Chapter Thirty Five

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Gracie ~

My head throbbed and pounded, making it nearly impossible to open my eyes, but I forced them open anyway.

I took in my surroundings slowly, feeling the cold tile of the bathroom floor beneath my legs. I felt puffs of air against my shoulder and realized that I was leaning against someone, someone who was clearly asleep.

Leaning forward to get a better look at the person, I quickly realized it was Wes which didn't surprise me a bit.

He must have felt me shifting my weight forward in his lap and jolted awake, lifting me up with his strong arms and tilting me forward toward the toilet.

"You're okay." He soothed as he leaned me forward, thinking I was about to get sick.

It was such a sweet gesture, I had almost completely forgotten the events of the night. But as soon as the thought crossed my mind, every terrible memory came flooding back.

"Get it all out baby." Wes said as he ran his hand up and down my back with one hand and held my hair with the other.

"I'm okay. I'm not going to puke." I said in a groggy voice.

Squeezing my eyes closed, I tried to remember how I ended up on the bathroom floor with Wes, but I drew a blank. There were so many gaps in my memory and my mind desperately tried to fill them.

Visions of Trisha in Wes' bed flashed hot in my mind along with her venomous words.

"I want to go home." I groaned as the memories started replaying.

"I'll take you home, Gracie. I'll take you anywhere you want to go." Wes answered quickly, lowering me back down into his lap.

I wanted so badly to melt against him and crawl into his bed. I wanted him to hold me and love on me more than I wanted my next breath but an unfamiliar voice echoed from within me - warning me.

You always do this Gracie. The men in your life mistreat you and the second they start groveling you forgive them instantly, only to let them do it again. He'll hurt you Gracie. Don't let him make you look stupid. Quit letting men mistreat you.

Every ounce of me wanted to believe Wes, but what if he was lying? What if he was playing on my emotions? What if he was playing me for a fool?

"I can drive myself." I said in a raspy voice as I tried to push myself up out of his lap.

"No you fucking can't." Wes said in a deep voice as he took hold of me, steadying me as I stood.

"You've lost your damn mind if you think I'd let you get behind the wheel of a car while you're this drunk. It's not happening."

His words were firm and his tone was serious.

"I can't stay here. I need to go home." I countered, holding back tears.

I wanted to leave but I also wanted to stay. It was an awful feeling and I was hating every second of my internal battle.

"Then let me take you home." 

Wes stood with me and ran his thumb down my cheek as he spoke.

"Okay." I finally relented.

I washed my face and rinsed my mouth out with mouth wash before we opened the bathroom door and headed toward Wes' truck.

Mandy and Maggie rushed me as soon as the door opened and I came into view.

"Are you alright Gracie?" Mandy asked.

"I'm okay, but I need to go home."

Taking a few uncoordinated steps forward, I felt Wes tuck me against his side, taking my body weight in case I tripped or my legs gave out.

"You guys can stay if you want. I've got her." Wes said over my head.

"I know you do, but I'm going to come with, just in case she needs me." Mandy said.

Why aren't you biting Wes' head off, Mandy?

Wes walked slowly, looking down at me with every step he took, studying my coordination and ability to walk. He tightened his grip on me when I'd stumble, holding me up as if I weighed nothing at all.

He lifted me into the passenger side of his truck and jogged around the front. As soon as he sat in the drivers seat, Wes raised the center console and tapped his lap.

"You can lay down if you need to." He offered sweetly.

My body instantly responded to him, but I quickly stopped myself. Wes must have picked up on my hesitation and I watched his expression change.

"Listen Gracie, you don't have to make any decisions about us or our relationship tonight. I know you've got a lot on your mind and you want space. I get it okay? Just please let me take care of you tonight. I'll leave in the morning and give you the space you need, but I won't be able to sleep or relax knowing you're hurting this much. You feel like shit and all I want to do is take care of you. You have my word, when the sun comes up, I'm gone."

His words rolled around in my pounding head, but instead of responding verbally, I simply lowered my head onto Wes' lap and closed my eyes.

He rested his large hand on my neck, brushing his thumb lightly back and forth across my cheek as he drove to my apartment.

It felt like the second I closed my eyes the car came to a stop and Wes was helping me sit up. I groaned and felt him slip his hands beneath me, carefully lifting me from the truck.

I tensed my legs, readying myself for when he set me down on my feet.

"Relax Gracie I'm gonna carry you inside." He said, holding me tight against him as he walked up my front steps with ease.

I held out my keys and he set me down onto my feet as soon as we entered my dark apartment.

My head felt like it was going to explode the second he flipped the lights on, causing me to wince and retreat from the brightness.

"Shit, sorry." Wes said, turning the lights off again.

His strong arms never left me as I clumsily navigated my empty apartment until I reached my room.

I sat on the edge of my bed and watched Wes move around my room, knowing exactly which drawers housed my tshirts.

"Let's get you changed so you can rest." He said sweetly.

I wanted to protest. I wanted to tell him to get out. I wanted to distance myself from him so he couldn't hurt me...but I couldn't. I needed him there for reasons I couldn't quite understand.

He moved toward me and tugged at the bottom hem of my shirt, waiting for my consent before lifting it over my head.

I gave him a slight nod of my head and allowed him to undress me. Wes was so gentle and slid the shirt over my head planting a few kisses on my neck and shoulders before sliding a clean t-shirt over my head.

Crawling into my bed, I loved the feel of my plush comforter against my skin. It was cool and comfortable and I couldn't wait to rest my tired eyes in hopes sleep would chase away my pounding headache and churning stomach.

The side of the bed dipped and sagged as Wes lowered himself onto my bed. Before I could react he sat up, propping himself up with pillows.  I felt his large hands grab me from under the arms and lift me as if I were a rag doll, placing me in front of him between his legs. I leaned back onto his chest and looked up over my shoulder at him in confusion.

"Don't look at me like that. You've been puking your brains out and I'm not letting you sleep on your back. This way if you get sick in your sleep you're already sitting up and won't choke on it."

I was trying to come up with a rebuttal - a protest of some sort, but I couldn't think of anything to say.

"Rest those eyes Gracie." Wes said as he let his head fall back against the headboard and close his eyes.

Feeling my hesitation and apprehension,Wes wrapped his arms around me and reminded me that he was a man of his word.

"Don't worry. When the sun comes up, I'm gone. I promise. Rest for now." He said softly, kissing the top of my head as I started to relax against him.

My muscles started to unwind and I tried not to focus on the terrible events of the night or the painful churning in my gut. I focused solely on the sound of Wes' breathing and his clean masculine scent, letting myself slowly unwind and relax.

"That's it baby." Wes praised, feeling me give him more of my body weight.

Jeez, you're not making this easy Wes.

I was almost completely out when I heard the door creak open. I knew instantly it was Mandy and that if I asked her to kick Wes out, she would. But I didn't want her to. I remained still and silent, secretly praying that the sun refused to rise the next morning.

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Hi loves! Thank you for being so patient for updates. If I'm being honest, it's a little difficult to write for Wes when Zach is away. Writing romance is hard when I'm missing my person. But I'm going to try my best! Love you guys!

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