Her eyes flash with recognisable rejection, and it makes my stomach twist. “Please?” she whispers.
The way her lip trembles has me second-guessing all of my thoughts to stay away from her. How can I deny her when she looks at me with devastation in her expression?
“Okay,” I say eventually, because I want to make sure she’s okay. “I’ll camp out on the floor.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I think it would be best.”
She frowns but chooses not to press. “Okay.”
I lie on the floor with a pillow and blanket as I stare up at the bed. Her eyes are already closed, and her breathing is even. It doesn’t take long for her to fall asleep. I stay until the morning before she wakes up again.
It’s the first time in a while I’ve not had to get blackout drunk to forget because in the last few hours I’ve been with her, my mind has been distracted, and I haven’t thought about my demons once.
5TH OCTOBER 2023
“How was your presentation?” JJ asks as he takes a bite of his apple.
I shake my head. “Honestly, I don’t even wanna talk about it.”
He pulls a face at me. “That bad?”
“Terrible, in fact.”
“I’m sorry, man.” He gives me a look of consolation, but it’s my own fault.
I shouldn’t have gone out and drunk myself stupid last night. My hangovers might be regular, but I’m still learning to deal with them. One text from my sister sent me off the rails, and I went straight for the only way I know how to cope.
JJ’s eyes float behind me, and he tilts his head. “Hey, isn’t that your fresher friend?”
I glance over my shoulder to find Maya and a few of her friends walking into the campus canteen. I haven’t seen her since the night she got drunk and I took her home. I woke up and left before she did, and I made sure to leave her a note in case she forgot and started to worry about what happened.
“Yeah,” I say as she takes a seat, glances around, and lands her eyes directly on mine.
Immediately, her cheeks start to darken, and she untucks her hair from her ears as if trying to hide. I stand from my seat and look back at JJ, who has a smug expression on his face.
“I’ll be back in a sec,” I say before heading to Maya’s table.
When she notices that I’m approaching, she stands up and purposely walks away from her friends, who are particularly interested in our interaction.
“Hey.” I smile.
Maya flashes me a timid look. “Hey,” she whispers. “Look, I’m so sorry about the other night. I’m honestly mortified and internally dying at the flashbacks. Of what I can piece together, anyway.”
“Don’t worry about it. It happens to the best of us.”
“God.” She presses her hand to her head and sighs. “I’m surprised you’re even talking to me right now.”
“Trust me, I’ve been worse,” I say lightly.
Maya’s lip wobbles. “Doubt it.”
“I wanted to see how you were doing.”
“I had a hangover for about three days. I’m only just starting to feel normal.” She gives me a weak thumbs up.
I chuckle softly. “That’s what freshers week does to you.”
