I let a nervous laugh escape my lips as I took a huge gulp of this strong drink, she’d made me. “I’m afraid to ask.”
“Liam,” she attempted to whisper. I looked around nervously, as if someone in this loud place could hear our conversation. And as if they cared.
“He’s a good friend.”
“I don’t kiss my friends,” she teased me, and my face lit on fire for the second time tonight. Before I could respond, a guy carrying a tray of shots walked around the room while people cheered.
“OVER HERE!” Gabby yelled.
He had to be at least four years older than us, I decided as he handed us a small cup with potent liquid spilling over the sides. She thanked him for both of us and he disappeared into the sea of people waiting for their fix.
She clinked her cup against mine. “To friends,” she said as she tossed the cup back. I watched her, unsure, before I repeated her actions.
My face resembled that of a child eating a lemon for the first time. I set the cup down on the counter and Gabby let out a loud laugh.
“I hate liquor,” I told her.
“Me too, but it’s okay to act like a normal college kid sometimes.”
My brow furrowed as I watched her. I could not believe I was agreeing with a drunk girl at a frat party. She refilled her cup and I shook my head, refusing to do more damage. My head was foggy.
“Speak of the devil!” she said, and I turned around. Tyler and Liam were walking toward us.
“I thought I told you to bring her back,” Liam said, grinning.
“You didn’t give me enough time.” Tyler wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him.
“Solid argument,” he said, nodding to the empty cups beside her on the cabinet. Tyler turned, shoving his head into her neck to hide his laughter.
“We’re going to take a walk,” Tyler said as he took her cup from her hand. She frowned but went with him willingly.
“See you later, Autumn!” she called to me.
Liam laughed. “She’s going to get sick if he can’t slow her down.” He looked at me. Really, really looked at me, and put his hand on his forehead. “You, too?”
“What?” I giggled, knowing where he was going with this. My head was already swimming.
I watched as he pulled a small, unopened bag of chips from the cabinet behind me. He grabbed my hand, sighing. “Come with me.”
I followed him, bumping into people as I stayed behind him. The living room was always the hotspot for parties, and I noticed he quickly picked up his pace when we walked through the room to the stairs.
Most of the partygoers were congregated around the entrance, with very few dancing in the center. I frowned when I looked at the girls dancing, anxiety swirling in the pit of my stomach. I shook the memory from my head and bolted up the stairs, but not before tripping. I let a laugh escape my lips, but it didn’t slow me down.
Twenty-Two
I watched this drunk girl fall face first into my bed, giggling. It wasn’t the first time I had been in this situation, but it was the first time that I felt like an ass. Not so gracefully, she turned around and sat up, patting the space next to her. I was reluctant; rubbing the back of my neck, I sat six inches away from her.
“I think this is the most fun I’ve had at one of these things,” she said. Even in the dim lights, her face lit with happiness. This girl was the most nervous person in the world, and it was nice to see her loosen up.
“It’s a damn shame that you had to have alcohol to say that.” If I could have sucked all my words back into my mouth, I would.
Fuck. I let my face fall into my hands, hoping her buzzed mind would miss everything I said.
“How’s the new job?” I blurted out, hoping she would drop it.
“Um, I’ve only worked two shifts so far,” she said. I let out a sigh of relief. If there was one person in this world who understood that people needed secrets, it was Autumn.
“You don’t drink as much as your friends… other than the bad time,” she said. It wasn’t really a question. It was as if she was figuring me out in her mind and giving me the courtesy of defending myself.
“That was the first time I’ve been like that since last year.”
“What happened?” she asked.
The steady thump in my ears drowned out the silence in the room. I lifted my arm, turning it so she could see the scar on my elbow. It wasn’t really an explanation, but I was hoping she’d drop it tonight. She traced the scar with her finger. Out of instinct, I jerked away.
Fuck. “Sorry,” I whispered.
“Gabby said you had an accident…or something,” she said, shaking her head, trying to piece it together with a foggy head.
All the air left my body. “She did?”
“Yeah, she just said you had an accident and you don’t play ball anymore,” she explained. Her face was heated with embarrassment.
“I wish it was that simple,” I replied.
“Everyone has things in their past they aren’t proud of, Liam.”
I stood up, paced, and ended up at a table, squeezing the corners before I punched a hole in the wall. I got so angry when it was brought up, even more so when people justified my role. She didn’t know. I had to get my temper in check before I explained.
“Not everyone can say that if they’d make better decisions two people wouldn’t be dead.” I stared at the wall for an eternity before looking back at Autumn. Her face was unreadable. She didn’t gasp
