"This story is about the boy I loved. This is about his suffering. This is about my suffering. All of it due to one thing. Affluenza."
TW : Key themes of suicide.
Sebastian Grey. Golden boy, trust fund baby, and Braylen Adams' mortal enemy. Braylen...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"OKAY, SO," DEVIN starts, grinning proudly at the slightly impressive array of food in front of us. "I made the turkey and stuffing, Hunter made pie, and Sebastian took care of the mashed potatoes and macaroni."
The guys set the food onto the table and everyone instantly dives in. I was happy to see no one objected as I scooped up a majority of the mashed potatoes. Sebastian shoots a grin at me and I get the impression he'd only made them because he knew how much I loved them. I smile back as my heart swells.
Once we start eating, the conversation flows naturally. It's much different than when I sat here with Sebastian's family and I felt like I was seeing him as others do for the first time. He was loud and animated and hilarious, telling silly anecdotes and being the first one to shoot a sarcastic comment at someone. It was almost as if we were his actual family. As if he could only be himself around us.
I take a sip of my water, laughing as Devin and Robyn argue about who had the better grades. They were both geniuses; I'm pretty sure it was a tie.
"Okay, but what about last year? I mean, I totally—"
The shrill sound of a phone ringing cuts off Robyn's voice. We all turn to the source of the noise; Sebastian. He pales, pulling the phone out and sighing. "I've gotta take this. I'll be right back."
He jumps out of his seat like it was on fire. I gnaw on my bottom lip, looking around at my friends worriedly. Devin sighs as he disappears down the hall. "See what I mean, Braylen?"
I nod, knowing he was talking about the conversation we'd had at the Halloween Bash when he was worried about Sebastian and whether he was in trouble or not. I was hoping it was better but maybe Sebastian is just a really good actor. "Who is it? What do they want?" I whisper, keeping my voice low as Sebastian talks quietly from the next room.
"We don't know," Hunter mumbles. "He doesn't tell us anything. I'll bet you know more about him than we do."
I swallow hard, not sure if that was true or not. Sebastian did seem to trust me with some of his secrets, but I still felt as if he were hiding a huge part of himself. I knew he only gave me half; I'd never been brave enough to ask for everything.
"What can we do?" Robyn asks, eyes immediately worried. "If he's in trouble..."
"I'm sure he's fine," Hayley responds, smiling halfheartedly. "Who knows? It could be his parents calling from wherever they are. We shouldn't worry without reason to."
Her words hang in the air as Sebastian walks back in. He plasters a smile on his face but I could see how he was shaken up. "Come on, am I the life of the party or something? Eat, talk!" he urges as he sits back down in the chair across from me.
