Page 87 of Life of the Party

I hated this day. I couldn’t even pretend to be happy about it. I wasn’t going to cry though, I’d promised myself that much. I could be strong; I was going to be strong. After Grey threw his last bag into the trunk of the car, he turned back to me and smiled. I forced myself to grin back at him. I was going to be strong.

He gathered me into his arms then, and I clung to the hard warmth of his body, breathing him in one last time. I could tell he was trying to hide his excitement, his perfect face seemed crestfallen as he looked down at me, but there was no mistaking the light apparent in his clear blue eyes. At least he’d tried, for my sake.

“Have fun while I’m gone.” Grey brushed the hair back from my face. “But not too much fun, okay?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Same for you.”

“Promise you’ll be careful? I don’t want to go crazy worrying about you.”

“I promise.” I smiled, despite myself, at his obvious concern.

Grey bent down and kissed me then, long and slowly, his lips lingering on mine. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck. I wanted to beg him to stay.

“I love you,” I whispered.

He smiled at me. “I’ll call you.”

I nodded as he pulled away. I forced myself to take a breath, to hold back the tears that were threatening. My throat was aching.

“Let’s go boys!” Alex called—ever his loud, grinning self—cheering as he slammed the trunk shut. “It’s time to make some music.”

“You be good while I’m gone.” Grey implored. I nodded again, unable to speak, and watched in agony while they all piled into the car. Charlie came and joined me after saying goodbye to Zack. She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and gave me a comforting squeeze. We waved forlornly as the vehicle pulled out onto the road, music cranking from the open windows as they drove away. We could still hear Alex cheering, even from afar.

I sighed heavily, crossing my arms.

“Well, Mac, it’s just you and me now,” Charlie stated.

“Yep.”

“So…” She grinned at me. “You wanna get blitzed or what?”

CHAPTER 35

Charlie and I kept ourselves as high as we could for the rest of the day. It helped me forget how badly I already missed Grey, how my heart had begun aching for him the moment the car was out of sight. We ignored the creeping loneliness with cocaine and suntanning and by watching Jim Carrey movies well into the night. It wasn’t until I crawled beneath the covers of my too-empty bed that I recognized the heartbreak of solitude. I wished for Grey’s strong, warm arms around me, to have him whisper in my ear, to feel his lips on mine. I sighed and curled up into as tight a ball as I could.

This was going to be a looong month.

Monday was the same. Cocaine was on the menu for breakfast and lunch, and dinner at work. I was doing a bit more than I should’ve been, but I justified it easily. I needed it now; it wasn’t just a want.

I continued this mind-numbing routine for most of the week. I found it actually got easier as time went by, not harder like I’d expected. The ache was still there, it hadn’t gone away or anything, but I was learning to live with it. I began to feel like maybe I could do it—maybe I could get through the month without Grey and emerge with my sanity still intact.

That was before I started waiting for him to call. I let a few days pass without thinking anything of it—Grey was excited, he was getting settled, he was probably busy. I could understand that. I spent Friday night alone at home while Charlie went to the club, partly because I’d promised Grey to be good (and I wasn’t good at the club) but mostly because I was sure he’d call.

Charlie rang numerous times to try and pry me off the couch, so I knew my phone wasn’t broken or anything. Grey never called. I did some cocaine by myself for a while and then called it a night, trying to keep my spirits up.

My phone didn’t ring again until late Sunday morning, pealing near my ear.

“Layla. You got me on my knees, Layla …”

I sat up, gasping, nearly falling out of bed in my rush to answer it.

“Hello?” I was breathless with excitement; I couldn’t wait to hear his voice again.

“Mac?” It was Charlie.

“…Yes?” I let out a sigh. “What’s up?”

“Come in here and get high with me.”

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