Page 59 of Tormented Bastard
What I Need to Do
Chase
Something poked me in the shoulder. Annoyed, I grunted and swiped at it to make it go away. Something akin to a childish giggle met my ears just before the poking started again.
“CJ, leave Chase alone!” A woman’s hushed protest wormed its way into my brain.
Where the hell was I?
In spite of the little drummer boy playing a rocking drum solo in my skull, I cracked open an eyelid and slammed it back shut with a moan when light poured in, causing my stomach to lurch.
“Go tell your sister that breakfast is ready.”
“Okay, mommy!” the child said at the top of his lungs, causing the drummer in my head to multiply.
Son of a bitch. I raised a hand to my head. What the fuck did I do last night?
There was a shuffle of feet and a click of ceramic on wood near my head. The smell of coffee invaded my senses. Thank God.
I slowly opened my eyes again, and when I didn’t feel like I was going to lose the contents of my stomach, I surveyed my surroundings gingerly.
It was a cozy living room setup. I was laid out on the sofa, blanket draped over me and in my clothes from the night before. A large flat-screen TV took up one wall, and children’s toys were sprawled across the floor. Next to the sofa was a coffee table with a cup of the steaming coffee I smelled and a bottle of water. I couldn’t decide which one I wanted first.
“I’d start with the water first.”
I leaned my head back to find Aubrey sitting in the chair next to the sofa. With a sigh and a surge of mortification setting in, I slowly sat up and swung my legs to the side. Elbows on my knees, I held my aching head in my hands for a moment before looking up at her. “Thanks,” I said, reaching for the bottle of water. It was cool to the touch and soothed me.
It was an effort I didn’t have the energy for, but I managed to keep from chugging the bottle to relieve the foul tasting ball of cotton that had grown in my mouth overnight.
From the corner of my eye, Aubrey watched me, her eyes calm and understanding. Once I’d downed some water and sipped the coffee, she finally spoke. “Better?”
“Yeah.” I ran a hand through my disheveled hair. “I feel like I should apologize. How did I end up here?”
“Don’t worry about it. According to Chance, you started talking a lot of nonsense that made him nervous. Add to the fact that there was one point that you didn’t stop throwing up for a while.”
I dropped my head to my hand. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine, Chase. Friends take care of friends. And it seems like you could use a friend right now.”
I swallowed another swig of water and looked out the glass doors that lined one wall of their living room. They didn’t have an oceanfront view like mine, but you could still see the Gulf from here. The turquoise waters reminded me of Eden’s eyes, and I ended up with a viselike grip on my heart. My throat burned from tears or maybe from vomiting my insides out the night before. I couldn’t really tell, but my gut told me it was a little bit of both.
“Want to talk about it?”
“Well, well. The dead arises.” Chance walked into the room, a grin on his face. I wanted to be pissed at him, but truth be told, I was glad he’d brought me back here and I wasn’t waking up alone and depressed. Again.
“Morning,” I grumbled as I lifted the coffee mug to my lips.
Aubrey looked up at Chance when he edged a hip onto the arm of the chair where she sat. “He was just about to tell me about his dilemma.”
Chance swung his leg and leveled a stare at me. “He told me all about his problem last night. Or at least why he acted like an ass as far as Eden is concerned.”
I glared at him but didn’t say anything. Judging by the way he looked at me, I’d said plenty, though I couldn’t really recall all I’d said. I cleared my throat. “Did I now?” I asked, my voice even but barely holding back the anger that creeped up on me. Anger at myself for opening my big-ass mouth and for not remembering it.
He nodded and glanced down at his wife. “Yep. He told me all about how Heather fucked him over, how his father told him he was worthless for killing his mother, and how he’d let Eden down before and didn’t want to hurt her again. And how all those things make him the worst person in the world. And he deserves to be alone.”
He lifted his gaze back to mine. “Sound about right?”
The bastard was challenging me. I could see it in his eyes. Challenging me to dispute him. Because when he said it like that, it sounded a bit ridiculous and self-serving. At least, that’s what I’d think if someone had said it to me.
