Page 136 of Collide
“As long as you’ll let me.”
It doesn't take much persuading after that to get Summer to come home with me. When I carry her inside, the house is as quiet and I’m relieved there isn’t an impromptu party. After my talk with Dylan, he’s banned from attending or throwing parties until further notice. But that isn’t stopping him from getting blitzed like he’s at one.
Summer strips out of her dress and pulls on one of my T-shirts before diving under the comforter. I do the same and slip in beside her. She abandons the mattress to lie on top of me. The way she kisses my chest sparks a hot sensation on my skin. My hands are firmly set on her waist, unmoving despite her protests. She’s drunk, and as much as she wants to, I know the only thing we’ll be doing tonight is sleeping. And figuring out why the hell she went and got wasted.
“You’re boring. Should we go see what Kian’s doing?” She tries to climb off me, but I tighten my hold. Apparently, drunk Summer is adventurous.
“I’d rather not get another lecture about tarnishing the sanctity of his room.”
“He’s so dramatic! We only mistook his room for yours once.”
Kian made me buy him new bed sheets and wash his old ones, twice. We weren’t even completely naked. Last week, Summer and I were both so lost in each other that we didn't realize we turned right after the staircase instead of left. Kian locks his door now.
She’s quiet for a moment, allowing her fingers to draw shapes on my chest. “Why did you come get me tonight?”
“I’ll always come get you, Summer. Even when you don’t want me to.”
She makes a face. “You’re nauseatingly perfect. I think I really like you.”
Drunk Summer likes to reveal her feelings too. Though, I assume the prerequisite to dating is liking each other. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
Her mouth twists in thought. “I’m still deciding.”
“Can I do anything to speed up the process?” I tuck her hair behind her ears, and she shivers.
I wrap her in my arms, and she pecks my chin. “You being you is enough.”
“So you’re nice when you’re drunk, eh?”
“Don’t make me regret it,” she grumbles.
She turns away to lay her head on my chest again. I can feel the shift in her mood. Times like these, I wish I could see the problems swirling in her head and sort them out for her.
Summer rolls off me to lie on the mattress, but I don’t let her get far. When I cup her face, the thread of indifference snaps, and vulnerability spills into her expression. The action draws the tears she’s been fighting to soak the pillow.
My heart squeezes to an uncomfortable degree as I wipe the wetness. “What’s wrong, baby?”
She shakes her head.
“Will you tell me why you got drunk tonight?”
“For fun.” She sniffles.
“The real reason, Summer.”
“A lot of people get drunk for fun.”
“People? Yeah. You? No.”
She doesn’t speak, and I know I shouldn’t push her, but I can’t stand seeing her like this. If it has something to do with Donny again, I’m not confident that I can hold myself back from driving my fist into his face. Probation be damned.
Her eyes brim with more tears. “I’m leaving Dalton. I didn’t get into the master’s program,” her voice cracks.
My heartbeat goes into overdrive, and I’m sure she can feel the storm that brews below the surface. Words scatter and I barely form a sentence when I see her anguish. I hold her tighter, attempting to fix the broken look she gives me. “Fuck, I’m so sorry, Summer. Is there something we can do? Maybe an appeal? We can talk to admission or get Dr. Müller to vouch for you.”
She shakes her head. “It doesn’t work like that. Besides, I don’t think I can fight for this anymore. I’m just tired.”
Summer’s resilience through the entire assignment had me in awe of her. Knowing she feels depleted by the one thing she wanted most, tears at my chest.
