Moving On [SwaggerSouls]

/Chapter Thirty-One/ Tell Me How You Really Feel, Why Don't You? (Part One)

A/N: Told you it wouldn't be long now! I finally got my thoughts together and wrote this entire chapter tonight. It's the longest chapter to date! So grab some popcorn- I guarantee it'll have you on the edge of your seat (: Thanks again for your patience <3

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"So" Eric breathed against my lips, almost as if he were straining for his voice, "It's been one hell of a day, huh?"

I gave a hoarse laugh, "More like one hell of a week."

He began to laugh as well, likely just as relieved as me that everything was over with and we were now safe here in our shared hotel room.

To be exact, he had his arms wrapped around me in our hot tub; I was pressed against him while the water tickled and teased my abdomen. And honestly? This is probably the calmest I've felt in what feels like a lifetime.

Eric just sighed at the conclusion of his laugh, keeping me secured against his heart, "Ah... I love you."

Despite the fact that both of us were currently submerged in a hot tub, my entire body suddenly felt cold, making me pull away, "You what?"

His eyes seemed to go as wide as mine, alluding to the fact that he was just as surprised as his statement as I was. His mouth fell slightly agape, almost as if he were going to say something, only for him to just close it again. This left the two of us to simply blink at each other while the world seemed to have suddenly stopped.

Nine O'clock AM (Fifteen hours before present time)

My jaw popped as I yawned for what felt like the thousandth time today, causing me to sigh in annoyance.

"Shit man. You still tired from Wednesday? The rest of us decided to just go straight to sleep when we got back. Do you need me to pick you up a couple more Pods or something?" Cam asked me, his arms spread across the top of his seat within the jet black interior of our limousine.

Alyssa just snorted from beside me, "Please don't- He has an addiction. I'm sure he's already lost a fair share of his cash to weed, so I'm hoping in a few weeks when he goes broke it'll be a bit of a wake up call," She winked at the both of us and I just rolled my eyes, "But no, this baby slept through the night but had a bit of a nightmare this morning. I'm honestly surprised I didn't have to change his sheets."

"Hey, I do not have an addiction." I retorted, "And I'm nowhere near broke."

"Yeah," Cam immediately agreed, lifting my spirits up until he spoke again: "If Swagger ever goes broke because of his crippling addictions, he could just make a GoFundMe. Not for the purpose of continuing to upload videos or even to pay his bills; even if he's completely honest by saying 'I'm broke and just need money to feed my addictions' I guarantee you he would make enough to support an entire family for years to come."

I opened my mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Toby, "But of course, Swagger is a man of his words and that money would only be put towards buying more and more weed and Pods until he runs out again. And the cycle repeats, likely never-ending."

"Fuck you guys." I shot back, just a bit offended by their playful bullying. I never usually would have given them the time of day in the past, likely joining them in jokingly bashing my flaws, but lately, ever since Alyssa came along at least, my outlook has seemed to change in many different perspectives.

"Hey man, don't get mad at us," Matt jokingly held his hands up in surrender as I glared at him, "Remember whose idea it was to sell bong water on our website."