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Travis glanced down at Kira with a smile before turning back to me. “First party of the year, innit? It’s always good. Better their house than ours, though. This way, we don’t have to deal with the clean-up.” He peered at me closely. “Are you alright?”
I cleared my throat. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Kira interrupted him before he could question me further, tilting her head to the side, tendrils of her wavy blonde hair swinging around her face. “Trav. Do you want to go back to yours in a bit? I think I’m almost at my limit of socialising tonight.”
Unprompted, images flipped through my mind… A dark hallway…bodies pressed together…huge eyes with darkened pupils meeting mine…
I needed to get out of here too. Attempting a casual slouch against the wall, I gave them a nod. “I’ll head back with you guys.”
“We need to find Noah before we leave. Have you seen him? Travis wanted to keep an eye on him and Damon, what with it being their first student house party and all. You know he doesn’t have his reputation as the dad of your house for nothing.” Kira gave Travis an affectionate smile before scanning the crowds. “Damon’s over there, but I haven’t seen Noah all night.”
My whole body tensed up at the mention of his name. Grabbing the bottle back from Travis, I took another swallow, wincing at the taste. “I think he’s busy.”
Travis gave me a weird look but didn’t comment. I tipped back the bottle again, vaguely aware of Kira replying to me.
“Okay. Wait here if you want to come back with us. We’re going to find Noah.”
Time passed in a blur as I placed the bottle to my lips yet again. When my vision started going hazy, I found myself leaning against a wall, then sliding down to the floor.
I closed my eyes.
“I’ve got him.” Strong arms helped me stagger to my feet.
A groan came from my throat. “Make it stop spinning,” I mumbled.
An amused chuckle sounded close to my ear as I was tugged along, leaning my body into the person holding me up. “Just hold on to me, yeah?”
Through my drunken haze, his words penetrated my consciousness.
Wait a fucking minute. I recognised that voice.
Peeling one of my eyelids back, I chanced a look at the person who was basically taking 90 percent of my body weight at this point. Amber eyes lit with amusement met mine. “Don’t throw up on me,” he warned.
I groaned again, slamming my eye shut. This had to be some kind of drunk hallucination. Fuck the fucking absinthe. I was never drinking again.
The next minute, there was a cool night breeze on my face, and then it stopped. The sound of a door slamming shut reverberated painfully through my skull. Low voices sounded close to me, but by then, I was already on my way to oblivion.
* * *
When I next peeled my eyes open, it took me a minute to get my bearings. My head felt like it was being attacked by a hammer, and my mouth was so dry that I couldn’t even clear my throat without a painful scratching feeling.
“Liam?”
No. That couldn’t be him. Not here, in my bedroom. My sacred space.
“What are you doing here?” I said hoarsely, letting my eyes shut again.
“Making sure you don’t choke to death on your own puke. There’s tablets and water on the side—you should probably have them now.”
“I’m fine. You can leave.”
“Yeah, you really look fine.” I heard him moving, and then the side of the bed sank under his weight. “You threw up three times.”
I had? I didn’t remember that. My humiliation was now complete, and Noah needed to fucking leave. It was bad enough that he’d seen me like this, but being in my bedroom, watching me like some kind of nursemaid? “Get out.”
“I don’t want to lea—”
“Get. Out.” My voice cracked, my raw throat making it hurt to speak. “Please.”
He sighed. “Fine. I’ll leave. But you need to have these painkillers first.”
Somehow, I managed to push myself up into a seated position, slumped against the headboard of my bed. With the room spinning around me, I watched, bleary-eyed, as Noah popped two painkillers out of the blister pack and handed them to me with the water. Knowing that it would be the quickest way to get him out of my room, I swallowed them without argument, letting the cool water soothe my mouth and throat. When I was done, I slid back down, my head still hammering. “Now leave.”
His weight disappeared from the mattress, and finally, I heard the sound of my door closing.
Burying my face in my pillow with a groan, I succumbed to the blissful oblivion of sleep.
