Aiden tried to call me back but I couldn't bring myself to answer his call. I was hurt and I didn't want to speak to him. Maybe I needed time to calm down before I could talk to him again. Or worse there was no way to come back from that conversation, and that meant we were over before we even really had a chance.
I smiled through my pain, making sure I didn't show any of my inner turmoil to Lacey. She was dealing with enough, I wasn't going to load my problems off on her. Besides I didn't want her to know that her well being was the reason for my latest argument with Aiden. He was her friend and out of everyone I would have thought he would have understood, where others couldn't. But right now he didn't and it was upsetting me.
I sipped my drink watching Lacey closely as she took a shot with a couple of guys. She was really hitting the bottle hard tonight and I felt a little out of my depth. I had already tried to get her to slow down but my words had fallen on deaf ears. She was set on a destructive path and there was little I could do sway her.
I bit my lip and wondered if it was time to tell someone what was going on with Lacey. If she passed out I would not be able to get her home on my own, I didn't know anyone at the party to ask for help and I didn't feel safe asking a stranger to help.
She was already unsteady on her feet so I approached her with a smile.
"You have to have one of these," she shoved a shot into my hand. "These are awesome."
I shook my head. "I can't, I'm driving us home." I had already hit my limit. I put the drink down on the table.
"She is such a party pooper," she moaned to one of the guys standing beside her. He put an arm around her shoulders and I didn't like it one bit. It was time to get her out of here, or I would have to call someone to help me. It was my last resort.
"We need to go," I told her, looking down at my watch. It was after eleven already and I just wanted to get her home safely, without incident and that wouldn't be possible if she continued to drink alcohol like cool drink.
"I don't want to go," she whined. "I'm having fun."
"Don't be a party pooper," the other guy said.
I was in hell, there was nothing fun about any of this. My nerves were shot and I had hit my limit.
"I'll be back in a moment," I said to Lacey and went to a corner where the music wasn't too loud so I could make a call and still keep an eye on Lacey.
There was no way I was leaving her alone with those guys, even for the few minutes it would take to call someone to help me.
I called Aiden, checking my watch again. He would still be up, but I wasn't sure if he was still talking to me after I had refused to pick up his calls.
It rang and rang. I bit my lip as I watch Lacey become more unsteady. Where was he? And why wasn't he answering?
When it finally went to voicemail I called again but he didn't answer. This wasn't working out the way I had hoped or anticipated. What was I going to do?
There was only one other person I could call. I called Max. He answered.
"Hey Reece," he said.
I was relieved to hear the quiet background, if he was at a party he probably wouldn't be sober enough to help me.
"I need your help," I said, cutting right through any pleasantries. I didn't have time.
"What do you need?" he asked.
"Lacey and I are at a party and I need help getting Lacey home." I wasn't even sure he would help. He was my last resort before I would be forced to call Alex.
"Sure. Where are you?" There was no hesitation and I sighed with relief.
I gave him the address.
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes," he said, before he ended the call.
I slumped against the wall. I was so grateful that despite how I had treated him he was doing me the biggest favor by coming through to a party in the middle of the night to help me with my drunk friend.
I stayed close to Lacey, while I watched the front door for Max.
The sight of him, brought me a physical relief. I waved at him over the crowd and he pushed his way through the revelers to me.
"Where is she?" he asked. I nodded my head in the direction of where she was still standing with the two guys.
He handed me his keys. "I'll get her."
I held his keys tightly in my hand as I watched him walk over to Lacey. The two guys seemed to back away when Max put his arm around Lacey's shoulders. She smiled up to him and gave him a hug. He said something to her and she nodded.
He steered her to me. "It's time to get her home."
He took control, and for the first time the full responsibility of Lacey didn't lie squarely on my shoulders. When she couldn't quite make the stairs when we got out of the house he lifted her up and carried her to the car while I hurried behind them.
I opened the passenger side when we got to his car and put Lacey in, fastening the seatbelt before closing the door as she moved to lay her hair against the backrest and closed her eyes.
"Thanks," I mumbled.
"How long has this been going on for Reece?" he asked softly, turning to face me.
"Too long," I breathed.
He studied me. "Let's get her home."
I handed him his carkeys and I got in the backseat as he got into the car and started it up.
There was silence as he drove us to Lacey's house.
"I'll get the door, if you could carry her up to her room as quietly as possible, that would be great," I instructed, not even sure we would be able to pull this off without someone seeing us but I had to at least try.
I went ahead and opened the front door as Max lifted a sleeping Lacey from the car. She was fast asleep as he climbed the stairs and I led him to her bedroom after switching on her bedroom light. I pulled back her comforter just as Max lay her gently in her bed. He stood back as I removed her shoes and covered her up.
I checked to make sure her breathing was sound before I switched her bedroom light before closing her bedroom door behind us. Max got to the landing when Alex came out of his bedroom and we halted.
"Everything okay?" Alex frowned as his eyes moved from me to Max.
I nodded. "She was tired. She fell asleep on the car ride home."
He studied me. Max was silent beside me.
"Okay," Alex nodded. "Thanks for getting her home safe."
I nodded nervously, not quite believing I had lied so effortlessly.
We left.
It was only when we got back to Max's car did he turn to face me without starting his car.
"What's going on Reece?" he asked.
I fidgeted before shrugging. "She's been going through a tough time and she has been drinking a bit more than she usually does."
He nodded. "Why didn't you tell Alex the truth?"
I frowned. It was difficult to put my reasoning into words. "I feel like if I tell someone I'm breaking her trust. How well do you think it would go down if her brother hears how much she is partying?"
I took a shaky breath and he reached over to cover my hand with his. He squeezed my hand and my gaze went to where our hands were joined.
"But if it is this bad, maybe she needs more help than you can give her." His words were soft spoken but the truth was hard to swallow.
"I'm trying my best, I promised her that if she made it through I would do whatever I could to help her through this. This is part of the promise I made her. I don't intend to break it, not if I can help it."
"Okay." He removed his hand from mien and started up the car. "You promise to call me if you need any help."
"Thank you," I murmured, feeling my heart swell. This is what I needed more than anything. Someone I could count on.