I Choose You | ✓

Chapter 27: The Morning After

S O P H I E   W I L K I N S

The bright morning rays shine through my eyelids, causing me to stir awake. I push myself up and sling my legs over the edge of the bed. A rush of pain floods through my head, making my eyes close and nose scrunch in agony. I let out a low groan as I rub my sleepy eyes with the back of my hand.

As I try to recall last night, I examine the room around me. The familiar scent of fabric softener enters my nose as I see various posters of different artists plastered on the walls. A water bottle with some Advil tablets is placed on a table beside me. Okay, I'm in my room, but how did I get here? I remember the last thing that had happened before I blacked out was someone catching me in their arms.

Memories of the previous night slowly rush back, and I suddenly feel anxiety welling up inside me. Denial seeps into my brain and I tell myself that what I saw wasn't true. That wasn't Andrew kissing Aria in the hallway. After all, the house was dimly lit and that could've been another guy Aria kissed.

I glimpse down and see that I'm still in the same outfit. I push myself off the bed and take a step before tripping over an object laying on the floor. It lets out a grunt and I realize that it wasn't a misplaced object, it was a person.

"Ouch, why did you have to kick me in the stomach?" Bree rolls to the side, clutching her stomach in pain.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, B! I didn't know you were sleeping on my floor," I gasp, kneeling down beside her. She quickly recovers from the pain and sits up. "Why are you sleeping on my floor, and how did I get back here?" I ask confusedly.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay. You ran outside, started to hyperventilate and then fainted, almost cracking your head on the concrete ground," she explains, anxiety building up in her voice. "But luckily, when Colton came back to bring you a bottle of water, he caught you as you were falling to the side when I couldn't catch you. He carried you to my car and insisted that he help you get home safely."

Bree pauses for a second and a nervous expression takes over her features, "Colton carried you up here and left, but when your mom saw her daughter being carried by a guy that she's never met before, her motherly instincts kicked in."

"Oh my god, what happened?" I ask nervously, springing off the floor. My hands slowly massage my temples as I brace myself for her answer.

"Well, I quickly ran towards her and explained that something happened at the party and it caused you to faint. She asked me why you fainted, and I told her that I wasn't able to ask the same question to you because you were freaking out."

"Does she know I had alcohol?" I ask, biting on my nail as I pace back and forth.

"No, but you sure reek of it." I breathe out a sigh of relief. At least that's one less stressful thing off my list. "So, what happened last night, Soph?" I inhale a deep breath before continuing.

"Well—" The ringer on my phone chimes and cuts me off. I snatch it off the nightstand and look at the alert.

Someone had DMed me a photo. I press my thumb on the home button and the screen slid up, opening the image. The knots that had slightly loosened now retied itself tighter than ever.

One of Aria's minions had taken a photo of her that night...kissing Andrew. All this time, I've been brushing it off my shoulder and told myself that it wasn't him and it was just the dark lighting and the alcohol playing tricks on me, but as I stared at the photo, it proved me wrong.

I blink a couple times to make sure I'm not dreaming. I even pinch myself and a slight jolt of pain shoots underneath my skin. Yup, this definitely wasn't a dream.

"This. This is why I stormed out of there and had to get some air," I answer brittlely. My hands tremble as I give the phone to Bree and she gasps, covering a hand over her mouth. She immediately springs off the floor and guides me to the edge of my bed.

She pulls me into a tight hug and I slowly let out a quiet sob, wiping away the tears that have spilled out of my eyes. The sobs become louder and she tightens her embrace.

***********

After I was able to stabilize my emotions again, we quietly tiptoe downstairs, careful to not wake anyone. When we reach the last step, I freeze in place.

Sitting at the table, my mom is sipping on a cup of coffee while looking at the newspaper. We bounce off the wood and it makes a creaking noise, causing her to look up. Distress takes over her calm demeanor and she immediately rushes over to me.

"Honey, are you okay? What happened last night?" I release a breath that I didn't realize I was holding before briefly explaining that I became dehydrated at the party and that's the reason why I fainted.

She gave me an incredulous look but decided to not press into the matter any further. "I'm just glad you're okay," she smiles and pulls me in for a hug. I wanted to tell her everything that's been going on, but I know if I tell her right now, things could get out of hand. I decided that I would tell her when things calmed down. Hopefully, my wish will soon come true.

A N D R E W D A L T O N

"Wake up!" Jacob shouts, pouring a bucket of ice filled water over my head. I shoot up and give him a death stare as he laughs. I shake my head back and forth like a dog and water droplets splash on his dry shirt, causing him to take a step back. "We've got a house to clean."

"We?" I scoff. Jacob hands me a water bottle with some pills. I hastily take it from him and throw back my head as I swallow the pills and gulp down mouthfuls of water, relieving my dry throat.

"Yes, we, Dalton. Now, get your hungover ass up. The house is trashed and my parents are gonna be home in two hours." I crawl out of bed and groan at the bright light shining into the room.

When I walk downstairs, my eyes widen at the sight. Spilled drinks, food, cups, and a bunch of other crap is sprawled all over the floor. There's so much trash, you can barely see the floor beneath it.

"Jacob, there's no way we can clean this all up in two hours. You can barely see the floor," I explain harshly.

"Well, we're gonna have to." He shoves a giant, white garbage bag in my hands with a smile, "so get going." He bends down and grabs handfuls of trash, stuffing it into his large trash bag. I let out another small groan before reluctantly picking up various trash off the floor.

The silence in the room gives me time to reflect on last night as my head finally calms down a bit. Then, the memory of Shortcake and Aria snap back and knots form in my stomach.

"Shit, what are you going to do tomorrow, Andrew?" I mumble quietly under my breath. I cringe and feel regret flood through my veins as the scene replays in my head over and over like a boomerang.

_______________________________

Hello! I didn't really have a lot planned this chapter. I only wanted to explain the morning after situation, but that's about it.

But from the next chapter on, EVERYTHING (well 95% of it) is critical to the story. None of the chapters are fillers!

♡ VOTE ♡ and comment your thoughts! See you in the next chapter! ~Karlee 💛