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He came awake instantly. He didn't bother reaching for his jeans or his shoes. Jumping out of his bed he rushed for his door.
Paisley was upset.
He went out his front door and he could already see her trying to climb down from her balcony. "Are you crazy?" He ran faster, trying to get to her in case she fell.
"You made it look easier than it is. Catch me if I fall."
"Damn it, Paisley. You better not fall. Why didn't you use the back door? Why didn't you call to me? I would have come."
As soon as she was close enough to feel his hand on her foot, she let go trusting him to catch her. "Are you crazy?"
The tears in her eyes were like a punch to his midsection.
"You're the one standing in my front yard in your boxers yelling loud enough to wake my mom. I just wanted to get out of there, and you always use the damn balcony, so I did."
His anger left him. "Not because I have to, I could pick the lock on your doors if I wanted to. I was being romantic." His voice softened. "You were okay when I went to bed and was watching Grease two."
"Mom doesn't even like the second one. That should have told me something right there."
He didn't have to ask her what was wrong. He already knew. Dougie was unhappy and Seth called. He led her back to his place.
"I didn't even get to the heart to heart before things flew out of control. She's worried about my grades. She's pissed that I got detention then turned around and skipped school. I'm doing the best I can do. Why can't she understand that? Why can't she see that I'm worried to? Everything is becoming too much. I'm trying but it's just too much."
He caught her face as soon as they were behind a closed door. "Count to ten, baby."
She was so close to panicking that she didn't even fight it. Aloud she counted to ten. Not once but twice.
Seth had been drinking. Crying. She had wanted to go to him, but he didn't want her to. He had only wanted to hear her voice.
"He's worse, Jay. He doesn't drink. I know he told me not to go but I need to."
He knew better than to do too much, so he eased her slowly. In stages so he would know when enough was enough. He tucked away some of her fears and worries. As easy as her next breath he took away some of the guilt she's been burden with for all these weeks.
All that was easy. The hard part was knowing when to stop. There was a big part of him that wanted to take all the ugliness away from her, but he had promised that he wouldn't.
He would just take away enough to give her a reprieve away from it all. Just for a day or two then he would return a little of it when she was feeling stronger.
"I'll call Jackson and he can go sit with him tonight. You don't have to do this alone. Your mom being upset with you is just a little thing. She's worried about you, but she'll be fine as soon as you are. You're a good student and little bitty black marks on your record is not a big deal. They need to be more understanding of what you're going through. I can fix all of this. I know you're worried about Seth you wouldn't be the person I love if you weren't. It's okay to worry about him as long as you take care of yourself too. Let's save all your energy for that."
"I love you."
He led her towards the stairs. "That's because you're my girl."
"I always wanted to be your girl."
"You always have been."
In his room, with only the streetlamp outside his window to see by, he looked at her as he reached for the button of her jeans. When he found nothing but trust and love in her glance, he undid her pants and slid them down her legs. "All you need is some sleep. Some time to regroup and recharge."
She nodded in agreement as he laid down and opened his arms for her. "You'll get in touch with Jackson?"
"Promise. Do you promise to never climb down your balcony again?"
"I promise. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come back into my life."
"I don't want to know what my life looks like without you in it either."
