“Yes,” I say, firm. “Alone. Don’t wait up.”
I don’t remember choosingthe bar.
One minute I’m outside the venue with my chest tight and my head buzzing, the next I’m pushing through a heavy door into somewhere loud and dim and warm.
I take an empty stool at the bar and grip the edge so it can keep me upright.
“Vodka soda,” I say, already reaching for my card. “Make it fucking strong, yeah?”
The bartender doesn’t ask questions.Bless him.
As he pours, my thoughts keep looping.
Za and I don’t fight like that.
We disagree, sure. We bicker. We snap. But we don’t yell at each other.
She’s the one person who knows every version of me and tonight it felt like we were standing on opposite sides of theplanet. Disappointed is the least I could say. I never thought she’d fight me on something like this.
The bartender slips the drink my way and I knock back half before I even turn on the stool.
I replay her face when I said Jabari had my back more than she did. The hurt that flashed there before she locked it down.
I know that look.
‘Yet another person who prefers my brother.’
The very look I’m afraid of receiving if she finds out I’ve been sleeping with him.
Why did I even say that? Because it was true at that moment? Because I felt abandoned?
I hate that about myself. I never think things through before I do them.
“Another,” I say, sliding the glass forward.
The bartender raises a brow. “You sure?”
“Yes,” I say flatly.
As he pours again, my phone buzzes in my clutch.
I look at my Lock Screen and see it.
Discord.
I almost ignore it. Almost. But muscle memory kicks in and I unlock my screen.
Fucking hell.
So many friend requests now to join my server.
Is this because of tonight?
A username pops up immediately for a private chat.
£100,000 donated.
I stop breathing.The message attached is short:
