Meet Me in the Hallway (HS AU)

eight.

It wasn't until I walked in the front door and dropped my bag in the bedroom that I realised that Tuesday was even over. I had spent the day mentally preparing myself for tonight, preparing for tomorrow morning. Will had texted me to say that he was going straight to the bar tonight instead of calling past home like he usually does on Tuesday nights.

Will and his friends started this stupid Tuesday night drinking thing long before Will and I got together and decided to continue it into adulthood to stay connected.

I had also spent the day trying to figure out a way for me to not be home tonight, to maybe go somewhere else, especially after Friday night and the pain following on Saturday morning. But after I started dating, he started asking me to stop seeing certain friends because he didn't like the way they were trying to control my life. Eventually my other friends began to drop off as I started shutting them out.

My parents didn't live around here, and my family that did live around us weren't fans of Will - so I inevitably stopped seeing them as well. I had nowhere to go or even lie about going to tonight to avoid his drunken outbursts, which caused me to have a small hyperventilating fit in the staff bathroom at lunchtime.

I made a toasted cheese sandwich for dinner, my energy dwindling as the night progressed. I sat and watched TV for a few hours in hopes of distracting my racing thoughts. After my 5th episode of Frasier, which was apparently the only show on this late, I heard a car door slam out the front of the house.

He was home.

I had already tidied the house so there was nothing in sight to throw and turned the majority of lights off except for the lamps in the lounge and bedroom. I turned off the tv and pulled up my blanket, pretending to be asleep on the couch when the front door slammed shut.

"Baby? Baby are you awa-" He stumbled down the hallway, eventually stopping in his tracks when he reached the opening into the living room. I tried my best to keep my breathing even to ensure he thought I was asleep.

The room fell silent for mere seconds before I felt the blanket being peeled off me. His hands lightly slid under my knees and back, picking me up and then he began moving. I kept my eyes closed, breathing steady and even nuzzled into him for added effect. Then I was airborne, I let out a welp as I hit the mattress. I opened my eyes and quickly sat up, stretching my arms up in hopes of proving he has just woken me up. But it never works.

"Hey Will, when did you get home?" I threw in a yawn mid sentence.

"Shut the fuck up." He spoke calmly in almost a whisper and it sent a chill down my spine.

I nodded vigorously and began slowly crawling up the bed and getting under the covers, praying to any god who is listening to make him get into bed and fall asleep. But they never listen.

"You want to pretend you're asleep? You want to avoid me? The only person who has ever loved you, you want to push away?" His speech was slurred but he continued to raise it, the more questions he asked.

"No, of course not baby. I love you, Will. I love you so much you have no idea. I would never push you away or avoid you." I plead into his darkening eyes, the pale brown colour completely gone.

"You love me?" He lowered his voice and began slowly walking around to the side of the bed I was trapped in, "Do you really Josephine?" He bought a hand up and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear, trailing his hand down the side of my neck before moving his hand to the front.

"Of course I do. You take such good care of me. No one would ever compare to you William." The tears began to well in my eyes but I blinked them away, I don't cry in front of others.