“Home,” he states, uncapping the bottle.
My legs bounce, then my teeth begin to chatter so loud it fills the entire cabin. I drop my chin to my chest, taking subtle breaths between each brutal slam as I pull my phone out of my pocket, dim the screen, and navigate my way into my message thread with Caleb. My fingers tremble as I type.
Me
I fucked up.
Caleb
We all fuck up, B. Are you okay?
Me
Like really bad, Cay. I think there might be more to why he left me…
I exhale sharply, my teeth chattering harder as I watch the three dots at the bottom of the screen sequence in and out.
Caleb
If he’s important to you, then you need to fix it.
Ice touches my tricep, and I turn to see Chase’s arm extended. He holds the bottle of liquor toward me in offering, and I almost grimace. I fucking hate straight vodka. I drank waytoo much of it when I was in performing arts school. Although, right now, I think I will happily swallow anything.
My phone vibrates in my hand, and I drop my gaze.
Caleb
I’m here if you need me, okay.
I send a quick heart, then I reach my left arm across my body, curling my trembling hand around the neck of the bottle. I don’t fuck with the fancy-ass glass Chase offers, instead pushing the rim to my lips. The liquor slides down my throat, searing my flesh like a flame does wood. Heat settles among my thumping chest. Licking my lips, I place the bottle back to them, taking another heavy pour down the length of my throat. Shadows of ink whisper across my vision when Chase’s heavily tattooed hand curls around the bottle. He pulls it away and tsks, shaking his head.
“Easy, easy, easy.” He’s laughing, and though I don’t look at him, I can feel his brown eyes taking a dance across my cheeks. He reaches outwards, pinching my shoulder, and I lift my gaze to his, running the back of my hand over my mouth, collecting the spilled vodka from my chin.
There’s a renewed chill lacing its way over my limbs. I lick my lips, my eyes flicking between Chase’s, and I think he knows I’m about to ask him something because the bottle that was resting in his lap is now pressed hard to his lips.
He reclines his head, swallowing more than I could ever manage in one gulp, never taking his eyes off mine. I study the slight gold flecks in his orbs. They sparkle among the darkness, mesmerizing.
I squeeze my eyes closed, and before I can take another breath, I feel his knee brush mine.
“Ask me.” He nods, reassuring me that it’s okay when he takes another quick drink and places the now almost half-empty bottle back into its holder.
I cough, feeling like I’ve swallowed sandpaper, and no matter how many times I swallow, it doesn’t smooth itself away.
Words dissolve at the tip of my tongue.
His eyes lift to mine, and he runs his tattooed palm down the length of his face, then he settles back into the crimson leather. “You want to know if I was there, right?”
I squeeze my eyes closed again, only for a short moment though before whispering, “Yeah.”
He exhales sharply, then says, “How about you tell me how you’d like me to answer that question.”
His voice is so sincere. I swallow, and it hurts so bad that I wrap my hands around my throat and start to squeeze. Chase grabs onto both of them, pulling them into his lap.
“Tell me what you need.”
I stare into his dark eyes and whisper, “The truth.”
He nods reluctantly. “Yes.” His eyes are still on mine, his hands wrapped firmly around my fingers, only now they tremble slightly. “Yes, I was there.”
