pull me back | a drag me down spin off

【twenty four】

Riker's muscular arms keep a tight hold on my waist as I rest my head against his pillow. My blue eyes are tired and drained as they stare up at the tv screen. I'm not really paying attention to the random sitcom that is trying to keep us entertained, all my thoughts can focus on is how broken and empty I feel inside.

I feel betrayed by my own family, who I haven't spoken to in three days. I haven't been able to get out of Riker's bed, my limbs feel numb. I can barely function.

My hair is in a messy bun and one of Riker's lacrosse hoodies is covering my body. It's pretty baggy on me, so it's very comfortable. I haven't had the energy to get dressed or put on makeup. All I want to do is lie in this bed and sob for hours.

A low chuckle comes out of Riker's mouth, which causes me to snap back into focus. His fingertips automatically find my hair. "That's hilarious."

"Huh?" I mumble.

"The show." He clears his throat and glances down at me. "I hate seeing you like this, Dolan."

"Like what?" I play dumb, which I seem to be doing a lot of lately.

"All sad and mopey. I haven't seen you crack one smile since you started crashing here." He places his large hand on my cheek and moves my head up. My eyes automatically look into his as I sigh. "What's going on?"

I have barely spoken two words since my arrival here. I don't know what to say, especially to Riker and Theo. They keep asking me random things, like if I want breakfast or my laundry cleaned. They get the sense that something is wrong, but have been too nervous to speak up and ask.

Jesse and I haven't really spoken since the incident at my house. He hasn't been home, and usually heads to the beach whenever I'm around. He's avoiding me for whatever reason.

I get he implied that he didn't want me to stay with them, but he never specified why. My life gets more confusing every single day.

"Dolan." Riker lowly whispers, never taking his eyes off mine.

"I got into a fight with my parents, I don't want to see them right now." I inhale a breath and look back at the tv screen.

"What was it about? It's clearly really bad if you're skipping class." He shakes his head in disapproval of my actions. I didn't attend class yesterday or today.

"The semester is almost over, you know that. I already wrote all of my essays." I defend myself.

"It's still not very Grace Dolan of you." He teases.

"Well, maybe I don't want to be Grace Dolan anymore." I say with a low whisper, meaning the words.

"Don't say that, I happen to like Grace Dolan. A lot, actually. She's sexy, and badass." His grin turns into a smirk as his grip tightens around my waist.

Those words don't seem to describe me anymore. I'm not sexy or badass. I'm a sad, lonely mess whose life is falling apart.

"Why didn't you go to class?" I shift the topic of conversation.

"Cause why would I do that when you're here?" He says matter-of-factly, almost like the question was a no-brainer.

"I'm not much fun, I've been lying in your bed the past three days." I turn on my side to face him.

"You act like that's such a problem." The smooth texture of his fingertips run along my jawline in a gentle caress.

I stay quiet, simply allowing my vision to take in his features. We stare at each other in blissful silence for a moment, and my nerves begin to go crazy.