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“No, she’s not fine, Josh.” I turn to Lauren, stroking the hair away from her face. Her bow is slipping and I clip it back into place. “Lauren, do you want to go home? Do you want me to take you home?”
“I said she’s fine.” Josh shoves his arm between us and pushes me away.
“She doesn’t look fine,” says Alex, stepping forward and towering above Josh. “I think you should get her home.”
Josh scoffs. “And are you going to make me, hot shot?” His eyes narrow. “You do realize she’s going to get rid of you when she grows bored. She did it to me.”
“I did not!” I shout. “Stop spreading lies.”
“You started it.”
I roll my eyes. “You must be fucking kidding me. Will you just get Lauren home? She’s too drunk.”
“She’s fine.” Josh wrenches Lauren away from me. “Leave us alone.”
I watch him push through the crowd of people, not knowing what to do. I look at Alex, his gaze remaining on the couple. “I don’t like it,” he says. “I don’t think she should be alone with him.”
“Did you see where they went?”
Alex sighs. “The kitchen.”
“Great,” I say while tossing my hands into the air. “Exactly what she needs. More booze.”
Alex grabs my hand and presses his lips against my knuckles. “Don’t worry. I’ll go to the kitchen and keep an eye on them and I’ll speak to Mike—”
“Hello, everybody!”
My eyes widen as I slowly turn around, finding Seth standing in the doorway. Horror fills me as I watch him stumble from side to side, barely capable of remaining on his own two feet. He looks like the same malnourished, exhausted Seth I’ve come to know these past couple months, only this time his eyes are unfocused and there’s a sloppy grin plastered to his face.
“The fun has arrived!”
Great. Wonderful. This is exactly what we need. A trashed Seth.
I watch Hunter come into view from behind Seth, his brows tented in worry. He looks sober, which isn’t surprising, given he’s not supposed to be drinking. But why is he here? Aren’t situations like this triggering for him? Seth really has gone too far this time.
Hunter’s gaze meets mine and he winces. I wave him over, hoping he brings Seth with him. Maybe I need to give Seth some hard love. No more nice Rachel. Enough is enough. I watch Hunter grab Seth’s hand and drag him toward us, my scowl darkening as I hear the slur in Seth’s voice as he says hello to each girl that passes him.
“What are you doing here?” I ask Seth as soon as he and Hunter arrive.
Seth’s smile widens, although I don’t know how that’s possible, given he’s already smiling so much. What did he drink?
“I thought I could join in on the fun,” Seth slurs, his body swaying back and forth. “It’s been so long since we’ve all gone out.”
I cover my nose, smelling vodka all over Seth. “Where were you before this?”
Seth giggles while Hunter says, “Home.”
“Home?”
Seth nods while Hunter grimaces.
“You were drinking all by yourself at home?”
I glance at Alex, seeing that he’s as worried as I am.
Seth leans close, his hand grabbing my shoulder. I wince, biting back a groan. His touch is too harsh, but I know he’s not in his right mind. “Don’t worry,” Seth whispers. “I ate the pizza. You were right. Hawaiian. Amazing.”
I’m hardly amazed.
