Ice.

Chapter Forty-Three.

Avery

I'm drunk.

Like, suuuuuuper drunk.

But not the bad kind of drunk. I'm happy and light and having fun with my new friend.

I don't even know how much I've drank with Grace. We're not keeping track and we're just having a good time. I needed this today. With school ending last week and having my last day at the book store today, I'm just living in a sea of emotions. My time in Seattle is officially coming to an end and it breaks my heart. I'm going to miss everyone so much. 

At least I get to see Finn tomorrow.

I feel safe here with Grace. I don't usually drink a lot because I always feel anxious about it, especially if I'm out. But I've realized that I actually do enjoy it if I'm with people that I feel safe with, like at that party with Finn or here with Grace.

I really like Grace. I like how easy it is to be myself around her and how much we laugh together. Which reminds me..

"So," I start, looking over towards her. She's on her phone, a cup of some flavored water and tequila in her hand. "Are you coming to LA, or what?"

She looks up from her phone at me and rolls her lips into her mouth as she narrows her eyes at me. I put my hands up in surrender, "What? You got me drunk, you have to deal with the consequences. Which are nosey questions."

"Bitch," Grace responds under her breath as she sits up from her lounging position, which makes me grin.

"Did he ask you to move with him?" I ask now, already knowing the answer. Finn told me that Casey was going too, so I'd be shocked if he didn't already.

"He did," she says simply, her eyes still narrowed. "Don't act like you didn't know."

I give her an innocent smile before I go to the edge of my seat more. "Well? Are you going too?"

"It's not that simple," she laughs at me, her cheeks rosy from the obscene amount of alcohol she's consumed. Grace is not a light weight, let me just say.

I feel a pang if jealousy radiate through me for a moment, though. I wish I was in her position. I wish I could choose whether or not I would live with Finn, but that's because I'm pretty sure I would. It seems so much better than the hand that we've been dealt.

But her situation is different and I know I shouldn't compare. I know that she's not from here either and that she's only enrolled in classes at UW, so moving to LA with Casey would be moving to another new city - all for a boy she only started dating a few months ago. It sounds crazy when you think about it, but it's not when you know that it's them.

It's hard to explain, but Casey and Grace have that type of relationship that you just know will last forever. It just makes sense and the two of them just fill in the pieces that the other one lacks. 

She graduated from college last month and her plan was to stay here instead of going back home to Maine where she's from. She said that she's a west coast girl at heart and Maine was just too small for her.

"I'm not going to have anyone here though," she adds, continuing the conversation. "I don't have many friends, only a few that I'm not sure I will even see after a while. I live alone. You're leaving. If I don't go with Casey, I'll be alone. But if I do go, I'll have both of you." She sighs deeply, leaning back into the couch. "It seems like a no brainer, and I really wanna go, but I feel like I'm not thinking logically. I feel like it's a big risk."