Gracie | Cory Wilson

Chapter 1.5.3

"Come on, Cory," I whined. Jordan and I had left the pub immediately after Chloe was taken from the party by her mum. Though I had offered for them to stay at my house to avoid their dad in the morning, Jordan had insisted on going back to theirs. "Are you sure your dad will be okay with this?"

"He'll be in bed or at the pub," Jordan insisted as Cory's head drooped further. "He hasn't called either of us, so he's not worried or angry... yet."

While this didn't help convince me, it was too late. We were standing outside the front door of their house.

No lights were on, which was a good sign seeing as we were both praying for the Wilson dad to be gone. There was a faint breathing sound coming from the living room. Judging by how deep the breathing was, I assumed that the person was sleeping.

Jordan slipped out from under Cory's arm. He pointed to the stairs and mouthed a 'go', continuing towards the living room door. I made my way up the stairs as quietly as possible and tried to help Cory do the same.

"He's asleep," Jordan whispered, jogging up the stairs as I reached the top. 

"Okay," I muttered back, heading for Cory's room. "I'll see you in the morning, Jordan."

Cory flopped onto his bed like a dead body and starfished across the bed. Good thing it was a Saturday tomorrow. His head would be killing him. 

I walked over to him, pulled his shoes off gently, and then placed them neatly beside his bed. I did the same with his jacket and undid the three top buttons of his polo shirt, not wanting him to choke in his sleep. After that, I peeled one of his arms off the bed and moved it over, crawling into bed beside him.

He looked so cute. Well, if you ignored the dribble hanging out of the corner of his mouth, he looked cute. His hair was a mess, lips were slightly parted. I thought back to what he had said earlier:

I love you.

Did he mean it? Are drunk words sober thoughts? Or was he completely off his head? As I looked at his sleeping face, I couldn't help but hope he meant it. I wanted to hear him repeat it more than anything.

Hesitantly, I snuggled into his side and placed my head under his chin.

"I love you too."

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The next morning, I was woken up by the smell of eggs. Cory, who was no longer in bed, and had left a note on the bedside table

Dad's out for a few hours, come down when you're ready x

I pulled the blanket, which I didn't remember ever getting under, off of my body in one sweep. Stretching with a yawn, I heard my back crack. I sprayed my armpits with Cory's deoderant before climbing out of bed. Though I strolled, I got to the kitchen swiftly.

Cory, wearing only jogging bottoms, was standing over the stove with a spatula in hand.

"What's cookin', good lookin'?" I teased with a smile. He turned to look at me with a grin.

"Eggs," said Cory. "Only thing we had. Want some?"

"Yeah, if there's enough," I shrugged. "How's the head?"

"Not as bad as I thought I'd be," he served up the eggs onto plastic plates.

"Remember everything?" I raised an eyebrow as he handed me a plate.

"Uh," I could've sworn he flushed a tint of pink, "I don't remember falling asleep, but I remember everything before the walk home."

"So..." I trailed off with a smile. "You remember Ms Keane taking Chloe, professing your love to me and falling up the stairs?"