Ugh I thought this chapter was so bad. I'll rewrite it in the morning, when I can actually think ;_; So yeah, I'll let you know after I go over it~
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Blaire’s POV
About fifteen minutes after Grayson had left previously in the day, I felt some sort of odd pang in my chest. And that odd feeling lingered there. But I brushed it off— it’s just the cold air outside, yeah?
Meanwhile, on the other hand, Justin was taking a sip out of a big cup filled with Kool Aid. I stared at it enviously, burning holes into the cup,
“Juuusssstin.”
“No.”
“Pleaaase?” I stared at the Kool-Aid cup in his hands. “One sip?”
“No,” Justin swallowed, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “You wanna pee in the bed again like you did when you were five?” he laughed to himself, setting his cup down.
I glared at him like a moose would, with its angry buckteeth and ugly snorts. But all Justin did was continue to laugh at me.
Don’t look at me like that! It’s not my fault that I have bladder issues. Sure, maybe I do drink a little too much before bed. But it wasn’t necessary for Justin to tell the whole damn world.
I sighed, dragging my toe in the dirt. He’s probably right. I shouldn’t drink too much before bed.
After all, Justyduck’s just looking out for me.
Even if it was something as dumb as a bladder issue. Right?
Jordan’s POV
I’m ready to drag Justin by the head, beat him up with a stick, and toss him into the lake and leave him there.
How can he just laugh at Blaire like that?
Sure, maybe Blaire does have some issues. I sure do admire Justin for how he tells everyone Blaire’s goddamn personal issues.
I hand Blaire my cup and he squeals momentarily before drinking it down. I’m not about to deny Blaire any drink, unlike Justadick.
Justin sighs at me before turning away, staring at the dying fire. Aunt Cecilia must have noticed, because she’s ripping up newspapers and stabbing the fire with a stick, trying to get it to burn up again.
“Goddammit, Grayson,” she mutters under her breath, trying to make the fire warmer.
“Why Grayson?” Blaire pipes up.
“Because he usually does this.”
I don’t like Grayson, but that doesn’t mean I hate him either. In fact, I’d prefer him to what he calls “Justadick.”
Grayson’s an expert at being an asshole, but to be honest, me and him aren’t that much different. We both see things differently; only thing is, he speaks his mind, and I cover everything up with a lovely smile.
Come on. I’m pretty damn attractive.
Blaire hands my cup back to me, empty, and beams, staring at the now dead-fire. “Where’s Grayson?” Blaire asks, looking at me. I shrug, digging the cup into the dirt below me.
“No, seriously,” Blaire continues, waving his hands around. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know,” Justin growls, standing up to go over to Talia. “And I don’t care either.”
“Jordan?”
“I don’t know,” I shrug apologetically. “I’m sorry.”
And I don’t know why, but Blaire starts panicking. “Jordy, I saw him this morning.”
I’m confused. “What?”
“The last time anyone saw him was this morning!” Blaire throws his arms out, knocking Justadick’s cup over, the liquid spilling everywhere. But Blaire can’t care, because he’s pacing back and forth. “He hasn’t come back?”
“Where did he last go?”
“The woods, near that big rock,” Blaire points over in the general direction of the lake, and I shudder.
“Maybe he needs some alone time,” I suggest, but Blaire shakes his head.
“He told me that he loved me last night,” Blaire says quietly, biting his thumb. “And I kind of slept with him last night, and I sort-of-but-not-really led him on and told him that I wouldn’t leave him but I did and now I feel so bad because I picked Justyduck over him and—“
“Blaire,” I interrupt. “Are you married to Grayson or what? You make it sound like you’re pregnant with his kid or something.”
“No!” Blaire wails. “We didn’t have sex or anything! I just kindofaccidentallyledhimon and Jordy what do I doooo?” Blaire wails even louder, drawing the attention of everyone else. “What if he’s deaaad?!”
“What if who’s dead?” Sarah pipes up.
“Grayson!”
Immediately, everyone turns back to what they’re doing.
“Ignorant bastards!” Blaire screams, jumping off and running into the woods.
“Blaire!” I have to chase after him, because, what if there really are bears in this forest? What if it devours Blaire and Grayson both? Of course, my attractive looks will probably stop the bear from eating me, and instead, hump me, but there’s no guarantee.
It’s so dark in the forest; I can barely make out the top of Blaire’s frost-colored head. “Blaaaire!”
“I have to find him!”
“BLAIRE!”
Blaire suddenly lets out the loudest, longest shriek ever, and I know for a fact that he just fainted.
I hear him hit the ground, and I scramble around to try to find Blaire.
And that’s when I see it.
It's a corpse. Washed up on the lake side. When I examine the ugly corpse for a second, I realize it's not so ugly. It's...
It's Grayson.
His eyes are half open and glazed over, all glassy. The dirt that has been accumulated on him for a while now is frozen on him, and he looks extremely dirty. His hair is matted to his forehead while blood is twining his hair together, kind of like gel. His skin is so blue, so pale in the moonlight, and when I reach out to touch his hand, he’s cold.
Is he dead?
Blaire’s POV
Jordan’s petting my hair down, and slowly, I open my eyes, watching as Jordan touches that…corpse.
Grayson’s dead.
Tears start streaming down my cheeks. Angry tears. How can he just leave like this?!
“How can you touch that?” I slap Jordan’s hand away, sniffling. “We gotta save him!” I wailed loudly, hiccupping sobs.
“Wait.” Jordan puts his ear on Grayson’s chest, and his eyes suddenly light up. “Go get help, Blaire. I can hear his heartbeat.”
I put my own ear to his nasty shirt and listen.
“You go get help, dipshit!” I scream, shooing Jordan off. “And hurry!”
Jordan runs off, and I stare helplessly at the cold, wet, unconscious Grayson, with blood dried up on his forehead. I dip my finger into the lake and wipe it off slowly, hoping that it’d bring him back. When the ice-cold water doesn’t faze him, I start to feel some of my emotions roll back.
“JORDAN! HURRY!” I scream, but I get no reply. Just the echoing of my own voice, here in the dark woods.
I slowly press my ear to his chest again and his heartbeat is fading.
No.
“Grayson! You dipshit! You better live!” I scream in his face, slapping his arm. I can feel the tears welling in my eyes, and they refuse to drip down my cheeks. “You’re not leaving me here alone! I’m sorry I left you! I shouldn’t have! GRAYSON!” I slap him across his face, and put my hand on his heart. His heartbeat is so light, so slow, as if it’s not even there. Streams of water reach my chin, and I wipe them away angrily, hitting Grayson’s stomach. “GRAYSON! You better stay here if you want me to tell you that I love y—“
“Where is he?!”
And suddenly, there’s a bunch of people hovering over Grayson, yelling at each other to pick a leg up, to move an arm, to carefully carry his head. Everyone but Justin.
Because he’s looking at me with such an odd expression. I can’t even read it.
“What were you going to say to Grayson?” he asks quietly.
Shiiiiiit.
“That…that I loved his stuffed dog, and I wanted to date it. But he wouldn’t let me because he thought I was creepy.” I stated lamely.
“Justin! Pick up his leg!”
Justin glares before heading over to Grayson, and I quickly take Aunt Cecilia’s phone to dial 911. I breathe a sigh of relief once Justin’s gone. That was close.
But of course, Aunt Cecilia’s phone is dead.
“Well, how are we going to get him to the damn hospital?!” she screams at me once I tell her, supporting Grayson’s lower midsection. “I can’t drive in the dark!”
Seriously?! Unbelievable.
“Do it for Grayson!”
She sighs. “I don’t want the rest of us to die too!”
“Listen!” I hear myself scream. I’m just as surprised as the rest of them. “Grayson is near DEAD right now and you’re worried about driving in the damn darkness?! Who the fuck cares if you screw up your car?! Get him to the fucking hospital so he doesn’t die! You’ve pushed him so much now! At least try and save your own fucking nephew!”
“But why was he in the lake in the first pla—“
“It. Doesn’t. Fucking. Matter! What is wrong with you people?!” There are hot, angry tears down my cheeks, and I don’t care who can see anymore. They should see.
See that at least someone cares.
There is a miraculous five seconds of silence before everyone starts screaming and runs out of the forest, Grayson in tow.
Before I follow after the rest of them though, I spot something wet and soggy in the dirt. I pick it up, and it’s a piece of paper. There’s a huge, rotting branch besides that, and half of it is into the lake, the other half where Grayson’s body was.
I slowly look up, and one large, tall redwood tree has a branch missing near the very top. Fifty feet above.
Did…did he jump?
After staring at the wet paper for a couple of seconds, I realize it’s an origami deer.
And that’s when I run after him.
Grayson’s POV
I can’t move. I can’t talk, I can’t see, I can’t…I can’t breathe.
All I can do is hear.
In and out.
Fading
and
out.
“…use the defibrillator…”
And suddenly, I feel pain. It’s running through my chest, straight down to my toes. It’s cold. It’s freezing.
“Again!” I hear, and I can hear a lot of beeping machines. Fast ones. Slow ones. Flatlining ones.
More pain. “Again!” “Again!” “Faster!” “He’ll die!” “Hurry!”
No one would care. No one would’ve cared unless I really am dead. Then they’ll ask themselves, ‘What happened to Grayson? What pushed him over the edge? I loved him. I cared for him."
But that will only be because I'm gone.
And I’ll be in that coffin, asleep forever. They’ll never know, and eventually, they’d forget.
Another jolt to my heart. More pain.
Until
I
Can’t
Feel
Anything
Anymore.