Page 38 of Further To Fall

“Yeah,” was all I could say. I wanted to find more of my mad. I really did. Austin had been a prick at the end of our friendship. But even with all he’d said and did, I wasn’t sure I could ever consider myselfluckyfor not having Austin in my life.

20

Austin

Smooth Irish whiskey filled my senses as the bass beat the bar’s DJ was spinning thrummed against my temples. The alcohol stung my split lip as I took another sip of whiskey, but I relished the burn. Warm and willing bodies pressed up against me on both sides. I smiled into my glass.

“Will you show me the belt you won?” one of the girls cooed.

“Sure thing, honey.” I grinned at her and motioned a wobbly hand at Ford. “Where’s my belt?” My words sounded just a little bit slurred.

Ford scowled in my direction. “It’s locked up in the office so your drunk ass won’t lose it or give it away to one of your groupies.”

“Stop being a jealous pussy.” I stood, and the world seemed to tilt on its axis slightly.

Ford stood, as well, reaching out a hand to steady me. “Maybe you should stop being a drunken idiot.”

“Fuck you!” I swung a wild fist in his direction but missed sending a table of drinks and myself crashing to the floor.

“Jesus. Help me get him up, would you?” Liam’s voice sounded far away. All I could do was groan.

“We should just leave him there. It would serve him right.”

Liam bent down, appearing in the periphery of my vision. “You’re a mess, you know that?” I groaned again.

“Let’s take him through the back, so no paparazzi get a picture of this shit,” Ford said as he helped Liam get me to my feet.

The world blurred around me as I was ushered through the crowd. The LA night air was still warm, even though it had been dark for hours. It wasn’t cold or fresh enough to give me the relief I needed. “Gonna puke.”

“Shit! Get him over to the bushes! I do not want this joker’s puke on my favorite kicks,” Ford groused.

I emptied the liquid contents of my stomach onto the poor, unsuspecting shrubbery. When my heaving finally stopped, I straightened. The world still seemed a little blurry, but I felt a whole lot better. Liam handed me a bottle of water. “Thanks.” My tongue felt thick in my mouth.

“Let’s get him in the car.”

Ford narrowed his eyes at me. “Are you going to throw up again? I don’t want any of your nasty-ass puke in my nice, new car.”

“I’mmm good,” I said, drawing out themsound.

Ford sighed. “All right. Let’s go.”

Liam and Ford helped me into the back of the SUV, and I immediately laid down. The engine roared to life, sending vibrations through the seat. “Where’s Carter?”

Liam turned around in his seat, gazing down at me. “What do you mean?”

“Where’sss Carter? Can’t leave her here alone.”

Liam glanced back at Ford, and then returned his eyes to mine. “She’s not here, Austin. She’s, uh, at home.”

Something tickled the back of my mind. “Oh, yeah, because she left me.”

“Buddy, she didn’t leave you. Look, why don’t you try to get some sleep. Everything will look better in the morning.”

“I’m fucking pissed at her, man!” I saw Carter’s beautiful face in my mind, smiling that radiant smile of hers. “But I miss her, too, ya know? She’s so fucking beautiful, right?”

Liam reached out and patted my shoulder. “I know, buddy, she is. Just close your eyes.”

My eyes did feel pretty heavy, so I let them slowly shut, and was dead to the world before we were out of the parking lot.

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