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“Nah, that’s okay,” I muttered to myself and took another shot straight from the bottle.
By this point, Shaw would have already taken the booze from me, but she was in New York for a photo shoot. She’d told me not to go out without her this weekend, but I’d been bored. Once Luca had started texting me every few minutes, the choice was made for me. I needed to get out of the house and try to take my mind off him and everything else.
She watched my back when we went to parties and was my designated driver at the end of the night since she rarely drank these days, saying one of us needed to keep our head clear. When I started making out with random guys, she would watch me like a hawk, making sure the guy didn’t get too carried away and I didn’t end up in a room alone with him. She was probably the biggest reason I was still a virgin.
Someone bumped my shoulder, and I looked up disdainfully to see who it was, irritated at being pulled from my own little world filled with drunken loathing of my ex. The guy who then sat beside me gave me a once-over with his brown eyes. I saw they were a shade darker than Luca’s when he wanted me. But that was the only similarity they shared.
“Sup, beautiful,” he said, taking my bottle of tequila and tipping it to his lips.
“Rude,” I grumbled. “That’s mine. Get your own.”
He grinned and offered it back to me. When I reached for it, he pulled it away. “Allow me,” he murmured and tipped it back. I opened my mouth and let him pour in a shot because I was thirsty.
And drunk.
And lonely.
So f
ucking lonely.
I was in a room overflowing with people, and yet I felt like I was all alone. As if no one there saw me. No one there cared. Since I was at a party where I didn’t know a soul, I didn’t doubt that was true, but it was the same way I felt even when I was at school or with my family. I knew it was because I put on such a brave face, trying not to let them see that I was dying a little more with each passing day. But I was tired of being strong. I was tired of hurting.
The drinking wasn’t helping. Making out with a different guy every weekend wasn’t helping either.
Nothing was, and I was starting to think nothing ever would.
The guy leaned back and turned so he was pressing against my side. “Name’s Stephen,” he introduced. “What’s your name, beautiful?”
“Violet.”
I jerked at the sound of my name and lifted my head to find Lyric standing over us, his eyes on fire with anger as he glared from me to the guy beside me.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he demanded. Before I could answer, he turned to Stephen. “She’s sixteen.”
Stephen jumped to his feet as if I had electrocuted him. “I didn’t know, man. I swear.”
I sighed and snatched my bottle of tequila from him. “Pussy,” I muttered to myself as I settled back to get comfortable and a little more drunk.
Lyric dropped down beside me but kept his gaze on the other guy. “You’re going to have to find a different way back to campus. I’ve got to take this one home when she’s ready.”
Stephen nodded and then walked away, muttering something about finding someone who wasn’t jailbait. I rolled my eyes. Whatever. It shouldn’t have mattered if I was willing. Just as it shouldn’t have mattered to Luca all the times I’d wanted to go further than just kissing and he wouldn’t even try to touch me.
But he hadn’t stopped when he fucked Megan Hawthorn.
What was so wrong with me that he didn’t want to have sex with me but he hadn’t hesitated to dick that slut?
“Ah, Vi,” Lyric said with a shake of his head. “Nothing’s wrong with you, sweetheart. You know why he couldn’t touch you.”
Tears stung my eyes as embarrassment burned my cheeks. I hadn’t realized I’d spoken aloud.
“No,” I told him as I scrubbed the back of my free hand over my damp cheeks. “He just didn’t want me enough.”
He blew out a frustrated sigh and shook his head, then took away my bottle of tequila when I tipped it to my lips again. “That’s enough, Vi. And I’m not going to argue with you over this. You’re drunk.”
I got to my feet, only to wobble a little. He steadied me, but once the room stopped spinning, I slapped his hands away. “Leave me alone, Ric. I don’t need your help.”
I started to walk away, but he caught me around the waist and turned me to face him. “Listen to me, Violet.” He cupped my face in both his hands, his eyes full of concern and brotherly love. “I know you’re hurting right now. I hate it for you. For both of you. But you can’t let some fucking guy ruin your entire life. This isn’t you.”
