Grown ish: Zoey and Aaron, The Future (BOOK 2)

Part 13: Sorry

Zoey narrates.

I'm sitting on the floor, drunk, trying to wipe the wine stain from the carpet, and getting frustrated that it isn't working.

'Why is this not going? My head hurts.' I say out loud to myself.

I then look to the door and see someone standing there, and this time, it's really Aaron.

I get up angrily.

'What the hell are you doing here?!' I shout, as he comes over to me and I try to push him away, but he's too strong.

'Zoey, what's wrong with you?' He asks, as I start pounding his shoulder with my fist.

'You're so annoying. Why are you here? You left me...you left me. You don't love me.' I say, as I start to feel sleepy and hang on to his collar.

Aaron makes a face, having smelt the strong alcohol scent.

'Zoey, stop. Come, go to sleep.' He says, as he picks me up and carries me to the bed.

'You don't love me.' I say, as he ignores me and my eyes close.

I'm not yet asleep, as I feel him stroking my head, and he takes my hand and kisses it, keeping his lips on my hand momentarily.

'But I love you.' I say, half consciously, before finally falling into a deep sleep.

_____

I wake up the next morning with a painful headache.

Sitting up, I hold my head and check my phone. It's only 6am.

I look up and to my surprise, I see Aaron, picking up my clothes off of the floor and folding them, and cleaning up the mess I made last night. I watch him, not knowing what to say, until he notices me.

He doesn't say anything, and instead, just looks at me. I look away, as I can't tell what he's feeling.

He puts down the clothes and comes over to sit beside me on the bed, as he takes my hands in his and I shift my body, facing towards him.

I'm breathing heavily, as he looks into my eyes, and I look in his, and in that moment all I want to do is embrace him, so I do. I hug him, wrapping my arms around his back, and resting my chin on his shoulder, as he reciprocates and wraps his arms around me. He tightens the hug, and I grip on to him, not wanting to let go.

'I'm sorry.' We both say, at the same time, which makes me laugh.

We finally pull away, as my eyes water.

'I'm sorry. I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. I'm sorry for making you think I don't trust you, when I do. I trust you with my whole heart, with every fibre of my being.' I say, looking at him, painfully.

'I'm sorry for not telling you. I'm sorry for bringing up the past. But please, Zoey? Don't ever say that I don't love you again. Ever. I love you so much. Everything I do is for you. You are my first and last love. And it hurts me when you say I don't care about you. You're the only one I care about.' He says, a crack in his voice.

I take his face in my hands and kiss him, deeply, as he helps me into his lap, and I wrap my arms around him, intensifying the kiss.

We pull apart and I stroke his face.

'This, Aaron. This is so important to me. This marriage is so important to me.' I say.

'I know, Zoey. For me too. But we have to trust each other and know that it's not going to be easy.' He says, and I nod.

'I have to ask though, Zoey. Do you want to get help? I mean, for your drinking. I promise, I'm not judging. I support everything you do. But I know that when you're upset, you turn to alcohol. And I just want to be there for you, because I care about you.' He says.

'I...I don't know what comes over me. I just get...overwhelmed. But I don't want help if it means we'll be away from each other. I can't. I don't want to be away from you.' I say, desperately.

'Zoey, I promise. You will never, ever be away from me.' He says, holding my hand to his chest.

'I just want things to go back to normal. I want to go home with you.' I say, sadly.

'I want you to come home too. I can't function without you.' He replies.

'Me either. And I love you too, Aaron. More than I could ever describe.' I say, kissing him again, as he falls back, lying on the bed, and I fall on top of him.