SEVEN
At some pointthe loneliness becomes panic, and the panic makes me pass out. It’s only when my phone buzzes that I snap out of the semi lucid dream state I’ve become accustomed to since the attack.
I groan, trying to ignore it. It’s probably Charles. I don’t want to deal with him right now. Or ever. When it continues to buzz, I grab it, tempted to break it into tiny pieces.
It’s only when I see Ben’s name that I pause. There is a saying, nothing good happens after 2 a.m., and it’s currently 2:15. A piece of my mind tells me to go back to sleep, but something louder screams to answer it.
“What?” I snap into the phone. A mumble on the other end of the phone takes me by surprise. “Ben?”
“I…” He laughs. “Fuck. I need you.” His words are slightly slurred. I’m not sure I heard him right, or that he has the right number. “I’m a fraction of a second from spending the night in jail. Can you come get me?”
For a moment I stay silent as I debate what I should do. He has more than enough money to order a car home. He has countless other friends he could call, but he called me.
This is the definition of a booty call. He called me to fuck me. I wanted this, right? But could I do it? Would it be easier if he was drunk?
“Prue. Please,” he groans.
“Where the hell are you?” I sigh. It’s worth a try. If this fails, I’m no worse off than I was before.
“I’ll text you the place. Then you come get me.”
“Fine. If only so you don’t end up dead in a ditch somewhere.”
“You care if I die? How pathetic.” He laughs.
My jaw drops open. Why is he such an asshole? I should leave him to fend for himself, but I need to try. It’s now or never.
The line goes dead and then a moment later I get a notification that he shared his location with me.
Ben Parker just shared his location with me. What the hell has my life become?
Climbing out of bed, I throw on a pair of sweatpants and tug one of Cameron’s oversized hoodies over my head.
Even though he is an asshole, I’m not going to let him get arrested or die. I tell myself it’s because I wouldn’t want someone to leave my brother drunk and stranded, but there is more to it.
A little part of me is happy that he called me.
When I pull up outside of the bar Ben’s location indicated, I find him sitting on the curb. His legs are sticking out into the street. His hands rest on the ground, causing his neck to hang back, even as his head slumps forward.
The neighborhood isn’t one of the best and I’m worried about both of our safety at this point. Does the guy have a death wish or something?
I park and get out of the car. He stares up at me when I walk up beside him.
“You really came?” he mumbles. He smells like liquor and cigarettes. “Jesus, you are more pathetic than me.”
“Really? I’m a bitch, rude, and now you’re adding pathetic to the list?”
He laughs. “You forgot fucking fantastic. At least when your mouth is doing something besides being bitchy.” His lips curve up into a stupid smile.
I’m tempted to get into my car and drive away, but his eyelids droop reminding me that he is extremely drunk. I should take everything he says with a grain of salt, only, he is saying the same stuff he has said since the moment I met him.
“Let’s get you home.” I reach my hand forward, ready to help him up.
“No. Not yet. Sit with me for a bit.” He pats the curb beside him.
“Ben, it is almost 3 in the morning. You’re drunk and I have class in the morning. Let’s get you home.”
“School is stupid. It doesn’t teach you shit.”
