Page 124 of Feed Your Fiends

Beneath it, Rie Rie’s behind the bar, rummaging through bottles. The tinkling glass is the only sound echoing through the darkness. Across from the bar, someone’s sitting solo in the lounge, their head tipped back, their chestnut locks shining golden beneath the moody crystal chandeliers.

“I’ve been to funerals less sombre,” I say. “My mother’s mainly. Bart had a blast.”

Hale’s head rolls left toward me, and his eyes look shot to hell. “Did you come to see the roof? It’s fixed. We’ll be up and running again tomorrow if you’re worried about the numbers.”

“The numbers are the last thing on my mind.” Although I’m sure they're on Elle’s, the new businesswoman that she is. “I came to see you.”

He drops his leg off the loveseat so that I can sit beside him.

“Me? Or Elle? Because she’s not here.”

“Of course, she isn’t. I took her batteries out and put her to sleep.”

“You can’t keep doing that.”

“No, I can’t. But she needs to heal before we get back to Beaulieu, and how can she do that if she’s running around with Rin of all people?”

He drops his chin and looks at me beneath his lashes. “Rin?What are they up to?”

“I bet we’ll find out soon enough.”

“What’s in the bag?” he arches a brow.

“Your favourite white stuff.”

He looks away and down at his fingers where he plays with his rings. “I haven’t done that in ages.”

Two months.

“I don’t think I want to.” His eyes trail up to me, searching for guidance. For approval. To tell him that it’s okay to not want to get fucked. Insane work since he’ll never find that reassurance with his own family at Pierrot's.

“Why? Are you watching your figure?” I ask, pulling out a powdered doughnut that leaves a fine dusting of white across my black shirt.

Hale's eyes grow wide, his lips pulling back into a smile as he reaches into the bag and pulls one out for himself. “Doughnuts?” he asks, sniffing it and inhaling a nostril full of sugar.

“Homemade.” Courtesy of Zaddy Zedd.

“You…you didn’t bring the real stuff?”

“I’ve never bought the real stuff. That’s you.” I pause. “That was you.”

His smile widens as he takes a big bite, white dust coating his cheeks and the tip of his nose, and I rustle his hair. I swear he has the spirit of a kid.

“I heard you last month when you said you weren't sure if you wanted to do this or that.”

“You actually listened?”

“I always listen to you,Haley.Speaking of, what happened with Stassi?”

His smile drops. “She won’t talk to me.”

“More happened than what we saw?”

He shakes his head. “A lot more.”

“How bad did you fuck up?”

“Level, unforgivable. But that was the point.”

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