Higher (East Knights book 1)

Margot

Wednesday 11:28 pm

I'm still glued to Monty's side when I hear a familiar voice coming down the hall. "Jameson!" The voice exclaims and the closer it gets the less it takes me to realize who it is. "Hey, Kev," Monty says while returning the handshake. "Margot, you look good." He says as his eyes drift down my body before handing me a bottle of my favorite alcohol. A whole bottle Malibu to be exact. Full. Not opened. And that deserves a hug. So I excitedly jump into Kevin's arms before whispering a quick thank you in his ear.

When I turn back around to face Monty he has a blunt between his lips. "Can we talk?" I whisper as I turn back towards him. Not quiet enough though that's for sure because Kevin replies back before Monty does. "Trouble in paradise?" He laughs before pulling the blunt out of Monty's hand and lifting it up between his lips. God this is disgusting. But they're both so hot. Monty lost his shirt somewhere along the line. I don't mind. At all. And Kevin, Kevin has always just been naturally fine as hell. And he knows it.

Next thing I know Kevin's arm is wrapped around my shoulder. "Monty, come on now apologize to your girl." He says handing the blunt back to Monty. He looks down at me and gives me a tiny wink before saying anything else. "Nah, man come on stay out of it." Monty says taking another hit of the blunt in his hand. He turns his head when he here's Emma and Matty get off of the bed. They decide to walk out of the room behind him. But my gaze falls back to Monty, and that's when I look at his neck. "The fuck," I exclaim as I peel Kevin's arm off of me.

I make my way up to Monty's body and take the half-smoked blunt out of his mouth. I look at him directly in the eyes trying to see if this is actually worth it. "What's on your neck?" I beg as my voice grows weaker. "The bruise on your neck." I make myself clear. I can't tell if the expression on his face fills with regret or disgust. But either way, I know he's too far gone to remember any of this tomorrow. So instead of yelling at him. I decide to do something I've never done before. I take the freshly smoked blunt between my lips and inhale. Before I can finish Monty rips the blunt from my mouth. "What the fuck?" He declares as he hands it over to Kevin and tells him to leave. I can't stop coughing. I think I took to big of a hit. And, OH MY FUCKING GOD I JUST TOOK A FUCKING HIT. What the actual fuck is wrong with me.

"What the fuck, Maggie." He adds before opening my bottle of Malibu and making me take a sip. "No, that's not a good idea." I say between coughs. "I'll be right back then." He says before leaving me in the hallway. I decide to go into his room and sit down on the bed still coughing. He reappears in the hallway when he realizes I'm now in his room, he closes the door behind him. He sticks out his arm handing me a bottle of water. As soon as the water hits my throat I feel so much better. Until I feel the water that is rolling down my cheeks. I'm crying. Why the fuck am I crying. "Woah, Maggie, what's going on?" He says closing the distance between us and getting on his knees so his eyes are level with mine. I don't answer because I'm too busy trying to understand why I'm crying. I put the cap back on my water and set it down to the bed next to me, reaching my arms up to wipe away my tears. "Hey, hey you okay." He says, and even though he doesn't know what's going on right now he's still worried.

"Just stay in here, I'll get everyone to leave, and I'll be back." He explains while pulling his comforter up over my shoulders before exiting the room. I stopped crying and now I'm laying by myself in a dark room. What the hell. I hear the music stop and look over to the alarm clock on his nightstand. The time reads 1:34 am. Fuck we have school tomorrow. Shit. I try to close my eyes and go to sleep. But I can't. I can't be here, I need to go home. That's now the only thought going through my head. I need to go home. Fuck. I see the door open as the lights turn on. "Everyone is pretty much gone. I'll sleep on the couch." He says before moving my water bottle from the floor to the nightstand. "I need to go home." I whine grabbing his wrist as he sets down the plastic bottle. "How are you getting there?" He asks turning his body to face me. Fuck. "I don't know." I answer truthfully. He laughs "Goodnight Maggie." He says as he releases his wrist from my weak grip and turns back towards the door. "Can you stay then?" I whisper before he makes it out of the room.

Monty gets in bed beside me, but instead of closing the space between us he makes it even farther away. He lays on his side turning his body to face mine. "Who's it from?" I whisper flicking my eyes down to his neck. He brings his hand up to his neck and rubs around until he finds what I'm talking about. "Celia, I think." He says unsurely. He closes his eyes for a couple of minutes before returning them to mine. "I'm sorry," He whispers and I can tell he's dazing off to sleep. So instead of saying anything else, I move closer to him giving him a quick peck on the lips before moving back to my side and falling asleep.

Thursday 6:45 am

"Why is your alarm set so late?" I scream as I rush out of Monty's bed. The screech from the room next door is what causes him to wake up. "Maggie!" Emma yells in a high pitched voice before running in to hug me. "What the fuck is going on?" Monty says as he sits up grabbing his temples and looking towards us. He's hungover. Great. How am I supposed to get to school if my only ride is hungover? Fuck. "Get up," I shout. "We have to be at school by 8:30 me and Ivy need pictures." I add looking for my phone and keys. "I'm not going to school today which means neither are you two unless you find a ride." He says making his way out of his bed and into the bathroom. Obviously, I follow him in there. I'm going to school today. "Just drop us off." I plea standing in front of the doorway so he can't get out. "I'm about to pee so I recommend you get out." Instead of doing as I'm told I turn my body around so I'm facing the door. "Monty come on I have to go." I beg. When I hear the water running from the sink I turn back towards him. "And I have to clean up so I can't take you." He replies. That's the dumbest excuse I've ever heard. And I've heard some bad ones. My dad's a lawyer after all.

Monty strides towards me waiting for me to move from the doorway. I don't. Instead, I wait until he puts his hands on my arms and moves me to the side. I turn towards him crossing my arms as he walks past me. "You have cleaners," I shout in annoyance looking around the room. "And it's not that bad." I say gazing over the dirty clothes in his room and then it hits me. "Oh, you mean the rest of the house." I say laughing. He doesn't find it funny. Instead, he walks over to his desk and pulls out a blunt. Oh, so this is what we're doing now. Got it. He brings the blunt up between his lips and lights it taking a hit of it before I can say anything. "I thought you don't smoke inside?" I say curiosity lining my words. "I don't but I'm not gonna leave you in here. You might steal my keys or something." He laughs before taking another hit. "And I am sorry," He says sincerely. And we both just stand there quietly. Him hitting his blunt and me realizing I'm still in love with him.