Forbidden Love

Chapter 23

"Dylan!" I exclaimed loudly when he answered the phone, my voice echoing in the enclosed space. "Oops, that was loud. Shhh!" I pressed my finger over my lips.

"Demi? What's going on? Where's Aiden?" He didn't sound too happy to hear from me. I wondered if he was still mad at me.

"I don't know." I answered simply. "He's out there somewhere. . ." My words trailed off as I thought about how big the outside world is. Aiden could be anywhere. "Dylan, are you still mad at me?"

"Where are you Demi?"

"In a closet. With Gabby. We're drinking."

Dylan was silent for a moment. "Gabby?"

"Raquel's teddy bear. Oh no! Don't tell her I told you that!" I blurted out.

"Raquel? I thought you were at Aiden? Demi, where's Raquel?" He asked impatiently.

"Do you not want to talk to me?" I asked in confusion. "Why do you want to talk to Raquel?" How perfect would that be? Him and Raquel. Has he seriously moved on that fast?

"Because the fact that you've locked yourself up in a closet to drink doesn't sound too good."

"Omigod, is the door locked?" I asked in a rush. I reached up and turned the handle, opening the door slightly. "It's not locked." I burst out laughing and fell onto my bottom. "Dylan."

"Yes, Demi?" I sighed and closed my eyes. The world slowly spun around. "Demi?" I heard him through the fog but didn't have the energy to reply. "Demi?"

°°°

A rush of saliva filled my mouth and my stomach turned. I fought to get onto my feet and stumbled to the bathroom in time to heave into the toilet, collapsing onto my shaking knees.

I rested my head against the cool porcelain, keeping my eyes closed.

"Demi?" Raquel called to me from the other room. I heard the bathroom door creak open. "Oh God." Another swirl of nausea rushed through me with a chilling sweat. "C'mon," she latched onto my arm and helped me up. "We have to get ready."

I forced my body to follow her, my hands shaking as I grabbed the edge of the bathtub.

Raquel turned open the tap and rinsed the bath before filling it up with luke warm water. She helped slip off my dress and gently removed the bandage from my leg as I settled into the bathtub, too weak to provide any assistance.

The warm water startled me as Raquel ran the shower head over my body. "Here." She handed me a bar of soap. I flipped it in my hands before blindly rubbing it against my skin. "I want you to stop."

I looked up at her and only now saw the black rings under her eyes. I'd been staying at her for about a week and she delt with my bullshit everyday without any complaint. "I know." Rinsing off, Raquel lifted me up and out of the bath and back to the room. "Where's Chase?"

She held a turquoise dress up against my figure, capturing her lower lip between her teeth in contemplation. "He's with Brent. I need a break."

Chucking the dress onto the bed, she ruffled through a pile of sandals at the bottom of her cupboard and threw out a brown pair for me to wear.

"Break from what?"

"Him." I could tell she was on edge, her eyes were all over the place and she couldn't stand still for longer than a minute. She saw my shocked expression and huffed out an annoyed sigh. "He hasn't let me out of his sight. I have to constantly tell him where I am or what I'm doing." She ranted and raved. "I mean, I needed to go to the bathroom at the stadium and he followed me to the stall."