stuck with me ; e.d

four | 04

blame

———

[ brielle hayes ]

i prayed that the light being turned on in my room was only a figment of the dream i was having.

"brielle, you have to get up at some point," my fathers recognizable voice said from somewhere on the far side of the room, "it's two o'clock"

groaning, i lifted my head to peek at him from under my covers. leave it to me to sleep in until 2pm on a perfectly good saturday.

sure enough there he stood, leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest. he looked just as exhausted as i felt. i couldn't exactly remember how many times he had tried to get me up in the past hour.

i peeled the blankets back from my body and stretched my sleep stiffened limbs. he must have been content at seeing me make an effort to wake up because he turned and walked off. his heavy footsteps trail off as he made his way up the stairs.

i tap my toes at the cold floor, emitting a sigh. what was i even supposed to do all weekend? i had no friends and barely knew this town. it's not that i regretted moving here, not at all. living here had to have been one of the best decisions i had ever made, and it beat living back home with a neglectful mom and abusive step-dad by a long shot.

that didn't necessarily mean things were perfect, though.

getting out of bed, i tied my hair up in a loose bun before trudging up the stairs. i expected things to be quiet considering usually it was, but once i reached the top of the basement steps i heard shouting.

i held tight to the corner for a moment and then followed the voice. i shouldn't have been eavesdropping, but that's every human's natural instinct, isn't it?

"does that not matter to you or something?" they fumed, tone raising further in an accusing manner, "he's been staying in a trash motel for the past two weeks, gray!"

ethan.

my blood ran cold. that was my cue to turn around and walk away; whatever he was upset about was none of my business. i didn't want to give ethan another reason to hate me if he found me listening in on what he was talking about.

before i realized it, i was standing right in front of an open doorway. ethan stood tall with his back facing me, yelling at grayson who was stone faced.

"why is he not staying at home—"

"there is no fucking home, it was foreclosed," ethan exclaimed, pushing a hurried hand through his dark hair, "he couldn't afford it!"

grayson's face fell, his eyes dropping to his feet, "oh."

ethan turned sharply, probably about to storm out of the room, but to his unpleasant surprise, there i was.

his eyes narrowed noticeably when they locked on me, "it's your fault."

———

the drama begins...
next chapter will be longer, don't worry