[49]: Can You Feel The Love?
WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? Oh nothing really. I'm just creeping down the stairs as quietly as I can at 3 am while my heart banged against my chest loudly, both from worrying of being caught sneaking out by my parents and if Grace was still alive.
Ethan called a few minutes ago, obviously drunk but obviously panicking too, saying that Grace fell from the stairs and ended up with a bleeding forehead. They couldn't call an ambulance because they would be busted, especially since they had alcohol all over the place. And they couldn't go to the hospital because they all reek of alcohol and nobody was sober enough to drive.
And because my friends were total geniuses, they decided to wake me up so I could be an alternative hospital.
I grabbed the first aid kit from the bathroom and wrote a 'went for groceries, be back soon ♡' on a Post-it and stuck it on the counter.
Without wasting any time, I rushed out of the house and since I couldn't risk starting up my car and waking up my parents, I ran.
***
About 7 minutes later, I reached Robert's house. Jasmine was waiting for me outside with her face streaked with mascara from her tears. She guided me inside and led me to a room on the first floor of the house. Grace was on the bed, not moving, with Ethan sitting beside her.
"Ethan!" I called, jogging towards them.
"Thea!" Ethan exclaimed in relief.
Once I saw Grace, I resisted the urge to cry. Somebody had tried to clean her head but it was still bleeding and her skin was turning pale.
I quickly dropped on my knees and shook Grace. "Grace! Wake up! Wake up!"
She didn't budge. "Grace! Grace!"
This time, she stirred a little. "Oh come on Grace, wake up. Grace! Wake up, Grace!"
Thank God she opened her eyes but not fully. "Mmm-mm, head hurts," she mumbled.
"I know, I know," I said, checking her pulse. "Don't go back to sleep, okay? Do you remember your name?"
"Thea?" She asked. At least she knew mine.
"Yes, my name's Thea. What's yours?" I turned to Ethan. "Get me some water to clean her head and for drinking."
"Amazing Grace," she answered weakly.
"Well, amazing Grace, tell me what happened on the stairs," I said.
She blinked slowly. "I saw someone making out."
I opened the kit and took out a cleaning cloth as I saw Ethan running towards us with a small bowl of water. "Is that why you fell down?"
"No," she replied. "There were lots of steps. Hundreds."
This is why I don't drink.
I wet the cloth in the water Ethan brought and starting cleaning her head. Then I located her wound and found a bloody mess on the left side of her head.
"Thea, I want to sleep," Grace muttered.
"No, not yet Gracey, not now," I replied as I cleaned her wound.
"My head hurts," she complained.
"Hang on," I said, my voice cracking. Jasmine started sobbing on Ethan and I didn't realize I was too.
"Hold her head up, Ethan," I instructed him, readying the triangular bandage after I finished putting on the dressing. Ethan complied and I put the bandage on.
"What else hurts, Grace?" I asked.
"My head."
"What else?"
She didn't answer.
"We have to take her to the hospital, she might have a concussion or something," I said.
I held a painkiller by her mouth. "Drink this Grace."
Grace obliged and I let her drink water.
"I'm going with you," Ethan said and I nodded. "Let me just change my shirt and get ready. I probably stink."
***
We arrived at Red Crest Hospital where Seth was admitted a few weeks ago. Once Grace was taken inside the Emergency room, all Ethan and I could do was sit down by the waiting area and worry the hell out of us.
"What if her mom finds out?" Ethan asked.
"This might be her last party," I replied.
"Then we suffer when she's going to be complaining all time about how her mom's going to put a leash on her every night so she won't leave the house," Ethan joked but his voice was sad.
"There were hundreds of steps on the stairs," I said, repeating Grace's words from awhile ago. "Last time I checked there were only 17 steps on the stairs in Robert's house."
Ethan sighed. "We shouldn't have gone to this party."
"No Ethan, this was meant to happen. Consider this as a lesson," I said and placed my hand on his arm to comfort him. "Besides, you're sixteen. You have all the right to have fun. But don't forget to learn at the same time."
A small smile appeared on his face. "You always know to say, Thea. And if it wasn't for your help tonight, everything could've been way more difficult. I'm sorry if I disturbed you while you were dreaming of Seth."
I rolled my eyes. "Oh please."
"Have you checked up on him? He might end up like Grace."
I shook my head and reached out for my phone. "Or much worse."
"Go ahead."
I dialed Seth's phone number and after 5 rings, it was answered. "Hello?"
The voice wasn't Seth's. The person had a groggy-sounding voice, like he just woke up.
"Who is this? Why do you have Seth's phone?" I asked.
"God, Thea," the person said and then yawned. "It's Ivan. Why are you calling at..." there was a short pause before he continued, "3 am?"
"I just wanted to check up on Seth."
"He's dead drunk," he replied. "And at 3 am?"
"I'm in the hospital, Grace got in an accident while she was drunk," I explained.
"I hope she'll be fine. And don't worry, I kept an eye on Seth tonight and he didn't do any trouble. Do you wanna speak to your prince charming?"
"I though he was dead drunk?"
Ivan didn't answer, instead, I heard him move and then I was greeted by a loud snore.
I giggled as the snoring continued. "Oh my God, Seth."
"Did you get that?" Ivan asked, the phone on him again.
"No, I don't speak that language. Can you interpret that for me, Ivan?"
"That was 'thank you Thea for letting me have fun tonight in this epic party' in snore," he replied.
"Thea Hartens?" I heard someone call and I raised my hand. A nurse walked to our direction.
"I need to go, thanks Ivan."
"I'll tell Seth you called." After that, I ended the call.
"Is Grace alright?" I stood up and asked when she reached us.
"Yes, she is," she replied. "She just had a nasty cut on her head that could've been worse if it wasn't for the first aid."
Ethan put an arm around my shoulders as I smiled. "Good job," Ethan said proudly.
"Thank you," I said.
The nurse smiled a little. "She'll be good to go after a few hours."
By 7 am, Grace was feeling a little better after 2 hours of sleep (but a little bit hungover). After we dropped her home where we were met by a frantic Mrs. Stewards, Ethan drove me to mine.
My parent's car was already gone just as I have expected, meaning have been off to work. I waved goodbye to Ethan and entered the quiet, Christmas-decorated house.
There was breakfast on the table and I happily ate it, the radio humming behind me.
I spent the whole morning watching TV, munching on different kinds of snacks. Around 11 am, I decided to quit being such a lazy ass and thought about going to Seth's house to make his lunch for him.
I didn't even know if he was already home. A surprise lunch seems nice, I thought as I walked towards his house.
Halfway there, my phone rang and saw Seth's caller I.D.
"Hey there," I sang.
"Hey baby, where are you? I'm getting lonely here," he said.
"Where are you?"
"At home."
I scowled at the door infront of me. No surprise then. "I'm at your front door, dummy."
"Oh really?" He asked happily. Seth must've not heard the disappointment in my voice. Footsteps sounded and the door opened, revealing a topless Seth, with his phone in one ear and a wide grin.
"Hey stalker," he greeted.
I ended the ongoing call and rolled my eyes, making him laugh.
"That's my moody girlfriend." He put an arm around me and guided me inside the house. "'Sup, homie?"
"Have you had lunch yet?"
"Oh, not yet," he replied. "There's no food here Thea, you can go home now."
I sat on the couch. "You called me. I came."
"Oh? Well if you're not secretly The Flash, I don't know how else you got on my front door the second I called you," he said, looking down at me in amusement.
I shrugged, smiling. "You got me."
"Of course I do," he said, sitting down and snuggling me, making us lay down on the couch.
"I just wanted to make us lunch" I said.
He toyed with my hair. "And what shall we have today, Chef Thea?"
"A fresh vegetable salad without carrots," I replied, knowing Seth won't like it. "I'm thinking lettuce, some peas, spinach and more lettuce. How does that sound?"
"You're not cooking," he said, standing up. "I don't know why you suddenly want to eat some leaves but you are not cooking."
"I'm not going to cook! You don't use heat to make a salad!"
"You stay on that couch." He turned away and walked towards the kitchen.
I got off the couch by climbing over the backrest. "Then what are we going to eat?
"Does tripe sound alright?" He asked, rummaging through the freezer.
I gave him a look that says, Are you out of your mind? "I'm going home."
"Okay no, I was obviously kidding, Thea," he said. "How about paella?"
"Ooooh that sounds good," I agreed, sitting on a stool by the kitchen island. "Need some help?"
"No," he replied. "Didn't I tell you to stay on the couch?"
"You did?"
"Yes. Now shoo," he said as he started to slice some veggies, his back facing me.
"Or what? You'll send me flying back to the living room with a mighty right hook?" I teased.
His body stiffened.
My playfulness vanished, my senses now alert. Something's wrong.
I knew I had to give him some time first before I could ask him what the matter was. That's the only way to do it without Seth exploding.
I faked a yawn. "What a tiring morning with everything that happened to Grace... Do you mind if I take a little nap first?"
"No, you can go to my room if you want," he replied. It sounded soft, like he was recomposing himself.
"It's alright, the couch is good." I stood up and made my way to him. He turned to face me, giving me a small smile. After one short hug and a kiss on his cheek, I left him alone in the kitchen.
The rest of the days were filled with laughter and cuddling and kisses. The same goes to the next few days. Then Christmas finally came. Seth spent it with his relatives and I spent it with my family but of course, what is Christmas without Seth? We met late at night, I was in my balcony and he was sitting on his window sill as we exchanged gifts.
He got me a new pair of ballet shoes and a new set of really soft pink pajamas with cute handrawn dog designs. In return, I got him a bottle of designer perfume, a sweater and new games for his Xbox.
"My parents will be out tomorrow morning, they're going to visit my relatives," I said. "Maybe I can make you a belated Christmas breakfast."
"That's nice, thank you Thea," he said. "Just come over here tomorrow, alright?"
"Yeah. I probably should go to sleep. Merry Christmas Seth."
"And Merry Christmas to you, my beautiful. Sleep tight," he replied.
I smiled at him before getting back in. Don't think I forgot that something's wrong.
***
"We have to have molders Seth," I said. "That's how we're gonna have Christmas tree-shaped pancakes."
"Nah, we don't have to," he replied as he readied the pan.
I threw my hands up. "Oh God, yes we have to or else you won't get the trees that you want."
"If I can do it, what will you do?" he shot.
"I'll do your laundry!" I retorted and his eyes widened in amusement. "I know you're not gonna make it, Seth."
"If you say so," he teased.
I watched him pour the batter into an empty Heinz ketchup bottle. "Hey! You're cheating!"
Seth rolled his eyes. "It's not cheating, Thea. It's called being neat and clean."
I put my elbows up on the island's surface and rested my face on my hands, mocking a frown. I watch him squeeze the bottle down the pan little by little to form a tree. He was the most cutest and ridiculous sight I've ever seen.
Let's just say he was wearing exactly what I was wearing. Imagine my complete surprise when I saw him this morning in pink pajamas decorated with cute dogs.
And after a few minutes, one Christmas tree-shaped pancake sat infront of me.
Seth smiled smugly and wiggled his eyebrows. "I guess somebody's going to do my laundry after all."
"Ha, no," I said. "Your clothes stink."
"That's why you're gonna wash it," he pointed out. "Come on Thei, don't be like that."
"Or what? Seth, I could still take you on. I mean look at these muscles," I said, raising my arm to show off my non-existent muscle-packed forearm. Seth suppressed his laugh.
"Oh, look at those. Makes mine look like a peanut," he said sarcastically.
"Hey, I'm tougher than you think," I replied and punched my forearm. Big mistake. "Owwwwww!"
This time, he laughed downright. "Keep laughing," I warned. "Or I'll eat all these bacon I cooked."
Seth started to sober up and continued on his pancakes.
After breakfast, we washed the dirty kitchen utensils. Then I started to drag him up his room.
"Can you have dessert after breakfast?" He playfully said as I opened his door.
I rolled my eyes. "Yup, we're going to have a really sweet dessert."
I walked to his bathroom and got the laundry basket. I made a face at the smell.
"Can this smell even worse?" I asked when I stepped out with his clothes.
Seth laughed and took the container from me and took the handles on either of his hands. "Smell the love."
Doing his laundry was fun. Seth even turned up the radio and settled on a station that kept playing lively Christmas songs, making us dance ridiculously the whole time.
We continued dancing upstairs in the big space between the living room and kitchen. When the songs started to change into slow ones, Seth and I began to waltz around. Seth also started having fun by flying me around and testing out my ballet skills.
"We could stay like this forever," he murmured in my hair as we swayed softly, my head in his chest.
"We can," I replied. "Even if we can't stand anymore."
I felt him smile. "We will."
But we didn't.
The door suddenly opened and Sarah ran excitedly towards us.
"Seth! Thea!" She squealed, hugging both waists.
I picked her up from the floor and hugged her. She hugged back, giggling. Seth then enveloped us in his arms.
"You didn't tell me you're coming home today," Seth said with a laugh at Marie who stood by the door, looking at us admiringly. But I could see her uneasiness.
"Sarah couldn't wait for next week, she misses you so much," she replied.
"Awww baby," he cooed and hugged us tighter.
"We bought gifts for you and Thea," Sarah said.
"Oh yeah?" Seth chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Thank you Sarah, you're the best."
Sarah giggled again. "Santa is getting them from the car."
Seth and I exchanged looks as Sarah turned her body around slightly towards the door. "Oh there's your gifts!"
Our heads turned back to the door to see a tall man right beside Marie and a wave of surprise rushed over me.
It wasn't because he was holding huge shopping bags full of wrapped presents. Or how stunning he looks even with a ridiculous red christmas hat on his head.
It was because he looked like Seth.
His father.