Bryce POV

Bryce stood motionless, in complete shock.

His father had been over for what seemed like half an hour, persistently arguing with his mother to take him back because "he deserved a second chance" and he was "the man of the house". It was no more heated of an argument than usual, that is, till Chet stepped in. Bryce had never seen his grandpa so angry before. Chet and Steven were heavily arguing, yelling, screaming, and seemed to be desperately fighting the urge to get physical about the fight. Then everything stopped. All the noise and chaos halted with Chet yelling mid-sentence and then collapsing slowly to the floor. Everyone seemed to freeze for a moment, as if they all wanted to stop what was about to occur. But it was too late. Chet was on the floor within seconds. Bryce's mother was the first to move, quickly grabbing hold of a telephone to call for help. Steven stared for a second at Chet, looking horrified. In a way, this was all basically his fault. But he would never own up to it, he was too much of a coward to do that. He looked at Bryce half apologetically before darting out the front door in fear of facing any consequences for what had just occurred.

That's right, just get up and leave. That's what you're good at.

Patsy finished speaking with a woman on the phone who assured her the ambulance would arrive in no more than five minutes. "Bryce, please grab all of your grandfather's medication. We have to take everything to the hospital. And maybe a few items of clothing and things he might like to have with him. Can you do that for me?"

Bryce nodded, running towards his grandpa's room. He would have to be quick and get everything before the ambulance arrived. Putting everything into a little suitcase, Bryce fought the urge to cry. He was scared. Would his grandpa make it? He brought everything to his mom, just in time as the ambulance arrived.

"Only one person can go in the ambulance, Bryce. Can you stay here for a bit and maybe stay near the phone in case anyone calls? I can come back later sweetie and pick you up. I just think right now it would be best if I go alone."

"Ok, mom."

Patsy gave him a tight hug. "I'll call and let you know if- I'll call you soon."

Bryce watched as she got in the ambulance with Chet. He could no longer fight a few tears streaming down his face. What if this was the last time he would ever see his grandpa? The ambulance rode away, leaving Bryce standing alone on the driveway. He looked across the street, but no cars were parked at the Baker's house. Juli wasn't home. He couldn't go to her for help. Lynetta was all the way back at her university. He was alone, completely alone. He went back inside and the only thing sitting on the kitchen table was his dad's bottle of whiskey. It had probably been Steven's second bottle that night, but it was barely touched. After the argument escalated, he was so drunk to realize he had another bottle available to finish. With the whiskey bottle sitting there alone, Bryce removed the cap and took a swig of alcohol. The liquid burned his throat as he tried to swallow it completely. After the first, he took another swig. There was no other option. Nobody was there for him. All he wanted to do was clear his mind. Finally, a little more than halfway into the bottle, Bryce looked out the window and noticed Mr. Baker's car now parked across the street.

Juli must be back. I have to see her. I need her.

He stumbled his way across the street and tried to straighten up for Juli's parents. He knocked on the door to see Mrs. Baker open the front door, smiling.

"Well, hello Bryce."

"Hi, Mrs. Baker. Is Juli home? I need to talk to her," he asked almost desperately.

"Yes, she is. She's in her room, but… I think I can get her out of bed for a minute if you need to talk. Come on inside." Mrs. Baker led him to the outside of Juli's bedroom. She knocked on her door. "Juli, honey. You have someone here to see you. It's Bryce."

"Umm… one second!" Bryce heard Juli call from inside her bedroom. She was taking sort of long to open the door. Bryce hoped it would be soon enough before Mrs. Baker caught on to his lack of soberness.

"Juli?" Mrs. Baker asked again, waiting for the door to open.

"Coming!" Juli answered as she finally opened the door. "Hi, Bryce," she said with that lovely smile of her's. She was so beautiful.

"Hi, Juli." Bryce tried to maintain his cool in front of Mrs. Baker. No way was he going to break down and make a scene right now. He would wait till he was alone with Juli. He looked at her and saw her smile had faded. The smile faded as soon as she looked into his eyes. Bryce knew she could already tell something was wrong.

"No more than ten minutes. I'll be back to check on you then." Mrs. Baker left them alone and shut the door.

Fuck, here it goes. Bryce lost it. Everything he had been holding in exploded. It had been a rough day and he needed to get all of it out of his system. He tried covering his face, a little embarrassed by how much he was crying, but it was no use. He was sobbing and Juli could clearly hear and see that he was feeling pretty miserable. She came over and slowly took his hands away from his face. She hugged him and he cried into her shoulder, for what seemed like a few minutes.

"Bryce, what is it? What's wrong?"

He was so angry and hurt. He was upset that his parents were divorcing, upset that everyone hated his dad and worse, had an absolutely valid reason to. But the thing most upsetting was that Chet's health was in serious danger, all because of his dad. "Why is everything so fucked up, Juli?" Bryce broke the hug, and walked a bit around her room. He needed some space to breathe and think clearly.

"Bryce, please just talk to me. What is going on?" Juli pleaded for an answer.

Bryce paused for a moment, reluctant to tell her the truth. He knew the news would hit her just as hard as Juli cared very much for Chet. But he had to say it."Grandpa just had a stroke." It stung to say the words.

"Bryce, I'm… I'm so sorry." She seemed to take the news with a heavy heart.

Bryce hated seeing Juli hurt. But he knew she needed to know exactly how everything happened. Bryce explained the argument between his father and grandfather that night and how it had escalated out of control. "… and then he had stroke. And then dad just left like the coward he is and didn't even bother staying to see if he was ok. Grandpa is at the hospital in a critical condition, my parents are getting a divorce, Lynetta detests Dad with everything she has, and to drown all this shit away and numb everything, I choose to drink, possibly following the same footsteps and becoming just like my dad. My family is crumbling apart. And me… I don't know… I'm just, falling to pieces. Everything is shit, but the only good thing I have is you, Juli."

"Well I'm here and I'm not going anywhere, Bryce. I'll always be here for you."

Juli's words meant the world to Bryce. He knew she meant every word and it only made him love her that much more. He had never used the word love around her, but was how he felt. "I love you, Juli." He took a deep breath. I can't believe I just said that.

"I love you too, Bryce." Once again, Bryce knew she wasn't just throwing the word 'love' around, she meant it.

He paused and looked at her from across her bedroom, she seemed so far away. He wanted to kiss her passionately right now. His eyes trailed from her head to toes. She was wearing a tiny robe over what seemed to be thin pajamas. The curiosity was killing him. Just for this moment, he forgot about everything else and the only person occupying his mind was Juli, standing across the room from him. He walked towards her, never breaking eye contact. He stood inches away from her now, slowly undoing her robe and letting it fall to the floor. His eyes watched the robe slide off her shoulders, slowly revealing inches of her body until it was all the way on the floor. He wanted to take it all in, every inch of her. He had always thought Juli was beautiful, but seeing her like this was different. She was without a doubt, the most beautiful person he had seen in his life. He couldn't take it any longer."I just want to forget everything right now. I just want to be with you," Bryce pleaded as he pulled Juli close for a passionate kiss. She did not fight it at all, surrendering to the kiss and wrapping her arms around his neck. Both of them wanted this, asking for more with each kiss. Before he knew it, he was completely on top of her, placing gentle kisses on Juli's neck and caressing her skin with his hands.

"Bryce, don't stop. Please, keep going," Juli begged, running her fingers down his back, encouraging more.

Bryce looked up, seeing the look of absolute pleasure on Juli's face. It became too much for him to handle. What am I doing? This is her parent's house. I'm drunk. We're both upset about grandpa. This isn't ok. He stood up quickly, leaving Juli lying on the floor by herself for a moment. "I'm so sorry, Juli. I shouldn't have done that. It shouldn't be like this." Juli sat up, looking at him with confusion in her eyes. "Look, I should go. I'm too messed up right now and we're both feeling vulnerable. Please, just know I love you. I have to go…" He left a quick kiss on her forehead before exiting Juli's room and making his way back towards his home.

Even though he ached for more of Juli, he knew he had made the right decision. He opened the front door and walked back inside his house. Bryce picked up the phone. Still, not a single new message. He sighed deeply as he sunk into the couch. He pondered what he could do to help. How could he save Chet? How could he save his family from falling apart anymore than it already had? But there was no solution. He couldn't do anything. All there was to do now was to wait with the phone in his hand, praying and hoping for good news about his grandpa.

A/N: Thanks for the new reviews! Bane of the world: what a compliment for my first fanfic! Best of luck with the film making. I'm sure you will be great at it :]. Who are You What Do You Want: LOL. When I said a show, I mean I am in a musical called RENT. Musical Theatre is actually what I'm majoring in and my biggest passion. No topless anything involved, I promise. But please, use Dana for whatever you wish- the character doesn't belong to me at all :p. Cammygrl: I'm glad you recognized the song reference. I like to write while I listen to music—it helps to get me inspired. That song was on Pandora when I wrote the chapter. Note the new chapter title (totally from another song, as is the title of my story :D).