I can’t stay home, and I can’t sit here and stir like a sitting duck either. This isn’t helping and I’m going to drive myself mad.
I need a drink.
It’s Wednesday night so the streets are quiet. Everyone’s asleep, which is perfect.
I’ll be able to slip in and catch up on the bills I missed over the weekend.
Anything to get my mind off of Derrick. Without Elijah’s body next to mine, the nightmares have returned full force.
I creep into the empty dining room and make my way over to the bar. I don’t want to…and I know I shouldn’t but…it’s been helping makethe voices quieter. Turning on the overhead light, I take my time choosing a drink.
I land on the Disaronno. It’s sweet and not that strong, and at least it reminds me of Elijah. He loves Amaretto sours and I love him so, might as well.
I pick up the bottle and grab a small rocks glass from under the bar.
“Bottoms up.” I sigh before shooting back the liquid. The almond flavor tastes nice on my tongue as I swish it in my mouth before swallowing it down.
“Aliquor?You’re not a regular drinker, are you?” I hear a tired voice coming from one of the booths across the dining room.
Startled, I jump back, trying to locate where the voice came from. “Who said that!?” I shout, feeling my pocket for my phone. “I’m calling the cops.”
It doesn’t sound like Derrick’s voice, but who knows. I’ve been wrong before.
“Woah, woah, woah. No need to do that. I pose no threat.” The voice chuckles. Squinting, I can make out a figure sitting up in the booth across the way from me. The bar light offers only a little bit of help. I see a tattooed arm and black hair.
Walking over to the wall, I flick up the dining room light. Now, fully revealing the mystery voice. “...Gabe?” I ask, walking over.
He’s hunched over, rubbing his eyes, looking away from me with obvious embarrassment on his face. “Ah. Yeah, unfortunately. It’s me.” He waves at me shyly.
I walk over slowly, still trying to tame my beating heart. “What the hell are you doing here?” I look around to see no one else in here too, which is good. “Have you been sleeping here?”
His face pops up out of his hands. “No! No, I swear I haven’t. I just…I needed somewhere to go…” his voice trails off. And that’s when I see it. He’s got a split lip.
“Holyshit.You okay?” I exhale, sitting down across from him.
I see his eyes drop to his lap as he tries hard to look away from me. “Yeah, I just…needed to get out of where I was staying and this was the only place I could go.” He throws up his hands. “I promise, it was just for tonight. I’ve never done this before.”
I throw up my hands too. I’ve been in that position before and I know how it feels to feel at a loss with nowhere to go. “Don’t worry about that. Do you need me to call the police? Did someone do this to you?” I squint.
He shakes his head. “I did this to myself,” he mutters.
My stomach feels out of sorts at that remark. I’ve said it way too often myself when it was in fact, not my fault.
“You couldn’t have.” I shake my head. “Come on. Talk to me.” I walk over to the bar and grab two glasses and the bottle of liquor before coming to sit back down.
Gabe sighs, sitting back in his seat, twirling the empty glass in his hand. “It’s cute you take shots with this.”
I roll my eyes and give him a deadpan stare. “I wasn’t taking shots. I was just…having a night cap.” I say, grabbing the glass and pouring a couple in.
“Ah,that’swhat this is. A night cap.” He smiles cheekily.
“You. Talk. Now.” I scooch the glass closer to him, making him exhale deeply. I give him some time to think about his answer while I take a moment, pouring my own drink.
“Have you ever…wanted someone you shouldn’t?” He finally says.
I try not to laugh too hard. “Um…it’s sort of the story of my life.”
His lip quirks as he sits back in his seat again. “Right, right. You two share a dad or something.”
