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“Okay, I’ll stop. I promise.” He leans in to kiss me but I pull away. “What? What’s wrong?”
“You left me alone, in a bar.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I was mad. I needed to get away from there.”
“Holden, there were drugs everywhere. We got into an argument and you just ditched!”
He exhales loudly and drops his head down. “I’m really sorry. You weren’t alone though, I made sure of that.”
“Made sure of it?” I repeat, confused. He nods, taking Emily’s phone out of his pocket and handing it to me.
“Mine’s broken from jumping into the pool, but you can see the messages in hers.”
Opening Em’s phone, I find a plethora of messages between her and Holden from last night. Every few minutes, he was asking for an update on where I was or what I was doing. He even made sure she knew to call him immediately if I went anywhere near a controlled substance.
“When she told me about the bartender, I left immediately to come get you.” He explains. “I would never put you in danger like that.”
As sweet as that may be, I’m still not okay with it. “Holden, leaving my female best friend with me alone in a bar hardly classifies as not being in danger.” He looks at me brokenly, and all my feelings of resentment dissipate – at least for now. Oh, the effect he has on me.
I place my hands on his face and press my forehead against his. “Just, promise me it won’t happen again.”
Relief washes over him. “Cross my heart, hope to die.”
Chapter 30
“Idon’t understand what’s going on with him. Since right after we got back from Cabo, he just hasn’t been himself at all.”
I sit on the counter, swinging my feet and venting to Dawson while he switches out the coffee grinds. Sighing frustratedly, I run my fingers through my hair. Dawson gives me a sympathetic look, not really knowing what to say.
“Have you tried asking him?” He wonders.
“Of course, I have. He says it’s nothing but I know him better than that. He’s drinking almost every night, sometimes even by himself.”
Dawson narrows his eyes slightly. “Well, that’s not good. Do you think it could have anything to do with the fight you had over spring break?”
I shake my head. “Not that I know of. We talked through that.”
“You’re just going to have to wait for him to tell you then, I guess.” He replies sadly. “I hope it’s soon though, for your sake.”
“Thanks. Me too.” I sigh, returning to doing my job and racking my brain on what could possibly be going on with my boyfriend.
THE NEXT DAY, I arrive at Holden’s after my two o’clock class lets out. As soon as I walk in the door, I see Caleb sitting on the couch. He gives me a look as I walk up the stairs, but I don’t think too much about it. Walking down the hallway, I can hear music blaring from Holden’s room.
I open the door and cover my ears from the deafening sound. Holden lies on his bed, drinking Captain Morgan straight from the bottle. Looking at him in disbelief, I smack the stereo to turn off the music and rip the bottle from his hands. I’m shocked to see it’s almost gone.
“Give me that back.” He slurs, reaching for the bottle.
I pull it away and hold it just out of reach. “No. What the hell is wrong with you? It’s 3:30 in the afternoon!”
He rolls his eyes and gets up from his bed, walking into the closet and coming out with a full bottle of Jack Daniels.
“Fine, you can have it. I’ll drink this one.”
Trying to grab the new bottle from him, it spills all over the front of me. “Holden!”
“What?!” He scoffs. “Stop trying to take it. Now you smell like a cheap hooker.”
“Wow.” I breathe. “What a wonderful thing to say to your girlfriend.”
