Double Dating

Chapter Twenty

The drive conducted in sweet silence. This poor Uber driver didn't need to hear the things I was about to scream. The decision that I couldn't take back now was seeming worse and worse as I pulled up to my empty house, knowing that the boys wouldn't be there.

A twinge of guilt nagged at me, slowly ripping me apart inside. Maybe it was the stress mixed with alcohol, causing some sort of acid reflux. Either way, I jumped out of the car before it came to a full stop in front of my house and proceeded to vomit in the bushes.

"Mia..." Graham came up behind me and patted my back gently, just letting things run their course. He laughed without much humor behind it, just trying to lighten the mood. "I didn't know you were such a lightweight."

"Shut the fuck up." I reached into my purse and fished out the keys to hand them over, "Go inside and make me some tea."

His dry laugh filled the air, "Whatever you say, boss."

After I finished dry heaving, I followed him inside. My tea was steeping in a big mug and beside it were some chocolate chip cookies on a plate that I bought on my last grocery store trip. I was looking forward to breaking those open when the boys and I watched a movie...

I carried the tea and cookies to the living room to find Graham making himself comfortable in the reclining seat on the sofa, sipping his own cup of tea. He grinned from ear to ear and patted the seat beside him, likely thinking I'd forgotten all about yelling at him.

"Pause the movie." I said when I sat on the sofa with a little bit of space between us. He pouted so I grabbed the remote myself to press pause. "We can watch it after I get all the details about what happened tonight."

He refused to look at me when he told me everything he said to them. "Well... When you walked away, I just couldn't help it. I said that they don't deserve you and that you look miserable with them because you feel like you're in a strange relationship. Then I may have mentioned prom night."

All the blood in my body rushed to my cheeks. Largely due to embarrassment but partly due to anger.

"Why? Why would you say those things?"

He ran a shaky hand through his hair, practically pulling it out in the process, "Because it's how I feel and I think you feel the same way. Don't lie to me, if you hadn't met them and I came back to town at this time, we'd be together."

"No, there's no possible way of knowing that. I'm happy with them..." I trailed off, realizing something that I hoped he wouldn't.

But he did. "Then why am I here and not them? Why did you choose me over them?"

That feeling of guilt came rushing back. I leapt off the sofa to sprint to the bathroom and made it in time to throw up in the toilet. Agonizing remorse crept up my spine and twisted my heart strings, causing me to continuously retch until anything I ate within the last twelve hours was emptied into the toilet.

A shadow casted across the tile floor and I flushed before turning around to look at him. His complacent smirk made me want to punch him myself. Now I can't blame Nico. I wanted them here, not him.

"Get me my phone."

He raised a brow, "Why?"

Shakily, I hoisted myself up off the cold floor and tried to make my way past him. When he didn't let me through I almost hit him right then and there. "Because I need to text them. Move."

"Why?"

"Is this twenty-fucking-questions? M-O-V-E. Move!" I spelled it out and then screamed it in his face but he didn't budge, not even when I began beating his chest with my fists. Not a single one of my hits did anything because of my weakened state that was only getting worse by the minute.