loosing game | daniel seavey

chapter four

3:26

The loud pounding at my door continued to grow as I walked downstairs in a panic. I looked out the window to see the white Tesla sitting outside. It was three in the morning, what is he doing here? Confused, I opened the door to see Daniel.

"Hello?" I said and let him in. As soon as he walked in, the smell of alcohol hit me.

"I-I'm sorry to come here so late. I had a lot on my mind and I couldn't sleep." Daniel slurred with a stutter, playing with his keys. Through the alcohol, I could hear a hint of sadness in his voice. He looked up, his eyes shooting between the door and me. "I probably should have came here in the first place. I'm sorry, I'll go."

"No, don't go. What's wrong?" I managed to grab his arm and stop him before he could walk out the door. He looked at me again. His eyes sunk down as he sighed.

I grabbed him a water bottle and sat him down in the living room. We sat on opposite sides of the couch as he pulled one of the throw blankets over his lap. He sank into the couch. I don't think I've ever seen a boy so sad before.

"What's wrong?" I asked again. He shifted a little bit before looking at me.

"I don't know, honestly. Sometimes I just get overwhelmed and overthink everything that's going on. Then I start drinking, thinking that that'll make my problems go away, but it only makes me feel even more down." His voice was flat and raw, as if there was no emotion left in him. He played with the corner of the blanket and hiccuped. I looked at him and realized his red eyes weren't just from the alcohol. He had slight stains from tears on his cheeks. It broke my heart seeing him like this. "You probably think I'm weird coming here and laying this all on you."

"Daniel, it's okay to feel that way. I don't think you're weird. I could never think a guy being in touch with how he's feeling is weird. If anything I think you're brave."

He sighed and took a sip of the water. "I just feel so lost. Like every time I think life is going good, something always gets in the way and I don't know where to go from there."

"Sometimes the answer might not always be obvious. Maybe you need to dig deeper rather than look for something right in front of
you. And you might not always know, you have an amazing group of friends that I know for certain will do anything to help you get where you need to be." I hesitated before sitting next to him. He looked at me a slight shock looked. "And you have me. I will be here for you no matter what."

"Thank you. Really." He sighed again and ran his fingers through his hair. "Sometimes I get ahead of myself and just need to talk to someone."

"Can I ask you something?" My question made his eyes land on mine. He nodded. "Why not Corbyn or Jonah or Jack? What made you come here?"

"I haven't been able to get you off my mind-" His voice drifted as he spoke. I tried to keep myself from smiling, knowing it was probably just the alcohol.

After a while of sitting in silence, he stood up and mumbled something about going home. I stood in front of him before he could leave the room.

"You're drunk. You're not driving." I spun him around and led him down the hallway.

"I drove here just fine." He complained as I opened the door to Aedan's room. This was the first time I had been in it since he had left. It was dark and cold, as if he was what kept it alive. I shook off the thoughts before I got too sad. I walked to the closet and grabbed a pair of grey sweatpants and a t-shirt. Daniel was a little skinner than Aedan, so these were probably going to be too big for him, but I wouldn't let him sleep in jeans.

"You're staying here for the night. I'm not letting you drive drunk." I handed him the clothes and turnt him around again. We walked upstairs to the guest room. "There's a shower and all that in there if you want to take one. If you need anything, I'll be right down the hall."

"Hey, Malia," Daniel said as I turnt around. I looked back at him again. "Thank you. For everything tonight."

"You're welcome, always." I smiled before walking down to my room.

I laid on my side, starring out the window. I looked at the clock beside me. 5:52. Yet I was wide awake and haven't been able to fall asleep since Daniel had went into his room. I sighed and closed my eyes, praying sleep would take over soon.

As I felt myself slowly slipping into sleep, there was a soft knock at my door. I lazily got up and opened it. Daniel stood there, looking just as tired. I could already guess why he was here, so I turned and went to lay back down. He laid beside me, slowly and hesitantly sliding his arm around my waist. He pulled me closer to him, his breath sending shivers down my back.

And within in minutes, we were both fast asleep.