Chapter 3: Caught Red-handed... Literally

Oh my god, I have never had so much of a headache before I even opened my eyes. I don't even want to physically open them because I know how this will pan out. 

I tried my hardest to go back to sleep but it definitely was time for me to wake up and my body knew it. My lids were opening in slow motion but that wave of sunlight ripped into me completely. I let out a loud groan as I crawled my way out of the bed and into the bathroom where I emptied out whatever I had on my stomach on the toilet. 

Thank god I have a habit of leaving the toilet seat up when I go out, I won't be cleaning up any more unnecessary vomit. Not after the last bathroom disaster I had, I had to throw out a perfectly new carpet. Even when I was finished throwing up I had to take a minute before I could stand up and brush my teeth. 

Seriously, I never drink as much as I just did.  I guess it all went downhill after Rhyland led me to Grayson. Holy shit Grayson. That son of his mother is really going to be living down the hall from me for at least this next two semesters. AT LEAST. Oh my god. 

Okay internalize your feelings Abigail, it's been years and he certainly isn't giving you this kind of reaction. He doesn't deserve a hangover and the sickness that comes from it. You moved on, you are better now. 

I got into the shower in whichever way I could before I let the warm water wash the leftovers of the alcohol stench. I think I fell asleep again under the water, because when I opened my eyes again I found myself laying in a puddle of red water. What is with me today? 

The cause was easy to find and made me feel extremely stupid when I didn't notice it earlier. Both of my hands were covered in red paint and parts of my legs too. Well this I certainly have no recollection of. Holy shit, I don't remember how I got all of this on me.

The uncertainty of my actions was what really woke me up, I scrubbed most of it off and got whatever was stuck in my hair out before I panic dried myself. I grabbed the first shirt I could find and some sweats before heading into my room basically running. 

That's when I saw the mess of white powder in the floor and a piece of marble next to it. I bent down to grab it and finally made out the very distinctive nose I see every time I walk towards the cafeteria. I have the founder of the university's nose in my bedroom floor. 

This is what made me remember little important bits of information from last night. Especially, meeting some random dudes that were spray painting in the center and when I started to yell at them, something happened then there was a struggle and one of the guys fell on the statue. The question is why I in my right mind wandered the 10 minute walk over to the center in a good day and came back with school property.

I have to get rid of this before anyone even sees me with this. I yelled for Sabrina and no surprise but she didn't answer so she was probably out with her boyfriend, enjoying new couple activities. 

I grabbed the broom and swept everything into a bag before hurriedly making my way out my apartment and almost running down the hallway towards the elevator before a recognizable hand pressed the down button beside me.

"How were you planning on catching the elevator if you don't press the button, Abigail?" I used to love how much he said my name when he talked to me, because it made me feel like I was the center of his focus, but now I just hate how stupid and gullible I was to every little thing he did. 

I didn't even acknowledge him as I kept my face towards the elevator doors waiting for it to just be open and I could run down and get rid of the evidence. The garbage trucks came tomorrow so I would just stick the bag the further I could and hope for the best. I couldn't stop my leg from shaking from impatience and I know he could see that but I wanted to get the hell out of here. 

"Why are your hands red, are you hurt?" He asked me and unwrapped my hands from the bag that I was tightly holding before turning me towards him. I basically was slammed against his chest as he took a close look at my hands, the bag dropping to the floor with a weird noise that probably meant the nose broke even further. 

He even pressed my hands against his nose to smell them, which was just extremely weird and what made me break from his hold. Thankfully the elevator door opened so I quickly took the bag from the floor and entered, repeatedly hitting the lobby button as if that would make the doors shut in his face, but he just entered behind me. 

"Leave me alone Grayson" I groaned out as the annoying music from the elevator started to irritate my head. 

"Wow you look awful" He laughed which just made me stare at him hoping to say the same but he looked even better than good, he was even in workout clothes. 

"You sure know how to flatter a woman. Why aren't you hungover? You look even better than yesterday" I said finally the elevator doors opening in the lobby and we both stepped out.

"Stop it, you're going to make me blush. And not that it's any of your business but I don't drink anymore." His words had a bit more of an edge to them than the rest of this conversation so I didn't bother responding before I nodded and almost ran out to the main garbage cans. I threw the bag without thinking twice and after a quick google search went to the grocery store to buy some baking soda. 

2 hours later and I was still thinking over my bad life decisions. What the hell was I thinking even  confronting people that were vandalizing the university. I seriously could've gotten hurt, it hurts to say but I should take a page from Grayson's book and stop drinking for a while. I started doing exercises to burn off the new found adrenaline every time I remembered yesterday. 

Someone knocked on the door a few times in a totally different way that Sabrina does when she forgets her key so curiosity got the best of me. I paused my workout playlist before I looked through my keyhole seeing a very smug looking Grayson waiting for me. 

I opened the door with even more force than I wanted and stared directly into those beautifully brown eyes that seemed to look directly into my soul. I hate the way my body reacted to his smile, but I bet a few more interactions with the asshole and my body will catch up with my heart. His eyes shifted down my body slowly taking me in with my workout clothes. I was also extremely sweaty, I used to know him like the back of my hand so I know just how much he likes the sight right now. 

I keep on staring at his eyes until he finally looks back at mine. "Did you come here for any other reason than to fuck me with your stare?" Yes, I may have emphasized the 'fuck' in the question just to see the way his eyes darkened, he always was sort of easy to mess with. Again, making bad life decisions because why the hell not. 

"I don't remember you having such a dirty mouth Abigail" He took a step closer, inviting himself into my apartment. 

"What do you want?" I asked shutting the door behind him wanting to run out of there myself. Being around him is just a mix of anger, sadness and missing having him as a friend and then anger for even thinking about missing him when he hurt me as much as he did. 

"I have a proposal. Actually it's not a proposal it's just me saving your ass. You don't have to thank me" He says as he looks around my apartment. "Damn, this is actually pretty cute, you were always good at interior design. You should've made a career in that." 

"Grayson, save the career advice. Why do you mean you just saved my ass?" That made his smug ass look even more smug if that was possible. Oh how I would love to wipe that look off his face if I wasn't just slightly scared of what he was about to answer.

"Get comfortable, I'm going to tell you a story" He says as he sits on my sofa, making himself at home. He pats the spot next to him and after thinking about it longer than necessary I give in. I sit as far away from him as possible and motion for him to continue. "Well I wake up and find a university wide alert that their most prized statue was vandalized, someone cut off the nose and wrote profanities all over the center with spray paint. The photos then showed the red paint all over the statues and art in the center. I didn't think anything off it until I see my brand new neighbor with red paint all over her hands and getting rid of something really suspicious" He stopped talking just to emphasize how fucked I was. 

"Grayson..." I tried to talk but he just placed his hand up. 

"Now I didn't think she was so dumb to get rid of the most incriminating piece in the same trash of the apartment building she lives in. Probably because she doesn't know that the dean took special offense to this act of violence and wants to make an example of the perpetrators. Especially since he is offering a scholarship for a full semester tuition to whoever points to the responsible parties, who will likely face criminal charges and expulsion from the university. You breathing okay?"

I was suppose to breathe? I think I forgot how to honestly. The tear that exited my eye was no match to how I wanted to full on cry myself to oblivion, especially because I was just trying to stop them but I made the most ridiculous mistake ever. 

"Well don't cry Abigail, see I actually am fond of you so I did my best to help you and your future" He says wiping the tear from my cheeks. "I followed you and properly took care of the nose, but my help doesn't come without a price" 

"I'm so not sleeping with you" I said with a harsh tone. I probably should be nicer since he is saving my college education and literal future but I can't help to see how the shoe is gonna drop. 

He laughed bitterly before gripping my chin and making me look at him. "Baby, when you sleep with me it's not because you owe me, it's because you're not going to want anything more than for me to get rid of that ache that's going to be building up between your legs" I hate how his words still affect me, but I rather be caught dead than show him he does. 

"What do you want?" I ask again more slowly before gripping his hand and pushing it away from me. 

"I need some extra help getting comfortable here, so I need someone to show me around and help get me up to date. And Rhyland is just so busy right now, he doesn't have time for me, but you're going to have make time" My anger is bubbling up and threating to boil over and perform aggravated assault. 

"Are you serious? You want me to be your personal slave?" I snap at him. Take a deep breath, this is what he wants. 

"Hey, don't say it like that. It's more like a personal assistant without the pay" He said that sentence so slowly that I'm sure he was making it up as he was talking. 

"Grayson, if I have to obey you that's a slave" Breathe in slowly, exhale discreetly. I can control myself, do it for your future Abigail. You worked hard to get here, just another 2 years before you graduate.  

"See it however you want. I'm not going to be an asshole and make you do it for all eternity. But you do owe me for putting my ass on the line to help you. Least you can do is humor me, I'll get bored of it eventually" Yeah I'm well aware on how he puts a whole lot of effort into something then gets bored. 

He got bored of every extracurricular he ever tried, probably should've seen it coming, right? 

"What if I just fuck you once and then well just forget about this" What do I even open up my mouth around him? I swear I need to start thinking things through a bit more. 

When I looked back at his face I could tell just how mad I had made him with that comment. He bit the inside of his cheek before turning away from me. "Didn't you just say that you weren't going to sleep with me? Is your mind so easily influenced now?" He said trying to sound calm but failed miserably. 

"Hey, I didn't know you were going to make me spend a whole lot of time with you. What's an hour of my time in comparison?" I should really shut up. But I honestly want to make him so mad at me that he doesn't want to see me again. Or this would just backfire and will just make him want to torture me daily with this whole slave thing. 

"Only an hour? Wow, you really do think that low of me" He said, going back to that smug exterior persona that he has on now. He seems so offended but yet he still hasn't stood up from my sofa. 

"Grayson, honey we've fucked before. You don't have to lie to me." I inch a bit closer to him. I am so not planning on sleeping with him, but I do know what gets him pissed. A lot can change about a person in 2 years, except how some things affect them. 

I grab his chin just like he did to me before and pull his face closer than before, his eyes open in shock for a second before turning back into staring daggers into mine. I stand on my knees in the sofa before placing one knee in between his open legs, basically sitting in his lap. The angel in my shoulder is so going to give me a stern talking to when all of this ends. 

But my plan is working, he likes being in control and right now he's so mad at himself for enjoying this. His breathing has picked up slightly and he continues to shift below me. But he stays silent, not knowing what I'm planning and he knows me. He knows I have something else in mind but I need to get out this deal before it even begins.  

Seeing him whenever he wants is going to be the death of me. 

"I think if I try it, I can make it last less than 10 minutes. You know that practice makes perfect. It may be short but it will be the best 10 minutes of your life, I can guarantee it. My personal best is 2 minutes and I wasn't even trying" His breathing stopped in the middle of my little boasting speech, I mean I wasn't lying but he certainly doesn't need to know about my sex life. And I really really don't want to know about his. 

It all happened in a second, he grabbed the back of my head and my lower back before standing up with me still clinging to him. He turned around before throwing me into the sofa. The decorative pillows softening my fall. "Don't pull shit like that with me again. I'll text you in a few days. Unblock my number" He said before leaving me there stunned and shutting the door of my apartment behind him. 

Well I had to try. 

"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then won't hurt"

                                - Charles M. Schultz