ONE
Advik
THREE YEARS AGO (CONTINUED)
Behench—
My head is splitting in half. I crack one eye open and spend a full minute watching the ceiling fan spin like it’s mocking me.
Bed’s empty.
No Gree.
Shit. Did she not stay over?
I groan and drag myself to the bathroom. Splash water on my face. Brush my teeth like it’ll somehow erase the fog in my brain—and the bad decisions I probably made last night.
Why thehelldid I drink so much?
I should’ve made Vikram play babysitter. Gree doesn’t even drink. She must’ve dragged my sorry ass home.
Ugh.Fuck.
I step out of the bedroom—and freeze.
She’s here. I sigh in relief.
She’s on the couch. Staring at my laptop like it insulted her entire bloodline.
“Baby...” I try a sheepish smile. “Shit. I drank too much, huh?”
Nothing. Not even a glance.
Okay... weird. I shuffle closer, about to lean in and kiss her good morning—
But she lifts her hand, palm out, stopping me like a bouncer at a club.
“Not now. You want coffee?” Her voice is... ice. Flat. Unfamiliar.
“I—uh—brushed my teeth, I swear.”
She stands up abruptly and walks into the kitchen, leaving behind a perfectly folded throw blanket and a pillow on the couch.
Wait.
She slept out here?
“Gree?” I follow her in, brow furrowed. “Did you... sleep on the couch?”
“Yep,” she says, casual as hell while slotting a pod into the coffee machine. “You want milk?”
Milk? My brain short-circuits.
She knows I don’t drink my coffee with milk. She’s made it for me a hundred times.
“No...” I say slowly.
Something’s off. Off in a way my hungover brain can’t decode fast enough.
