Dangerous [A BAD BOY ROMANCE]

15

I hop into the passenger seat of Gray's car in my new and improved outfit, which consists of a pair of light wash high waisted jeans, a silky lace black tank top, and a pair of white sneakers, per usual. Gray glances at me before shifting the car into drive and pulling out into the street. I have no idea whose house we are going to, but I know that Gray probably won't let me out of his sight when we get there so I'm not too worried.

After about a 10 minute drive we pull up to the gigantic house that I assume the party is taking place at. The car door opens as I pull the handle and I step out onto the street, Gray takes his spot next to me and we begin to walk towards the house.

"Stay near me. Please." He whispers to me as he places a hand on the small of my back and guides me into the house.

"I can handle myse-." 

"And don't get too drunk, okay?" He laughs. 

"Would I be the Teagan that you know if I didn't?" I poke at him while grabbing a red solo cup and making myself a little something just to take the edge off.

"I'm serious Teagan," Gray mutters behind me.

"I'm only joking. I'll just have one or two. Now let's go find our friends." 

Gray wraps an arm around my hip protectively as he leads the way to the rest of our friends. We find Aron, Liam, Leila, Sam, and Maddie sitting on a couch laughing about something. Aron notices Gray and me first and quickly signals us to come to sit with them. The rest of the group does the same. I sit down next to Maddie, and Gray then sits down next to me.

"Hey," I say to Maddie.

"Hey." She responds.

"Everything okay? You've seemed a little off lately."

"Yep. Everything's perfect." She looks at me for a moment, smiles, and then looks back to the group. They're currently debating about what the best breakfast place in town is. I chirp into the conversation a couple of times, giving my input as well. We stay like that for a while, just talking about the most mundane topics and sipping our drinks as high schoolers do. I finish my first drink and set down the cup on a coffee table in front of us.

"You all out?" Maddie surprises me by talking.

"Um, yeah." I shrug.

"C' mon. I'll come with you to get another." I nod in approval and stand up with her. I turn back to Gray whose giving me a skeptical look. I shrug my shoulders as if to say "It's just Maddie.", and then follow the girl towards the kitchen.

We arrive where all the alcohol is stashed, not to mention where a ton of people are standing all around, and Maddie starts to pour me a mixture of something. I look around the crowds, scanning to see if I know anyone there. Being the new girl means I don't know many people, even if I have been here about a month. Maddie slips the cup into my hand, and I start sipping on it.

"What did you put in here? It tastes like nothing?" I question her.

"Vodka and lemonade. I'm a professional drink maker if you couldn't tell." I chuckle at her sarcasm and take a couple more chugs of the drink. We stand in silence for a couple more awkward seconds before I begin to speak to her.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes. We've been over this." I can't help but notice the bitterness in her voice, but I just nod at her anyway. Whatever's going on with Maddie isn't going to get fixed tonight anyway. "Mind coming with me to the ladies room?" She asks quickly while darting her eyes around.

"Sure." I down the rest of the drink and set it on the countertop, feeling my head get a little fuzzy. Maddie leads the way upstairs and towards the bathroom, but as we're walking up the stairs my limbs begin to feel heavier and heavier. "How much alcohol did you put in that drink, Maddie?"

"Oh. Just enough." She smiles over her shoulder at me as we continue up the flight of stairs, my head spinning more and more with each step. We finally reach the top, and I almost fall over, but someone catches me. Their grip on my waist is much too tight and shooting pains hit me as a result of my still raw bruises. I hear some muttering around me.

"Look I did what you asked, what's the plan now?"

"I don't know, but look at her we could do whatever we want." The voice is unmistakeably Luca's, and I shudder at the thought of him touching me. I'm almost at a point where I'm too out of it to panic, but something in me tells me that I need to get out of here, right now. By some miracle, I begin to wiggle my body out of Luca's grip and elbow him in the stomach as hard as I can. His grip on me loosens and I take that opportunity to get as far away from him as possible. I run towards the stairs, although it's more like a stumble, and somehow make it to the bottom, trying to remember where my friends were. I look around and through the haze spot Aron's dirty blonde hair. I shuffle toward him, and the rest of the group, and finally make it to him, putting my hands on his shoulders.

"Where's Gray?" My words come out a little unsteady, throwing Aron off, but he regains his composure quickly.

"He's by the pool. Are you oka-" I don't stay around to see what Aron has to say, because I need Gray. I need him to tell me what's wrong with me. I should be able to piece the puzzle together, but I can't think. I can barely speak. All that's on my mind is getting to Gray. I shoulder past the mounds of teenagers, using every single one of them as a support to keep myself upright until I reach the open glass doors that look out at the pool. I make my way through them, fighting the urge to just lay down on the grass. I spot Gray's head not far from me, and it takes everything in me to keep walking toward him.

As soon as I place a hand on Gray's arm he whips around with a hard look in his eyes, but immediately he softens when he sees me.

"Teagan, where have you been I've been loo-" 

"Gray." My voice comes out somewhat like a whimper at that point, and I feel my body start to fall backward as his forearm slides out of my grip. His hands immediately grab both sides of me and I see his eyes fill with confusion and concern. 

"Teagan?" His eyebrows are furrowed slightly.

"I don't know. I don't know what to do." I mumble. I feel myself start to go limp in his arms, but he pulls me upright again, waking me up.

"How much did you drink?"

"Not enough, for this." I fall forward into him, and he stands me up again. "Luca and Maddie." I manage to spit out. His eyes fill with rage, and his whole body tenses up.

"I swear to God Teagan I'll murder the-."

"Not now." All I want is to go somewhere safe. Away from everyone. Gray gets the message.

"Okay." He says gently. "Can you walk?" I shake my head no. Staying awake is one thing, but doing physical activity is another. I feel like I'm not in control of myself, so I don't think twice when Gray wraps his arms around me and carries me around the outside of the house to his car.