She didn’t.
I exhaled and dropped into my chair, elbows on my knees, hands clasped tight.
A million ways to say what I need to say and my mind ran through every version of the truth then killed each one before it could fully form.
Just tell her straight, lone wolf.
No.
No, she’d look at me different.
Like I wasn’t who she thought I was.
Like I played her.
I braced my hands on the desk, head dropping for a second before I grabbed my keys and left the office.
The building was quiet by the time I made it down the hall. Most of the staff had already cleared out, lights dimmed, doors locked behind them.
I didn’t head for the exit.
My feet carried me in the opposite direction.
Down toward the cellar. I hadn’t been in there since I fucked Rory and with these new memories, it seems that wasn’t the only time I did the unthinkable in here.
The air shifted the second I stepped inside.
I grabbed the first bottle I saw without thinking, twisted it open, and took a long drink right there by the rack. I leaned back against the shelf, staring at the rows in front of me. And I had the nerve to get on Aurora about drinking at work. Maybe sometimes it’s needed.
I took another drink, this one longer and it finished the bottle in one go. I set the empty bottle down and grabbedanother, drinking it slower this time, like pacing it would make a difference.
It didn’t make me feel better but it did make the voices go silent and right now that was enough.
By the timeI made it to her hotel, I looked like what I’ve been through.
Shirt wrinkled and sleeves pushed up uneven. I stood there for a second before knocking.
One knock, then the door opened.
Aurora stood there with her hair done up in rollers and a bonnet covering it. She had them patches under her eyes and her robe slightly opened exposing her glowing skin.
“Hold on, O.” She pressed her phone to her chest before she addressed me. “Do you see what time it is? It’s late and we got work in the morning!”
“Chanel don’t make no bonnets.”
Her eyebrows screwed together. “Nigga. What?”
I pointed to her head and she sucked her teeth. “Man, fuck you.”
I held my hands up. “My bad. Didn’t know it was gonna piss you off.”
“No, what pisses me off is you showing up at my door at 2 a.m.”
Shit, is it that late?
Her eyes dragged over me, taking everything in. “Are you…drunk?”
I straightened. “I had some drinks.”
