“Oops, hello, penis. Fancy seeing you here.” I wink at his crotch before rising back up and stumbling around the room, trying to find the bottle I was drinking from. I don’t remember putting it down, and I can’t see it anywhere.
“I think you’ve had enough, Five,” Tom says as he walks up to me, and my head flies back on a loud laugh.
“Yesh, enough of the Harkwright bullshit and mind fuck,” I slur before moving away, and he doesn’t try to stop me.
I wander over to where the drinks are and grab a beer. I throw it back and try to stop my mouth from feeling so goddamn dry. The girls stare at me, and I shoot them a wink before sliding against the wall as my head thrums, and the room spins faster and faster.
“You alright there, Five?” Jake asks. He crouches in front of me and I rest my chin on my knees as a wave of sadness hits me, and my eyes water.
“I’m a disaster,” I whisper, but it registers too late that, instead of speaking quietly, I shouted my words.
“Someone take her back to her room, she isn’t being any fun right now,” Scott moans but no one offers to take me.
“I’ms fiiiine, I just need some fresh mair,” I grab hold of a bottle without looking but Tom has me coming up short.
“No, what you need to do is leave. You’re an Academy girl, and your behavior is out of line,” he declares and my eyes shoot to him.
“You’re kickshing me out.” Am I even making sense right now?
“Yeah, I am. It’s disgraceful how you’re acting, and I don’t give a fuck if you’re drunk. You can’t get away with acting like this,” Tom says lazily, and his words hurt my heart as I turn around and stumble out the door.
“I’ll escort her back to her room,” I hear Darius say, and no one argues with him.
He finds me outside, I’m sitting on the floor, bottle in hand, and he shakes his head at me.
“For crying out loud, no more,” he grouches, as he swipes the bottle from my hand, places it on the ground, and leads me outside. His hand is on my hip and he places one of my arms around his neck as he leads me to my wing, and I lean my head into him, taking a sniff of his scent.
He leads me into my room and helps me into my bedroom as I lose my balance and nearly topple over. I flop down on my bed, grab the bottom of my dress and tug it up.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he shouts, but that’s the least of my worries, I can’t find my way out of this thing.
“Help, help,” I scream as I twist and turn, and try to yank it off me.
“Will you be quiet?” he demands as his fingers brush against the top of my ribs, grip a hold of my dress, and pull it over my head. I look up at him as I’m freed, and the tears pour out of me.
“I’ms a horrisle pershon, no wonder I lose everyone.” I don’t even know if he can understand me, but it doesn’t matter as he sits on the edge of my bed and pats my back.
“You’re not horrible, but you definitely shouldn’t drink. I don’t think it agrees with you. Look, Miss Carter, you’re in an awkward position but you’re handling it however you can. It may or may not be the best way, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong, or that you’re horrible or bad. You’re human and this is what our species does.” My eyes look into his, and his words touch a part of me I didn’t realize was there.
Hope.
“I’m glad yous were ashigned to me.” I try to smile, but I’m not sure I’m pulling it off.
“Me too, now come on. We need to get you into some bedclothes, and then you can sleep this off. You’ll feel rough in the morning, but you’ll be okay.”
I stare at him hard, trying to tell my eyes to focus on just him, and not the other two that keep flicking into existence.
I lean forward, compelled to brush my lips against his. His eyes widen as my palms fall on his shoulders, and he sits here stock still. He doesn’t pull away or try to come closer as I push forward, my mouth only inches from his and then… my stomach decided it hates me as something bubbles up and then it happens. I throw up all across his top, and then I slump onto the bed, and everything fades away.
My mouth feels as though it’s been stuffed with cotton wool and my head feels as though it’s about to be split open. It’s fucking horrible, and the clanging noise coming from the other side of the door is going right through me. I release a deep moan, and even that makes me feel like hammered shit. I slowly sit up, the room spins, and my stomach turns but nothing happens. So, I get to my feet, and I can’t help but wonder how I got changed.
Did I put myself in this cami top or did someone help me?
I shuffle to the door and push it open to see Darius standing topless in my kitchen area.
“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” It comes out rough, and my throat feels scratchy. He turns around fast, his elbow knocks a pan off the counter, and I watch as it hits the ground.
“Oh, sweet mother of mercy, does it have to be so loud?” I push the palms of my hands into my eyes and stand here feeling like death.
“I was trying to make you something to eat, but I’m more of an order and microwave kind of guy.” He rubs the back of his neck, and his eyes trail over me before they quickly return to my face. I can’t even question it, my head is so fuzzy right now.
“That’s okay, you don’t have to make me anything,” I mumble as I stretch my arms above my head, and his eyes fall to my stomach.
“Erm, you should probably go and get…”
The door opens and our heads turn in time as Emmet, Tucker, and Aeron fill the doorway. Their heads flick between the two of us, and I can tell by the way Emmet’s jaw and fists tighten, Aeron’s ticking jaw, and Tucker’s all over tight body that something bad is about to go down.
“You son of a bitch, you are so fucking done. Just wait until my father hears about this,” Emmet says before he turns his attention to me. “As for you, I swear to God, if you’ve so much as opened your legs an inch for this bastard.” His fist flies into my wall, sinking into the drywall.
“What are you talking about? I just woke up.” My voice is still scratchy, but Tucker gets in Darius’ way as he tries to bring me a drink, and Aeron finally closes my door.
“Little Zero, you’re in your barely there panties,” he grinds out and his words filter through, slower than molasses as my eyes drop to my bare legs.
“Oh crap sticks,” I squeal, before I run into my room and slam the door, my head thumps painfully and I rest it against the door. I do not want to see anyone ever again after this, it’s humiliating. Although, I feel like a grade A bitch for leaving Darius alone.
“You’re so fucking done,” I hear Emmet say again, and Darius laughs.
“Well then, if I’m done, I may as well go out with a bang. Who wants to be the first one to say hello to my fists, because I am more than looking forward to kicking all of your entitled asses,” he growls and my cheeks heat as I imagine him growling, while naked and wet.
Fuck my life, I do not need to be attracted to Darius right now. It’s bad enough with Cole and I don’t even know where we stand, I am not throwing another outsider into the mix.