Chapter Forty-Seven - A drunken Paxton.

McKenna

A loud noise outside my room startles me awake. What the hell? Is someone breaking in? No, that would be impossible. My brother has an excellent security system. I get out of bed, switch on the light, and slightly open the bedroom door to peek into the hallway. Paxton is lying on the floor, laughing. How much has he had to drink? I expected he would have been home before now.

I sigh, heading over to him. “What the hell are you doing down there?”

“Dimples, there you are. I was trying to find your room.” He chuckles.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t enjoy fighting with you. I wanted to come see you.”

I kneel and assist him in sitting up. “Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?”

He shakes his head, “Nope. Fine.”

“You need to be careful, Paxton.”

I stand and lend him a hand. It’s difficult to do it without help. He is not light. I manage and he stumbles, but I make sure to hold him upright. I need to get him to his room, into his bed.

“Why is there so much noise?” I hear my brother ask.

“He has had too much to drink. Go back to bed. You have work tomorrow. I will ensure he goes to sleep.”

I can’t take the chance of Paxton drunkenly revealing something about me in front of my brother. It becomes difficult to maintain secrecy while under the influence.

“I thought you were cutting down on the drink?” Carter’s shoulders slump as he lets out a deep sigh.

“I am, but had a bad day.” He slurs.

“Come on, it’s time for you to go to bed. We can chat tomorrow when you’ve sobered up."

Thank God, at least when he is sober, he won’t tell Carter about me. We get him to his room and into bed.

“Carter, go back to bed. I will make sure he is comfortable and get him water.”

“Are you sure?” he asks.

I nod and smile. He says goodnight to him and leaves the room. I breathe a sigh of relief, my body finally able to relax, knowing that we are safe. I take a brief pause before helping Paxton undress until he’s left in his boxers. If I did it while Carter was here, it would have raised questions. He would have wondered why I seemed so comfortable helping him take his clothes off. I cover him up and try to walk away.

I don’t get far because he clutches me to stop me. “Stay.”

“Sorry, Paxton, I can’t. I am going to get you some water. I’ll be back in a minute.”

I can’t sleep in next to him. I need to stop these things. It will give him the wrong idea. I know I didn’t help matters when I was drunk. Why do we act so stupid when we have been drinking?

Sighing, he turns away from me. Without uttering a single word, I exit the room and go downstairs to fetch him water. When I return, he is snoring. That didn’t take him long. I placed the water beside his bed. I sit on the edge and stroke his hair.

“Sweet dreams, handsome. I wish things could be different, but they can’t be.”

I kiss his forehead and he doesn’t move, not even an inch. Before leaving him to sleep, I make sure to cover him up. I return to my room and slide back into bed. I lie, staring at the ceiling. I hope he will be okay alone. Why wouldn’t he be? He’s been worse off before.

Did he get wasted because of me? I assume that is what is wrong with him. If only things hadn’t gotten so complicated. I toss and turn, trying to get back to sleep, but with no luck. I am worried about Paxton in case he is sick or something.

There is only one way I will get some sleep. I groan, annoyed at myself. I get out of bed once more and go back to his room. He was still sound asleep. I have to leave in a few hours, in case Carter comes by to check on him.

I crawl into bed with him. He rolls over in his sleep, draping his arm over me. I hoped he wouldn’t do this while he’s sleeping. I move on my side, my back to him, but he doesn’t pull away. He wraps his arms around me and brings me in tightly to his firm body. I have to admit; it feels great. There’s no denying that.

He nuzzles his face between my shoulder blades. I ignore the smell of scotch coming from him. It could be worse; he could smell of sex. A part of me expected that if he went out and drank, he would hook up with someone. I am happy he didn’t. Well, I don’t think he did.

I push thoughts to the back of my head. I need to sleep. I ensure I set my alarm at six to sneak back into my room. Hopefully, Paxton won’t figure out I was in bed with him. By morning, he won’t recall much.

I close my eyes and wait for sleep to take over. I don’t know how tomorrow will be between us. I want to avoid any awkwardness. I want us to return to being friends only. It will be challenging, but it’s the right choice. Summer is almost over. I must remain strong until then. Will this time be any different? Will he leave and forget about me again, or will he keep in touch? My gut tells me he won’t disappear from my life. I want him to stay in it. Despite all the changes to our dynamic this summer, I’d like to believe he will keep his promise.

“You came back,” he whispers.

When did he wake up?

“Yes, because I wanted to make sure you were okay. Don’t think too much into it.” I say softly.

There is no response from him. He begins to snore again. I shouldn’t have come back. It was a bad idea. I sigh to myself. It is only for a few hours and then I can go back to my bed.