me blush as I turn on the engine and start driving away. Before pulling out of Syd's street I look in the rearview mirror, only to see him still standing in place watching me, and only as I make the turn does he push his hair out of his face and walk back inside.

I keep a smile on my face the whole drive back home, and when I park my car in the driveway, I hear Ty stir in the seat next to me. His face is pressed up against the glass, mouth hanging slightly opened and his bottom lip pouted.

"Hey," I say, softly stroking his hair and brushing it out of his face.  He turns to me and his puffy eyes struggle to stay open as guilt ties a knot inside my stomach. He's always looking after me, and tonight I should've returned the favour.

I get out and round the car, opening his door and unbuckling his seatbelt so I can get him out of the vehicle and inside the house. "Ty I'm going to need your help," I say and this time he opens his eyes a little wider, enough to look at me. "That's it, come on," I say, hooking my arm under his armpits to keep him up, and with my help, he takes a few steps towards the house.

The stairs are a nightmare, and I struggle to keep him awake long enough for him to keep moving his legs on his own, but I finally get him up to my room, letting him fall back onto my bed. I take off his shoes, tossing them to the side, and I unbuckle his belt, sliding his jeans off and leaving him to sleep in his boxer shorts. He sits up long enough to lift his arms up and allow me to lift his shirt up over his head, replacing it with a fresh one.

Once he's changed, Ty lays back down and adopts his usual sleeping position, knees drawn up to his chest and his head tucked in, silver curls falling lazily in his forehead. I fetch him a glass of water and a couple of aspirin he'll definitely be needing in the morning, and leave them on my nightstand for him to take when he wakes up.

Taking the spare mattress out from under my bed, I take no time collapsing onto it, and shortly after I'm lulled to sleep by the familiar and hushed sound of Tyler's breathing syncing with my own.