Page 36
NOEL
We pull up to a hotel that's right on the beach. Grady gets out first to check us all in while we grab our bags, and I can help Alex.
Ace is wasted, and Levi isn't much better.
I found them outside, where most of the party guests were congregated.
Ace was sitting on a piano doing shots with a few guests, Grady was making out with a woman twice his age, and Levi was on a pool float shaped like a pineapple drinking a margarita.
I told them twenty minutes.
I rounded them up, and we left quickly. Alex's father was nowhere to be seen, but the maids were looking frantic as we left. They definitely know we were the cause of everything.
“We're checked in,” Grady tells us when we meet him at the elevator. “Room 402.” He didn't get drunk off his ass like the other two.
“What's the bed situation?” Ace slurs, trying to focus on Grady. The bright fluorescent lights look like it hurts his eyes.
“Two queens.”
Levi groans, turning around to head towards the front desk. “I'll go get my own room.”
Grady grips his shirt collar, stopping him. “It’s one night. You'll survive. We're here for Alex; don't be so picky.”
Levi rolls his eyes.
“Yeah, I need support. Come kiss my boo-boos.” Alex steps closer to him, shoving his face in Levi's, but Levi pushes at his chest with a snarl. The elevator dings and opens for us to get inside.
“Please don't hurl in the elevator,” Grady asks Ace, who's inhaling and exhaling deep, controlled breaths.
“I'm going straight to the balcony when we get there,” Ace moans. I wrap an arm around him and pat his head, giving him my best unimpressed glare.
“I said twenty minutes, and we needed to leave.”
“Yeah, but seeing Alex bloody on the floor like that made us all need drinks really bad. Also, it was an open bar. Top shelf liquor, too!”
I shake my head at him.
“I'm perfectly fine; don't I look fine?” Alex breathes out a chuckle. They all look at his busted-up face with mixed expressions. Mild horror, pity, deadpan.
We reach our floor and get off, walking down the hall until we reach 402. Grady unlocks the door using the card, opening up into a large, open space. The beds are side by side with tables that have lamps and ocean-related decorations. Straight ahead are the double balcony doors that show off the beautiful scenery of the beach.
Ace runs to it, unlocking and sliding the door open. A gentle breeze flows into the room, smelling fresh and salty.
Alex goes to one of the beds and lays down. “I'm going to sleep. My head is throbbing.”
I grab the little bucket on the nightstand and tell him I’m going to get ice for his face. When I return with ice, Grady takes his shirt off and hands it to me.
“Wrap some in that.”
“Thanks,” I tell him as I dump some cubes in the shirt, tying it up.
I sit beside him, lean down, and kiss his cheek gently before placing the ice pack on his side. “Can I do anything for you? Some water? More pills?”
“Nah. Just rest.”
I nod. “Anything you need, I'll get it for you.”
He closes his eyes, already letting the exhaustion take over. “Love you,” he breathes out.
“Love you too,” I say back quietly, getting off the bed and letting him crawl under the covers.
Grady turns on the TV, putting on a movie that no one is going to watch. Levi is lying on the other bed, rubbing at his eyes.
“Room service?” I ask, starving. Grady looks at the table in the corner and grabs a menu, handing it to me.
“It charges the card, so get whatever you want. My treat.”
I take the menu and chuckle, shaking my head. “Thanks. I feel so spoiled when I'm with you all.”
Grady’s smile is blinding. “You're welcome. It's kind of nice being able to share my parent's wealth with someone who actually appreciates it… Everyone I know also comes from money.”
I order two large supreme pizzas and sodas for everyone. As I hang up, Ace walks in, looking much better, ruffling his curls. He takes his spot beside Levi on the bed.
“Don't even think about sleeping beside me,” Levi says angrily. Ace blinks at him and then stands up abruptly.
“Why do you have to do this now? After what we went through tonight, you're going to act like this?”
Levi's eyes go wide. “I just don't want you to—”
“Want me to do what? Make a move? Try and kiss you again? Maybe try sucking your—”
Grady reaches him first, pulling at his hand and stopping him with a soft-spoken tone. “Hey, that's enough.”
Ace's cheeks burn red. His eyes shine with drunkenness and tears. “Sometimes I really hate you, Levi.” His voice trembles, breaking when he looks away.
“Yeah? Well, I fucking hate you!” Levi stands up, towering over Ace. His eyes are like daggers, throwing them right in Ace's chest.
“Levi, shut the fuck up!” Grady yells over him, trying to get some semblance of control over the situation. I'm at a loss for what to do. This seems like something that's been brewing for a long time, and of course it's happening right now, after Alex's family situation. Levi turns his anger on Grady next.
“And you! You think you know what's best for him? He's not yours!”
“And he isn't yours either, Levi.” Grady’s voice has never sounded so deep or serious before. Grady is the relaxed, chill one in the group. But right now, he looks downright terrifying.
Levi laughs without humor. “He's more mine than yours.”
“You're drunk. Go lay down and shut up. I'm not doing this. I'm two seconds away from knocking your ass out.”
Levi gets right up on him, antagonizing him. “You're not going to do shit.”
“I vote for knocking Levi out so we can all get some rest,” Alex muffles from under the covers, but the others don't pay him any mind.
“Just stop! I'll sleep with Alex and Noel. You can have the stupid bed. I'm so over this shit. I'm done doing this with you.” He frustratingly wipes at his tears. I go to him, offering a hug with an open arm, and he accepts it, hiding his face in my chest with a sigh. I hold his head there and pet over his curls soothingly, patting his back too.
Levi turns to face Ace, chuckling. “You're not done with me. You always come crying back to me after you let some asshole fuck you. Because the only thing you're good at is getting fucked like the little whore you—”
Grady punches him.
Alex is halfway off the bed, as if he were on his way to do it, but Grady was closer. Levi hits the floor with a groan, and I hold back Ace from interfering.
“How could you say that about him?” Grady stands over him, looking disgusted. “Ace loves you; do you get that? After all he's been through... and you choose to say that to him? I can't believe you, man.” Grady shakes his head in disgust.
Levi knows better than to get back up and fight.
The alcohol made him brave, but even he knows not to mess with Grady. He stays on the floor, furiously staring up at Grady while wiping a thumb at his mouth. He must have bit his lip when Grady punched his cheek.
“Please... stop,” Ace cries out, looking at Grady helplessly. His chin is wobbling, his eyes big and full of tears. Grady sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. He looks at Ace, nods once, and Ace runs over to him, hugging him tightly. Grady keeps him close, his arms wrapping around him in an embrace.
Levi gets up slowly, cradling his jaw.
“You know you deserved that,” Alex not so helpfully adds, sitting up in bed, crossed-legged.
Levi and Grady have a long stare off, neither of them backing down first, then he turns away and opens the door, leaving without a key card or any belongings. My head drops back with a long sigh as I stare up at the ceiling.
I can hear Alex laugh quietly. “He'll be back. He's just drunk and in his feels.”
Grady takes Ace into the bathroom, and I don't really want to know what they get up to in there. I can hear the shower turn on, mumbling voices, and more crying.
I turn to Alex. “Why did he say that?”
Alex shrugs. “He still hasn't come to talk to me. I offered. I don't think he even knows what he wants, but that shit he said came from jealousy.”
“That's what I thought,” I mumble, already knowing what I'm going to do. I take the key card off the desk and put it in my back pocket with my cell phone. “I'll be back.”
Alex grins, shifting his features into a false display of amusement. “If he hurts you, he's dead. So don't provoke the bear, doe eyes.”
I lean down and kiss his lips, pulling back slowly to whisper. “I'm no deer. I'm a knight.”
He comes back for another kiss, licking at my lips, and I inhale sharply. He kisses me deep, slow, and languid. “Love you,” he pants against my mouth then pushes me away roughly. “I need sleep. Go make sure he doesn't drown and get back here.”
“Of course, baby.”
I leave our hotel room and head down the elevator. If I were Levi, I'd go straight to the beach. It's a nice night. Chilly, but I have on a jacket. The walk down to the ocean gives me a chance to think for a minute. It's been chaotic since we landed here, and my mind is finally able to catch up with everything.
Alex's abusive father attacking him so violently tonight.
The reveal that his mother isn't Sophia, but a maid who committed suicide when Alex was a baby.
And now this ?
I breathe in the relaxing beach air. I've never been to this ocean before. It's incredible. I wish we were here under different circumstances, but right now that I'm alone, it's nice.
I take my time as I walk along the waves, not stepping foot in them, but wishing I could.
It's dark out, and I can barely make out the area. He either went left or right, so I chose to go left.
Hopefully I'll run up on him.
I take my phone out and use it as a flashlight to help me, and after just a couple minutes of walking, I see it. The shadow of a person sitting right on the shore.
The closer I get, the clearer his silhouette becomes. He's lying down on his back.
“Don't freak, it's just me,” I announce myself. Levi doesn't twitch or show any sign he hears me. I sit beside him and turn the flash off. We stay quiet. The waves crash.
“I fucked up.”
I nod, but he can't see. “Yeah.”
“I didn't mean it.”
“I don't understand you, Levi.”
He snorts. “I don't understand myself.”
Alex was right. Levi is dealing with things about himself, and he was lashing out. It's not an excuse, but it is a reason.
“You love him,” I say as a statement. Levi does love Ace. It took me a while to figure it out… but I can see Levi cares deeply for him.
“I just told him he's a whore to his face.”
“He knows you didn't mean it.”
“...What if I did?”
“You're jealous he's having sex with other guys and not you. You don't think he's a whore. You're angry that he's not your whore.”
I can feel Levi's eyes on me, but I can't make out his face.
“That's not true,” he whispers. “I do love him… but not like that.”
“You'll figure it out when you're ready.”
“Why are you out here, Noel?” He questions me aggressively, evading my words.
“To talk to you. I was worried you'd drown.”
He scoffs, but it sounds more like a laugh. “I probably should. I don't know how I'll show my face to them. That was the meanest thing I could have said. I can't believe I said it…”
I shrug. “Tell them you're sorry. Ace will forgive you, and Grady will too. You're thinking too hard about it.”
“It's not that simple.”
“It is. Repeat after me: I'm sorry, Ace. I was drunk and said things I didn't mean. I'm a dick. You know this about me.”
Levi pushes my shoulder, but it's harmless. I sway back to him with a laugh.
“Ace is too good to me. I don't deserve his forgiveness.”
“Don't assume what you think he deserves,” I repeat what Ace told me back to him. “I don't know your history with him, but he thinks very, very highly of you. That must mean there's good in you, coming from Ace's opinion.”
I can hear Levi inhale sharply, wiping at his nose. Maybe he's more sensitive than I originally thought.
“I think I just want to stay out here a little longer,” he tells me, his voice shaky and vulnerable.
“Okay.” I start to get up, but his hand reaches out to grab my arm.
“You can… stay. If you want.” He let's go, and I sit back down with a grin.
“I'd like that.” I lay back, and he does the same, starfishing on the sand.
We stay and listen to the sound of the ocean.
Table of Contents
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- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36 (Reading here)
- Page 37
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- Page 39