“Yeah?” I turned a corner, boots scraping on the pavement, as my head tilted toward the sky. The stars looked fake, warping against the endless night.
“Then seriously. Don’t. Fucking. Bother.” I ended the call before she could respond. Stood there for a second, my back hitting the wall of the alley, the cold creeping in around the warmth spreading through my veins. My jaw clenched, but Iwasn’t sure if I was angry, high, or just cracked down the middle. Maybe all three at this point. The phone buzzed again in my hand, a fresh wave of guilt itching in my chest. A frustrated groan left me as I could feel her fingers starting to slither around me once again. I shoved it into my pocket and kept walking. Falling into the nearest bar, hands slamming against the counter. Tonight wasn’t going to be about her—my want for numbness outweighing every rational decision.
The girl had a face I wouldn’t remember come morning. She was draped against me, as if she belonged there, wandering hands and exchanged whispers. My brain felt like warm fog, my limbs loose, everything pleasantly distant. The world around me had dulled to a low hum, just like I wanted. My eyes drifted across the crowd as a familiar glare stared back at me. How the fuck did this bitch find me? Had she planted some tracking device on me that I didn’t know about? I could have been anywhere.
Forcing her way through the crowd, heading straight towards me. Ugh, she’s fucking relentless.
Before I knew it, she was gripping my face in her hand. Forcing me to look into her dark eyes as she scanned me, looking for any sign of rationality. My skin rippling against her touch.
“Look at me!” she snapped. “Look at me, Screech.”
I tried. I really did. But everything in my vision was floating sideways, and her face was warping. Still, I locked eyes with hers the best I could, pupils like saucepans. I could feel her figuring it out.
“You’re off your fucking face! What have you taken?” she breathed, anger bleeding into her voice. I yanked my head away with a snarl, stumbling a step back.
“Look who showed up,” My mouth twisting into a cocky smirk, pulling the girl in my arms closer towards me. Misfit’seyes drifted over to her, looking her up and down with a disgusted expression.
“Classy, Screech.”
I scoffed, “You don’t get to disappear without a trace, then turn up judging me and who I spend my time with.”
“And you don’t get to throw yourself into some junky spiral because you didn’t get the answers you were looking for,” she retorted.
A small disbelieving chuckle left me as I shook my head. “I just…I needed the noise to stop, alright? Now, if you’ll excuse me. You’re interfering with my night.” She stared at me for a time. There was something there, hurt maybe, but worse than that was the flicker of understanding. I didn’t want saving tonight. Finally, she exhaled, taking a step back.
“Fine,” she said, “Enjoy this.” Her hand gesturing over the girl at my side.
“I plan to.” She turned then, walking out into the street, and I watched her go, felt every step like a hammer to my chest, but I stayed rooted. My attention returned to the girl at my side.
Her laugh echoed down the street. High and sweet and drunk off the kind of attention I knew how to give when I didn’t want to feel anything else. We burst through the flat door, all hands and lips, her clutch falling to the floor with a soft thud as she pulled me in harder. I kicked the door shut behind us before shoving her against the wall, my teeth scraping her jaw, my hand sliding down the front of her jeans, instantly feeling her reacting to my touch. She took in a sharp breath as my finger brushed over her, one leg already hitching around my hip, her fingers making their way to my belt. Clothes were half-peeled off, heat simmering between us, fogging up what was left of my mind.
“Ahem…” The sound cut through the room like a gunshot. We both froze. The girl pulled back, blinking fast and dazed. Andthere, in the dark across the living room, a figure sat slouched on my old armchair, legs crossed, shadows framing a sharp silhouette.
“You’ve got to be fucking joking,” I breathed, voice low and venomous. Lolling my head forward, I pulled back from the girl.
“What the fuck?” The girl gasped, grabbing at her top, her voice shrill and immediate.
“Who the hell are you?”
Misfit didn’t move. Just tilted her head slightly. “Oh, don’t mind me,” she said, voice cool. “I’m just the one who actually gives a shit about him.”
The girl spun on me, outrage in her face. “Is this your girlfriend?! Are you kidding me?”
“No,” I growled, jaw clenched. “She’s not!”
“Then what the fuck is this?” she snapped, waving between us. “You have some psycho stalker ex just sitting in your apartment?”
Misfit chuckled as she stood closing the space between us, “Call me a psycho again, and I’m gonna show you what that means, real fucking quick.” Her eyes widened at the girl.
“If she’s not your ex, get her to leave.” Whispering into my ear as I lolled my head back in disbelief at the situation.
“Yeah, go on, get me to leave.” Misfit’s arms now tightly crossed over her chest, a clear indication of her unwillingness to budge.
What the fuck was she doing here anyway? Yet again breaking into my place, thinking she can pull me back to be the good little boy. Fuck that!
After everything that happened with Manic, she left me! I stewed in the uncertainty of what I saw, which provided me with no believable answers to my questions. Internally, I was fighting with myself. On one hand, I wanted to forget everything, allowing myself to drown in the pleasure of someone else. Andon the other hand, there was Misfit. She was here, maybe my only chance to ask her what was really going on.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, letting out a deep sigh, “Just … get out.” My eyes flicked to Misfit and then to the girl.
