party monster | the weeknd

fourty one

3 weeks later

Abel

I jolt up awake in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat and gasping for air.

My fingers clench the bed sheets tightly as I feel my chest beginning to tighten.

"Abel?" I hear Taylor ask, her voice full of alarm. She gets up and rubs my back. "Just breathe, baby."

She starts inhaling and exhaling slowly and I mimic her actions, feeling my heartbeat beginning to steady down.

When my breathing finally goes back to normal, I feel myself beginning to relax and slump back against the bed, looking up at the ceiling.

"Are you okay?" Taylor asks softly as she lays down beside me and places her hand on my chest.

I run my hand up and down her arm. "Yeah," I answer, still staring at the ceiling.

After a couple of seconds, I twist my neck to look at Taylor and smile and she smiles back at me. "Sorry I woke you up."

Taylor just shrugs in response and starts running her fingers over my sweaty chest. "It's fine," she says before taking a long pause. "That's the tenth time that's happened in the past three weeks."

I don't say anything, I just stare at her. "Yeah," is all I say, nodding.

"Has this got something to do with the stabbing?" Taylor wants to know, stroking my cheek with the back of her thumb.

I shake my head. "No," I lie and Taylor narrows her eyes, knowing that I'm lying to her. "Okay, yes, it is." I finally admit and she looks at me thoughtfully.

"You should go and see a doctor," Taylor tells me. "You could be suffering from PTSD -"

"Taylor!" I interrupt in a calm tone. "I'm fine, okay? I'll be fine. You don't need to worry about me. Seriously."

Taylor looks at me, clearly wanting to say something. She eventually decides against it and lays her head on my chest. "Abel," she says slowly in a low tone. "Look, you may think that you're okay, but your mind is saying otherwise. This has been happening this whole month now. That whole situation, it's still on your mind and I don't think it'll go away anytime soon - not until you speak to someone about it. What happened to you . . ." She trails off and lets out a deep, raggedy breath. "I don't blame you for being scared. I would be too and I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it. So please just talk to someone? You'll feel much better."

Taylor looks up at me now and she raises her eyebrows, waiting for me to say something to her.

I just stare at her, thinking to myself. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea if I go and speak to someone. Plus, I'm sure it'll give Taylor some peace of mind and stop her from worrying about me - stress isn't good for the baby after all.

"Okay, baby," I say now. "I'll go speak to someone."

Taylor smiles and leans up to peck my lips. "Thank you." She lays her head back on my chest  and continues trailing her fingers across my body. "Get some sleep, okay?"

"Okay."

Taylor

"Ugh, morning sickness is the worst!" I complain as I pat my wet mouth down with a towel.

Abel chuckles and wraps his arms around me before placing a kiss on the top of my head.

He runs his fingers through my wet hair and I smile against his chest, closing my eyes and wrapping my arms around his body.

"I think I'm going to tell my parents about the baby," I say now against Abel's chest.

He pulls away, raising his eyebrows. "Yeah?" he says and I nod.

"Yeah," I say, pulling away and walking out the bathroom and into the bedroom. "I mean, what am I supposed to do? Wait for the baby to come and then tell them? They'd be so mad if I did that."

I sigh heavily before laying down on the bed and Abel joins me, playing around with my hair.

"How do you think they'll react?" he asks me.

I smack my lips, shaking my head. "I honestly don't even know anymore," I answer honestly. "They'll probably be really mad at first, but I don't know . . . I'm sure they'll be supportive and understanding. They always are."

Abel chews his lip, looking at me with a serious face. "Do they even know about me?" he wants to know.

"No!" I groan, putting my hands on my face. "And that's what makes this a million times worse! And the fact that I'm dropping out of college! They'll be so disappointed. I don't think I'll be able to even look at their faces when I tell them."

Abel grabs my hands and peels them away from my face. "Are you sure that that's what you really want to do?" he asks softly. "You don't need to drop out just because you're having a baby.  The baby is due in June. It'll be your summer break by then and then when you go back in September, I can just stay at home and look after our little boy."

I get up and smile down at Abel. "What the hell did I do to deserve you?" I say before pecking his lips. I shake my head. "But it's not that at all, Abel. I just hate college in general. It's not for me. I'd rather be at home with my little boy then in that place. I just hope my parents understand, you know?"

Abel nods before placing a kiss on my head. "They will."

The doorbell rings and I look up at Abel. "Can you get that, please?"

He nods and I watch with a smile on my face as he leaves the room and goes to answer the door, only wearing his boxers.

After a couple of seconds, the smile quickly fades away and paranoid thoughts start to fill my mind.

I quickly get up and pull on a robe before going downstairs. "Who is it, Abel?" I call out as I tie the robe.

My heart freezes when I look up and find my family standing in the doorway.

A/N: Finally updated 😂😂. Also, 700 + reads for next chapter.