Page 21 of Wasted

I disconnected as the moaning through the walls got louder. I wrinkled my nose, walking the few steps to my door right next to his. "Gross."

Flashing my keycard in front of the reader, it clicked green. I pushed through the door and sucked in a deep breath. I couldn't wait for this to be over, but I was thankful for one thing. I finally realized it was time to move on with my life.

Caleb passed away almost a year ago, and I'd been at a standstill ever since, and I couldn't explain why. Caleb and I were never in love. We were friends who had entered into a business agreement, and we'd both had something to gain from the deal. He would have someone he trusted to carry out his final wishes, and I would have enough money to pay off my parent's land, but in the end, because of Caleb's mother, I'd ended up with nothing except an old bar that I wasn't sure I wanted.

It had been hard and sad watching Caleb deteriorate to nothing. It was harder losing the only friend and family I had left, but I knew from the start that it was all part of the plan. I never thought about what my life would be like after he was gone.

Walking through the hotel room, I cut in between the king-size bed and the dresser with the big screen TV on it to the opposite side, pushed the sliding glass door open, and stepped out onto the balcony.

My gaze flicked up to the open door, and I felt my face contort in surprise as the sounds of two women moaning filled the quiet night before shifting to Cole, still fully dressed.

He shrugged. "Turns out they were more into each other than me."

I huffed out a laugh. I seriously doubted that, but it was still funny.

"Whiskey?" He raised the half-empty bottle in his hand, and I nodded. He poured the dark liquor into his cup and passed it over the metal barrier between us.

"Thanks," I murmured, savoring the whiskey as he tipped the bottle back.

He twisted away and leaned on the metal rails of the balcony, hanging the bottle of whiskey over it, and I dropped into the only chair on my side.

We sat in silence for several long minutes.

"It's funny, you know," he said, staring into the darkness.

"What's that?" I brought the glass to my lips and sipped.

"I'd played the moment we saw each other for the first time again, over and over in my head. I'd thought of what I'd wanted to say to you, but then I saw you, and I couldn't remember anything but how mad I was and how much I still hated you."

"Well, it probably didn't help that I'd handcuffed you to the bed," I teased, trying to lighten up the moment, but he didn't laugh or even crack a smile. "It was probably a distraction." He didn't say a word. "I'm listening now if you want to say it." I wasn't up for this tonight, but if he was ready to talk, I needed to listen.

He turned around, his gaze connecting with mine. "That's the thing." He shoved his hand into his pocket and leaned back against the banister. "I don't have anything to say."

I wasn't sure if he meant for that to hurt, but it did, and I couldn't explain why. "Nothing at all?"

He shook his head and pushed off the banister. "You should get some sleep. We're heading out early tomorrow morning."

My chest tightened with anger. "How long are we going to do this, Cole?"

He stopped flicking me a look. "What's that?"

"Avoiding any real conversation about what happened? Just tell me I hurt you. Tell me how much you hate me, but stop doing this stupid dance."

"Would that make you feel better, Taylor?" Cole asked, his voice low and dangerous. "If I yelled at you? If I told you how much you hurt me?"

"No," I snapped. "But maybe it would make you feel better."

"I'm fine."

"Yeah." I huffed out a humorless laugh. "It's obvious."

"If you got something to say, say it."

"You're a freaking mess, Cole. You're on the verge of losing everything you ever wanted."

"Everything I ever wanted," he growled, surging forward with so much force that I stepped back even though there was a wall between us. "You were all I ever wanted, Taylor. You. None of this mattered without you."

A sharp pain singed my chest. That was exactly why I had to do what I did. "Cole..."

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