Alex's POV
I'm glad that Jayden is finally done with school. I've been an eyewitness of how much hard work she went through in order to finish on time. I have one more year to go before I can take my board exam to become an official doctor and I can't wait to get it over with.
When I'm going through a patch and I feel like giving up, what I do to get out of the funk is think of what's the end of this line.
It's exciting for me to be able to finish what I've started but what gets me more excited is the thought that Jayden will finally be mine. Mine to hold day and night, mine to cherish and protect and mine to love until the end of time.
When I called her the next day after our graduation dinner, she told me that she was going to a restaurant with her classmates to wish everyone goodbye.
Since I couldn't go, she asked Angelique to go with her. I thought it was just going to be a simple dinner.
I tried to call her around seven but she didn't pick up. I even called Mark to see if she's home but he said no. I was starting to worry.
I called Angelique's cell phone but she wasn't picking up either. By the time a got a hold of one of them it was almost 11 o'clock. Angelique hurriedly explained that one of the guys decided to continue the party at his house, more like the drinking party.
She said that Jayden got challenged to drink alcohol. I know that her next words wouldn't be something I would want to hear. I knew enough that Jayden won't back down with a challenge.
She asked me of what to do with Jayden since apparently someone spiked the punch with alcohol and dared Jayden to drink.
I was flabbergasted, Jayden can't even stomach a small amount of alcohol and she drank a whole glass? I quickly asked for the address and drove there as fast as I could.
When I got there, a guy had his arms around her. I remember him as the guy who had his arm on her shoulder one day at the university outside the cafeteria. I knew there was something fishy about him?
I approached them and Angelique saw me first. Jayden was trying to talk but her words were slurring a bit.
When she saw me, she gave a big smile and started walking towards me. I had to quickly catch her before she lands facedown on the floor.
Before anyone could say anything, I just picked her up bridal style and brought her to my car. I dropped off Angelique first and while we were driving, she wasn't talking much. She could tell by my look that I wasn't happy.
'She was just playing along with the guys, she thought she could handle it,' trying to defend her friend.
'What if you weren't there? What if she got so drunk that someone could have taken advantage of her?' my hands tightened their hold on the wheel. Trying not make a mountain out of this but I was worried.
'Just don't to be too hard on her when she wakes up in the morning. She'll feel bad enough as it is. Just let her stay with me and I'll take care of her,' she's still trying to protect her irresponsible friend.
'No, I'll take her to my house. I'll call Mark and tell him that my parents asked Jayden to stay at the guest room for the night. I just hope he won't ask too many questions,' I keep looking at Jayden. She's fast asleep next to Angelique and she looking so innocent.
I dropped her off and thank her again for calling me. I told her I'll give her an update once the little daredevil wakes up in the morning.
Luckily my parents were already asleep when we got home. As I was carrying her upstairs to the guest room, she started waking up.
'Oh, Alex. How nice of you to... Why are you carrying me? Wait.. this is not my house,' looking at her surroundings. She must be waking up from her alcohol induced sleep.
'No, it's mine,' marching towards the guest room. As soon as I set her down on the floor, she got dizzy and she staggered a little. She starting dry heaving and made a quick dash to the bathroom.
Right on time, as she hurled all her stomach contents on to the toilet. The poor housekeeper is gonna have a rough day tomorrow.
I took a wash cloth from the linen closet and wet it with cold water. I dabbed her face and mouth. I kept her hair off her face to avoid any nasty vomit and gave her a glass of water so she can gurgle once she finished emptying her stomach.
'What did I ate?' she asked, wiping her face again with the wash cloth while moaning and groaning.
'Not ate but drank. Don't you remember? How could you let them fool you into drinking alcohol when you know damn well your body can't tolerate it?' my voice got a little louder.
'Don't scream, please. My head is pounding,' she just got up and walked into the shower fully clothed.
Before I could warn her that she still has her clothes on, she was already soaking wet and started soaping herself. Her shirt clung to her skin and I could see every outline of her body through the wet shirt. Wooo, danger zone. I shut off the shower handle and told her she's done and gave her a towel as I got out of the bathroom.
When she came out just wearing a towel, I'd about had a heart attack. She looks so tempting with her hair all wet and fresh scent of my soap on her skin.
I threw sleeping clothes in her general direction and went down stairs to get some pain reliever. I gave her a few minutes to finish dressing and cool myself down and went back upstairs.
By the time I got to the room, she was out. She didn't even have time to get under the covers. Her hair is still wet. I took a hair dryer and placed it on low setting to not wake her up and dried her hair.
I took the opportunity to study her face really close while she's asleep. I would love to see this face every morning. Just the thought of it gives me an excited feeling in my stomach.
How does such a small person make such a big impact in my life? I've forgotten what it was like being with my other girls, anymore.
Ever since I've met Jayden, she has made other girls less noticeable to me. I find that I'm not as attracted to them.
Whereas with her, every little sexy thing she does excites me to no end. I stopped drying her hair, covered her and make a quick dash out of the room before I could take advantage of her.
Lucky for her, my parents went out early to play golf with some friends so they didn't even know that she's in our house.
When she came downstairs, I had her breakfast ready. I made her drink a lot of water and after she ate, I gave her a couple of Tylenol for her headache.
Her hair was all over the place and she's grimacing every time she moves. I feel bad but I still couldn't forget that she did this to herself, putting herself at a disadvantage.
'I must have drank too much last night coz' I feel like crap,' holding her head in her hands.
'So now you remember? BTW you only had a glass of punch according to Angelique.' Correcting her.
'Ha? A glass? I feel like I drank a whole bottle,' looking at me sideways with a frown.
'They must have made it pretty concentrated. How could you allow yourself to be swayed by those guys and do something reckless,' I started my ranting again. 'Do you know what could have happened had Angelique not been there to keep an eye on you?' trying to make her realize her error.
'But it was a dare, how could I refuse when all these 4 years with them, all I've wanted was to be treated like one of them,' making excuses for my crazy behavior.
'Jayden, you know that you have their respect. You've proven yourself to them time and time again. You don't have to be like one of them because you're not. You're Jayden. You're you. Besides you're a girl.' The last sentence I just murmured it knowing she'll take offense.
'I'm sorry.' Is all I got out of her then proceeded to just ignore me. I moved to her side and made her look at me.
'Don't do it again, please.' She just nodded. I gave up. Angelique is right, it's useless to berate her when she's already feeling bad as it is. I just kissed her in the lips and let her finish eating.
I took her back home before her parents realized she was gone all night. Mark opened the door as soon as we got there.
'Dude, she almost got busted. My mom went looking for her and I told her that she left early for a run.' He turned to Jayden and grimaced. 'You look like crap. What the heck did you do last night?'
'Don't ask. After last night, I've decided to join AA.' she must be feeling better because she even had a funny comeback.
After her graduation, she started looking for a job. It wasn't too long before she got hired by a firm who does contract work with some big commercial company that makes industrial equipment.
Turns out, her professor had a hand in her being hired since he recognized her potential while she was taking his class.
She doesn't think she's smart. As far as I'm concerned if you can get through four year of very technical classes, you're smart. It's a bonus too that she has the knock with trouble shooting.
She didn't even need a formal interview. The company's HR director called her and after telling her their expectations, they offered her the job.
When she found out she got the job, she called me while I was at the hospital. I asked for an early lunch from my supervising doctor and met her at a nearby café.
As soon as she saw me she ran to me shouting, 'I got hired, I got hired,' ignoring the weird looks that she's getting. I just opened my arms wide and enveloped her tight.
Her eyes were twinkling as she was regaling me with how she got the job. Her excitement reminded of a little girl who got an early x'mas present. She asked me to have dinner with her family this coming Saturday to celebrate the success of her job hunting.