loosing game | daniel seavey

chapter five

The sun beamed through the curtains brightly as my eyes adjusted to the light. I shifted my body away from the sun, my mind remembering the events from hours earlier. But when I felt the cold sheets instead of a warm body, my eyes shot opened. I sat up and looked around the room. Daniel wasn't here.

My phone began ringing, shaking me out of wondering where he could've gone. Aedan's name flashed onto my screen. I haven't talked to him much since he left and missed him so much.

"Hey, Mal!" Aedan's voice sounded off and his face looked paler as it appeared over the facetime call. I figured it was because I was still waking up and just haven't adjusted to everything yet.

"Hey Aedan, how's everything?" I asked and got up, walking over to my closet. I had plans to go into the city and take pictures with Haley, Luke, and our photographer friend, Aliviya. I pulled out a beige skirt with a white off the shoulder top. I dug through my shoes and found a pair of air forces that matched the skirt perfectly.

"Tours going well, we're in Oregon tonight." There was definitely something up with his voice. I looked at his face more closely and saw the slight red tint to his eyes.

"Are you high?" I asked as I walked to the bathroom. Aedan didn't answer, but laughed in response. "You're kidding, right, Aedan?"

"Hey, hey, hey. Calm down. It was only a couple xans, I'll be fine."

"So is that how things are now? After years of saying you won't drink or get involved in drugs after what happened to Dad, you go on tour and it flips a switch?"

"Malia, it's not like that."

"Then what's it like, Aedan?" He was quiet after that. Maybe I was being too harsh. Maybe I was just overthinking the whole situation. I felt bad for coming at him so hard, but at the same time, I had already lost my dad. I didn't want to lose my brother.

Voices started to become clear through the background of wherever Aedan was. He sighed loudly into the phone. "Hey, I have to go. I'll call you after the show, okay?"

"Okay, that's fine." I sighed just the same and walked towards the bathroom at the end of the hall. "I love you, Aedan."

"Love you too." His voice was quick and blunt as he hung up. I tried not to overthink it too much.

The water beating against my skin was hot enough to relive some of the pressure that sat on my shoulders. I did all of my shower essentials before stepping out of the shower and getting ready for the day. I let my hair air dry as I did my makeup for the day.

After I was ready, I walked back to my room to grab my bad before leaving. When I opened the door, I jumped when I saw Daniel sitting in the edge of my bed.

"Jesus," I held my hand over my chest. He laughed and stood. "What are you doing here? I thought you left?"

"Do you really think I'm the type of guy to ditch out on a girl after she lets me sleep in her bed?"  Daniel quickly caught himself with his words and his face grew red. He scratched the back of his neck as he looked down at his feet. "T-that's not what I meant. I-I went to go get us breakfast from this place in Glendale." His eyes scanned over my body before shooting back down. Now I know where the shy part really comes to play. "But if you have somewhere to be then I can go."

"I have a photoshoot with my friend, but I can stay for breakfast." I gave him a reassuring smile. He smiled back at me, his little tooth gap showing and making me smile more.

During breakfast, we talked about our plans for the day. His consisted of just babysitting Jack's daughter, Lavender, until around three and then he was off to a party at his friends, Corey's.

"If you aren't doing anything after your photoshoot, you should totally come by. Corey and his roommates always throw the craziest parties." Daniel said as I took his trash from him. A party with Daniel honestly didn't seem ideal after what happened last time with that  Alexis girl.

"Uhm, yea, I'll see what's going on and I'll let you know." I looked at him as my phone began ringing. It was Aliviya, most likely telling me they were heading out.

"I guess that's our cue." Daniel laughed a bit. He grabbed his keys from the island as we walked towards the door. He opened it but then stopped, turning to look down at me. "Hey, thank you for last night. I know that probably wasn't easy for you since you barely know me-"

"It's fine, Daniel. Don't worry about it." I gave him a reassuring smile. His lips curled into a smile as he nodded. He looked at me for a moment.

Daniel's hand touched mine gently as he wrapped a finger around mine. His head slowly dipped down, leaning against mine. My breathing became slightly heavier as his lips were only centimeters from mine. They were so close to touching, but the sound of his phone made us jump away from each other.

Daniel laughed nervously as he picked it up. He held it close to his ear, but I could still hear the cry of a baby from the other end.

"Hey, Jack... Yea, I'm on my way now. I'll be there in ten." Daniel walked backwards towards his car, smiling at me and making a phone signal with his free hand. He mouthed a I'll call you before getting into his car.

I smiled to myself, shaking my head as I walked to my car.

What the hell just happened?