Chapter 29

OLIVER

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“So… we got two wasted people… and one car… what are we going to do?” JJ pondered as he held a passed out Casey bridal style. In fact, he had been holding Casey at the side of the road, a few feet from the entrance to Velvet Underground, for twelve minutes all the while ignoring the looks of the few passers-by walking in the dead of the night.

He’d asked me the same question twice but that wasn’t the major issue. JJ’s car was big enough for all of us. The main issue was that Casey and Jude’s place were in the opposite directions from each other. We would have to drop one then circle back to drop the other. And JJ’s car only had gas for one trip.

I was also clearly the only completely sober one as JJ kept slurring his words once in a while while figuring out a solution.

Jude, meanwhile… I glanced sideways at the guy in question who was splayed against the wall adjacent to the stairs, eyes shut, skin covered in a sheen of sweat that made his skin glimmer in the face of streetlights, his breath coming out in slow laboured gaps…

My hand unknowingly travelled to the side of my neck before caressing it. I didn’t want to recall how Jude’s nose felt when he took a full whiff of me but my skin was getting more prickled and hotter the more I thought about it.

After letting me go, he’d chosen that as the opportune time to pass out. The bar tender had to help me carry him out of the club. The guard who’d demanded my number had gazed at me in shock as I hauled Jude out. He said no word as we exited. Maybe he thought he was my brother or even worse… my boyfriend.

He’d wanted to kiss me, I thought distantly.

He was drunk when he said it, the sane part of me did well to get my delusional self straight.

But drunk words are sober thoughts, another notion pierced my mind, and I didn’t realise whether it was delusional me or sane me.

Maybe none of us were really sober…

As if to reinforce my thought, Casey suddenly arose from the dead with a moan. “JJeeeh, where are weeeee?”

JJ stared down at him before he quickly recovered from his brief shock. “We’re outside the club. Everything’s fine.”

“I wanna go hooomeee,” Casey whined.

“Shh, babe. We’ll be there in a bit. Just relax-“

“I’m so-so….so soo tiredd,” Casey hiccuped.

I fished out my phone. Its battery was at 15%, and even worse, it was 1 am. Then my eyes landed on my notifications, and I stifled a scream that would have awakened the dead for sure.

“10 missed calls from my mom,” I whispered. “I’m royally screwed.”

JJ cleared his throat. “I think we should deal with that bridge when we get there. Right now, we have to deal with floppy Joe 1,” he nodded at Casey, “and two.” He nodded at Jude.

Despite the night I’d gone through, I snickered. “Floppy Joe.”

JJ smirked. “Who knew you’d be the heaviest tanker of us all?”

“I didn’t take that many shots. Besides, Casey took like what, 16?”

“Actually, it was nine. Less than my eleven,” JJ clarified. I thought I detected a smug tone in his voice, like he was proud he took way way more shots without ending up in such a sorry state. “He was pushing his limits way more than usual.” A sudden fondness invaded his eyes as he stared at Casey, who had begun to snore loudly on JJ’s shoulder with unabashed audacity. “My little gremlin.”

Warmth began to flow through me before it turned into a sharp loneliness. They were so cute that it made my heart ache. Casey was lucky he had someone who knew him inside and out. Unlike me, who had… no one.

Ugh, now I wanted another shot back in the club but the only time I’d find myself in one again was if my dead body happened to find itself there. After today’s shenanigans, every club can kiss my feet goodbye for all I care.

Casey broke my train of thought with a sudden fling of his arms around JJ’s neck. Before a word could escape both our lips, he dug his lips into JJ’s neck and started sucking his skin.

I tried not to gasp and lock gazes with JJ, but he was surprisingly chill, like this was a regular occurrence.

“Not a word,” he warned.

I raised my hands. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

“He does this whenever he gets so tired.”

“Right…”

My hand once again unconsciously moved to the same area on my neck. JJ’s eyes followed it. “You know, you’ve touched that spot on your neck like five times. Did something happen?”

I withdrew my hand with lightning speed. “Something-I mean-nothing happened. Nothing at all.”

JJ didn’t look convinced but he said nothing.

Another minute elapsed before he spoke again, “Have you tried calling Rick? You know, to come pick up Jude?”

It was such a smooth turnaround from the convo I couldn’t help being impressed. However, I felt my face scrunch into a frown. “He hasn’t returned any of my calls. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”

JJ cursed before taking a deep breath. “Ok. This is what we’re going to do. Rick and Jude’s place is right before yours. Since I can’t make another trip, Casey will be sleeping at my place. Sounds like a good idea?”

I nodded, stifling a yawn. At this point, I would agree with anything if it lets me sleep on my bed.

Afterwards, we got in the car after loading Casey and Jude in the back, careful not to wake them up. We had to literally pry Casey off JJ like a piece of gum off a clothing since he got extra clingy-and I mean extra. The guy developed sticky hands for his boyfriend before we managed to separate the both of them.

As JJ drove, my head was heavy from drowsiness. I wasn’t used to being up this late and my body was definitely letting me know this because I kept nodding off several times. Even weirder, I kept hearing Jude call my name out in the club over and over…

I suddenly felt several taps on my shoulder but I was so drowsy it didn’t register in my mind until JJ called out to me, “Oliver.”

“Mmm.”

“Oliver.”

“Five more minutes…”

“Something’s wrong with Jude.”

“What isn’t wrong with him? He’s drunk.”

“He’s calling out to you.”

JJ’s voice swiftly brought me back to reality. His eyes were focused on the road, obviously, but his brows were furrowed.

My head swivelled to him, all sleepiness vanishing without a trace. I thought JJ was joking like he usually does but the expression on his face was pure solemnity. Not this again…

I canted my neck and looked over my seat. His head was thrown back over the seat, his pants ripped across the side. How had that happened?

His lips, nevertheless, were moving fast as he rambled a bunch of words. I heard him say my name but this time it was mixed with others; Rick, his mom, something about his dad and a body missing….

A queasiness settled in my stomach. Suddenly, I remembered Jude had been MIA for two days and Rick wasn’t able to find him since then. Rick, who cared for Jude possibly more than anyone I knew. The memory of his devastated expression from not that long ago surfaced in my mind and I shuddered. Rick had never looked that distraught since I knew him. He’d muttered something about his dad-who I knew was dead-and something about his body.

And now Jude was stating roughly the same things… what was happening?

I forced myself to remain calm. “Hey,” I massaged Jude’s knee. “We’re almost at your house…”

He didn’t stop his rambling, though his muscles seemed to relax when I spoke. I was surprised I could still hear his jumbled words over Casey, who sounds like a wild animal dying when he snores.

“You’re going to meet your mom and Rick soon,” I continued, finding the comfort laced in my voice quite strange. “You’ll be alright-“

“No.” Jude’s head began to thrash back and forth. “No, I-I don’t want to see them.”

“Jude -“

“Don’t take me to them,” He whimpered.

“Why?”

“I don’t want to see them,” he choked. I had a feeling he was close to breaking into tears. The pain in his voice was so abrupt and sharp that it felt like a dozen knives were digging into me.

I looked at JJ. “What do we do?”

He didn’t speak. His eyes veered from the road to the rear-view mirror, watching Jude’s chest spasm as his breath began to quicken.

I didn’t know what else to say, so I grabbed Jude’s hand before starting to caress his knuckles. Words of comfort had completely eluded me. It felt like I was outside my body, looking at someone else who was not Jude.

I looked at JJ again. “Can he sleep at your place?” I asked.

A flicker of worry crossed his face. “I don’t know…,” he admitted. “It’ll be hard tending to both Casey and him but I’ll try.”

I turned back to Jude. His breaths had reduced in number and intensity but he still looked distressed. His eyes were closed shut, his arms had gone limp, stress lines had begun to emerge on his head and he was manspreading. I had to admit a part of me would have found that immensely attractive under different circumstances but now all I could think off was how he was in so much pain.

I turned to JJ, resolve already firmly etched to my mind. “He’ll sleep at my place.”

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My mother was already at the door by the time we arrived, her hands folded and mouth set in a hard line.

Welp. There goes my freedom for the next 6 months.

JJ dropped me off and helped me take Jude out of the car, who promptly passed out again.

I watched his car drive off with a strange feeling I couldn’t describe before wrapping my arm around Jude’s shoulder and half dragging half carrying him to the doorstep. The guy turned out to not only be strong but incredibly heavy.

Gosh, what were they feeding these track athletes these days?

It didn’t help that he was also 6 ft and unconscious so I was basically dragging him with my entire strength.

“Oliver Octavius Branson, I am so disappointed in you.”

“Mom-“

“I call you ten times and you don’t pick up? It’s three in the morning. Where have you been?”

“Mom I can explain…”

She wrinkled her nose. “Nevermind. I can practically smell where you’ve been the moment you stepped foot from that car. Who drove you here?”

I felt like I had been arrested and was now been interrogated. By some hard-broiled detectives in shades. If those detectives happened to be a short blonde woman with blue eyes that promised nothing but murder and lifetime worth of punishment.

“JJ. He’s Casey’s boyfriend,” I sputtered, slightly out of breath. “Mom you’re not listening-“

“And who, might I graciously add, is this,” Her imperious gaze landed on Jude, who was still passed out. Her nose twitched, and a look of revulsion emerged from her face. We must have been smelling like a bunch of rotting vinegar and pigs.

At this point, the words were being wrenched out of me with sharp hooks
“This is Rick’s brother, Jude. Judah. Judah Adams.”

My mom surveyed him from head to toe with a glance that was sharper than a scalpel. “Why is he coming to my house looking like this?” She asked and the dream of moving out to my own apartment had never looked more appealing.

“Did you guys hookup?”

“Mom!” My jaw dropped. “Why would you ask that?”

“So you did -“

“No, we didn’t. There’s-there’s nothing going on between us. Okay?”

“Honestly, I don’t know what to believe anymore.” She threw her hands in the air and might as well been Casey’s mom with how more theatrical she was being right now than even Casey. “You come in the dead of the night looking like you just abused ten illegal drugs and smelling like you just survived an alcohol explosion, which means you went to a club.”

“Mom-“

“And you come back with a boy that I absolutely don’t know -“

“I told you it’s Rick’s brother. Oh my god, how many times am I going to explain it to you-“

“And you,” she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, shuddering, and I realised she was restraining herself. When she glanced at me, her eyes had begun to well with tears. “You didn’t tell me where you are. You didn’t tell me where you were going.”

I ached, suddenly feeling ten times more horrible as I realised for the first time how huge of a deal this was to her. “Oh, mom. I’m sorry. This won’t happen again.”

She wrapped her hands around me, and since Jude was leaning against my shoulder, she ended up hugging him too. “Oh, pumpkin.”

“I’m sorry, mom. I really am.”

“I know you’re growing and you’re now an adult and I can’t monitor you like a five year old and everything but please…you’re my only child.” She sniffed. “Please warn me next time. Just a call or even a small text. You had me worried.”

I closed my eyes, absolutely inhaling her lemon and hibiscus scent. I hadn’t realised until now how much I missed her presence and how much it grounded me and calmed my raging wild thoughts and anxiety.

“Ok, mom. I promise.”

She took a step back, and looked at me, her eyes gleaming. A small smile began to erupt on her face before she looked down. “Oh my god, what are you wearing?”

I chuckled nervously before hurrying inside, the weight of Jude on my shoulder now practically non-existent. “It’s been a long night, mom. Gotta go sleep! Love you!”

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It was my plan for Jude to sleep in the guestroom… that is, until my mom reminded me that the guestroom was littered with junk from the last five years in this house.

When she suggested that he sleeps on the couch, I rejected that idea. Something about how Jude had reacted made me think that I shouldn’t leave him alone.

“And why is he sleeping in this house?” She asked, the hostility in her voice gone, now replaced with open curiosity.

“Uh…it’s….it’s a long story,” I said nervously, “I think Jude can sleep in my room.”

“In your room?” She quirked an eyebrow. “You already broke like fifty rules in this house. Best believe you are not -“

“I know, but I think it’s for his sake. I-I can’t explain, but it’s for the best.”

She narrowed her eyes before helping me haul Jude up the stairs to my room.

When we reached the doorstep, she said, “Fine. But I’ll come and check on you later. No funny business.”

“Mom,” I rolled my eyes, “nothing is going on between us.”

“Sure, pumpkin,” she said in a tone that suggested she did anything but believe me before leaving me. I could have sworn she was trying to hide a smile as she left for her room.

I groaned in frustration before opening my room. I carefully laid Jude on the floor before heading to my closet. I rummaged through my clothes before I found what I was looking for; a green yoga mat I’d bought in a spontaneous shopping with Casey and spare beddings.

I spread the mat on the floor before laying Jude on it. He was way longer than it but it will have to do. I covered him with the spare blankets.

Later, I shed my stinky clothes and headed for my bathroom for a quick shower that turned into a 1 hour everything shower.

Afterwards, I wore my pajama shorts and a ragged t-shirt before crashing into my bed. The heat from the shower had brought my sleepinesss back in full force, and after grabbing my teddybear, Mr. Lumpkins, my eyes crashed shut before I finally descended into darkness.

That is, until I don’t know how long later, a rough, ragged voice pierced through my sleep.

“Shit. Where am I?”

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This is my longest chapter to date and it was meant to be filler.                (　ﾟﾛﾟ)!!
Hdjuxkdjeejeieirjdieueie.
Cries in *pantser*

Also, brace yourselves… the next chapter is going to be ROUGHHH.

Wishing y’all a very Merry christmas in advance!❤️

~Starsanddust