Right In Front of Me (Finished)

Chapter 23: Feel Better

That night, my family made a point of staying out of the house. They heard about my breakdown; Greyson told them what happened after he drove me home, me passed out in the passenger seat. He plopped me onto the couch, and when I woke up, around 2:00 in the afternoon, my family showered me with hugs, and overwhelming love. My brother even made me a 'get-well-soon' card. I don't think that Greyson was 100% honest with Brian about what happened. He now thinks that I am sick, so when he gave me the card, he smiled then ran away immediately, yelling, "Don't give me the yuckies! I don't want the germs!" Greyson went home after that to get stuff, and is now returned, plus my family left to "go night-fishing" in dad's words, but I swear I heard mom tell Summer to "keep it a secret", though I don't know what 'it' is, and I don't really care.
        Greyson enters the family room, where I haven't moved from the couch since Greyson put me there, and sits next to my feet, since I am outstretched on the couch with a snowflake blanket draped over my body. He says, awkwardly, "So, uh, h-how are you, um, f-feeling?" I shrug, say, "Well, I mean, I don't know. I kinda just... I don't know, want to take a bath or something." His shoulders slump. "Oh, well, I kinda wanted to, uh spend time with you. You know, nurse you back to health." He smiles, and I say, "I just want to... wash all of the emotions away, but I don't feel like taking a shower and standing the whole time. So, I want to take a bath." He drops his smile, says, "I know, but I just wanted to be with you while you need help feeling better. I am quite the people-person, you know." I smile a little, then come up with an idea. "You could..." He says, "Could what? Be with you the whole time? How?" I look at him. I say, "You could take the bath with me..." He widens his eyes. "Doesn't bathing kind of require, you know... nakedness?" He asks. I wiggle my eyebrows, then say, "We would wear bathing suits! Dummy... so will you? Please?" He sighs, says, "I don't know...-" I interrupt, "I am too drained to even get up to go into the bathroom, anyway! Plus, I feel like being clean, but I have zero energy, and can't even clean myself." He sighs again.
        He carries me upstairs, into my room, setting me on my bed. He announces that he will be in his room changing, and will knock before opening the window. "You will freeze out there. Just come in when you are done, Greyson." He smiles when I say his name, then nods and leaves. I grab my bathing suit, remove my clothes, and put on the bottoms. Then my phone buzzes, and I see that there is a text from Hallie. It says:
Hallie :D : Hey, It's Hayden... Greyson told me you were sick. Are you okay?

I text back, slowly: Avalon :P : Oh, hey... um, I'm fine, I guess. How are you...?

He sends back: Hallie :D : Um, let's just say that I must be better, because I haven't broken any objects in the past 3 hours, so... progress. I took Hallie's phone, btw, she's in the bathroom.

I say: Avalon :P : Oh, so you two are hanging out?

Hayden replies: Hallie :D : Um, more like she is keeping me halfway sane...

I sigh, type: Avalon :P : Yeah, Greyson's doing the same for me. He managed to get me to stop smashing things with a sledge-hammer, so yeah, that's progress, too, I guess...

        If he replies after that, I don't see it, because Greyson opens the window, and I scream, frantically holding my bathing suit top up to my chest. He says, "Don't worry, I didn't see anything you wouldn't want me to... You don't care if I see your boobs, right?" I say back, "You saw... my boobs?!" He waves his hand around. "Nah, I didn't see anything. Promise. Do you need help tying your top?" He asks. I nod, and he ties it for me.
        He carries me into my parents' bathroom, since they have the biggest bathtub, and sets me in it. He plugs the drain and turns on the water. I sit there as the tub fills up, and Greyson pours bubble bath into it, filling the tub with bubbles. He sits across from me, and once the tub is full enough, he turns off the water. We sit there in silence for a few seconds staring at each other. Then, Greyson turns on some relaxing music, on his phone. 'Your Body is a Wonderland' by John Mayor starts playing, and I close my eyes. When I open them, I notice Greyson has closed his eyes as well. I take this time to stare at his abs. They are amazing. Possibly even better than Hayden's. I feel myself drooling, and I wipe it away and sit back against the tub, and close my eyes. I decide that I should probably wash my hair.
        I reach for my shampoo, but ultimately fail, but I keep reaching for it. It on the other side of the bath, next to Greyson's head. I stretch as far as my lack of energy will let me, and I finally touch the bottle, but I knock it into the tub, startling Greyson. He opens his eyes, and looks down next to him at the bottle. He picks it up, saying, "I wasn't joking when I agreed to helping you... clean yourself. Turn around, I'll wash your hair." I turn around so that I am leaning up against Greyson. 'Upside Down' by Jack Johnson plays.
        Greyson grabs an old plastic Coca-Cola cup by its handle and puts it in the water. He fills it with water, and spills it over my head while I relax. He, then, pours some shampoo onto his hands, rubs it around on his hands, and scrubs it into my hair, gently. He massages my scalp a little as he washes my hair, which feels amazing, then pours more water over my head to rinse out the shampoo.
        Next, 'Who Are You When I'm Not Looking' by Blake Shelton play. I love this song; it's so calming. He grabs a lufa, and squeezes my body wash onto it. Then he dips the lufa into the water and lathers it around with his hands. He whispers that he is about to wash my body. I nod, though I'm not really listening to anything but the music. He carefully scrubs my belly, and then my neck and chest (but not my boobs). Then he outstretches one of my arms and washes it, followed by my other arm. He bends my knees so he can reach my feet easier. He scrubs my feet, then my lower-legs and knees. He, then, scrubs my thighs, and then my back. He squeezes out the lufa in the water, and sets it aside. He fills the Coca-Cola cup again, and pours it several times all over my body.
        Once I am all clean, he gets out of the tub and dries himself off. He turns off the music, then grabs me. He lifts me out of the tub and then wraps me with my towel, helping me dry off. He unplugs the drain, then brings me to my room. He picks out something for me to wear, and he leaves so I can put it on. When I am done, Greyson changes in his room while I throw my hair into a bun. He carries me downstairs when we are ready, and he sets me on the couch. He turns away when my eyes start flittering closed.
        "Wait. Where are you going?" I ask with a groggy voice. He turns back toward me, and says, "You need you sleep, so I was just gonna go home and give you some privacy." I shake my head and close my eyes. Sleepily, I say, "No. Stay." He walks over to me and sits on the edge of the couch. "Well, where should I sit?" He asks. Still with my eyes closed, I sit up and pat the spot where I was just laying. He lays down there, and I lay on top of him, instantly feeling sleepier the moment my head touched his chest. I feel him pull my snowflake blanket on top of us. He whispers, "Goodnight, Avalon." He must've thought I was completely asleep, because he said, "You even look beautiful when you sleep." I smile and go to sleep.