Countdown (on hold)

Two years, eleven months, six days, sixteen hours, fifty eight minutes before

Dinner at the Dawson's was completely different that dinner with my family. Caleb and Alex didn't usually speak unless they were spoken too, while at my house Theo and I talked over each other constantly. Mrs Dawson didn't speak much either; Mr Dawson was the only one who spoke often and when someone else did talk, they didn't bring up their opinions like he did.

As soon as Mr Dawson was done with dinner, he got up, refilled his drink, and went into the den. Quiet conversation picked up then. Mrs Dawson asked each of us how our day was and thanked us for our help. Alex quickly finished eating a excused himself from the dinner table, repeating the same thing his father did. That's when the conversation really picked up.

Mrs Dawson, Caleb, and I started to clear off the dinner table; talking and laughing as we did. Mrs Dawson brought Caleb the dishes, where he washed them before handing them over to me to dry them. I wasn't looking on time and Caleb put his hand in mine instead of a dish. He spun me over to him, then out, then back to him again. We moved away from the sink and started dancing to a song that was only for us.

Mrs Dawson stood there, smiling and clapping us on. Caleb spun me around on more time and held me next to him until Alex walked back in the kitchen. He walked over to where Mr Dawson makes his drinks and grabbed the bottle by its neck. Caleb found my hand and grabbed it. I looked over at him and I had a feeling that he knew what was going to happen next. Alex pulled the cork out of the bottle and had a few sips.

No one said anything as he walked out of the kitchen, swaying a bit as he went. No one said anything as his voice got loud and his words became a jumbled mess. No one said anything as the bottle slipped out of his hands and crashed on the floor. We all just watched him become this sloppy mess.

I wanted to do something to help him, but I was too scared of what he could do, so I just stayed next to Caleb and sense of security that radiated off of him. Caleb squeezed my hand and gently placed his other hand on the small of my back. "Let's go before things get worse." He mumbled. I didn't say or do anything; I just let Caleb walk me out of his house and on the way to mine.

*Author's Note*

Because this chapter is so short, I decided to just post in in the middle of 1.8k and 1.9k. Thank you all so so so much for sticking around and reading Countdown! I think it would be cool if we all got to know each other, so if you'd like, comment your name and something about you! Please vote, share, and comment! Lots of loves <3