My Brother's Best Friend 2 | ✓

20. "drifting apart"

Blurry faces, spilled drinks, and sweaty bodies; I don't know how but we ended up piled on this giant bed upstairs with the group of girls I had met when the night had just begun.

They were gossiping as I stared at the popcorn ceiling above me. I found myself droopy and dazed because the little dots appeared to be moving. Suddenly a face appears over me, bloodshot-eyed and slightly giggly. "Holly, I found you." Anthony plops down on the bed next to me. The dent he causes on the mattress forces me to roll over, closer to him.

The guest bedroom was so clean and white. Also very empty, so the muffled noise coming from downstairs was all that I could focus my thoughts on.

I look over and realize that one of the girls has a phone in her hand and she's calling someone. Her face looks oddly familiar but I can't figure it out as my brain just shuts down every time I try to think. I begin to black out every 4 minutes or so, and I'd forget where I was for a few seconds. The night moves so slow like this as pieces of my memory just drift away.

The girl hands a phone to me that I eventually recognize as my own. "Who did you call?" I slur causing Anthony to chuckle a bit.

"Don't worry about it, I just had to make sure you were in good hands." She glares at Anthony on the bed next to me and I look back at both of them, terribly confused.

"Come on Holly, let's get some fresh air." He grabs both of my hands and I feel myself lift off the bed. As soon as I'm back on my two feet, the world begins to spin violently.

I don't know how we made it to the steps outside but we did. I must have blacked out 20 times because I just realized now that I was sitting in front of the house with Anthony and the cold air was beginning to slowly sober me up.

We managed to escape the stuffiness inside of the crowded party. The scene feels familiar, us sitting alone together but as my eyes are fixated on his face, all I see is Sawyer. I picture how different this scenario would be if it was him in his place. Oh how badly I wanna be in his arms right now.

"I miss him." I blurt out, and I can feel my own face turn into a frown. Anthony's expression morphs into one as well and I can sense his despondency from his body language. He looks away.

"You guys are drifting apart aren't you?"

I twiddle my thumbs and slouch a little, feeling a wave of sadness come over me. I get the vivid image of us on two ships, just sailing away in opposite directions. "It's not your fault, you can't help it," he begins. "Life goes on and people drift, it's normal and it's okay."

"Some things you just can't change." I felt his arm snake around my waist, then suddenly he is pushed away from me by a tall figure. I hadn't even noticed him approach us this whole time. I try to stand up immediately but I fail.

"Are you Anthony?" the tall figure is hard to recognize in the dark, but without fail, his voice is clearer than the night sky. "S-Sawyer? What are you doing here?" I stumble, finally standing up and trying to come between him and Anthony.

"What's your problem?" Anthony stands up as well, though his height falls slightly shorter than Sawyer's making him look slightly less intimidating.

"My problem?" Sawyer asks angrily and that's when I notice his hands ball up into fists. "My problem is you putting your hands on my girl, that's my problem."

I place my hands on Sawyer's chest, attempting to calm him down before a fight breaks out. I can't seem to figure out how he knew where I was and why he came in the first place though.

"Your girl huh? Look who was here and who wasn't." Anthony says all too confidently. That's when Sawyer steps aside and punches him in the face before I could get the chance to stop him. I'm a drunk sloppy mess but the next thing I see is Anthony on the ground, trying to hold himself back from retaliating. That's when Sawyer wraps his arm around me and stabilizes me.

"You stay away from her." He asserts.

"Where are you taking her?" Anthony gets up, wiping his bloody nose on the sleeve of his black hoodie. He's slurring his words too and I finally realize just how drunk he is.

"It's okay, I'll take care of her, you worry about getting yourself home safe." I feel him pulling me away and at this point, I don't have the energy to speak out.

Sawyer pours me into the back seat of his car and I'm so incredibly dizzy; I feel as if I had just spent hours on the carousel.

A strong sense of déjà vu comes over me as I gaze at the two car seats in front of me. The bright orange street lights are way too familiar and the soft background music on the radio reminds me of how I'd always fall asleep in the back seat while my dad drove. Eventually, the streetlights and car seats melt away though, and all I see is darkness.

Next update: Around Nov 20
<3

The chapter is pretty bad it still needs editing, thank you for reading! :)