brother shakes his head, then heaves once, twice, and finally pukes into the c an I hold for him. When it’s full of his bitter, sour vomit, I take it to the bathroom and flush it down the toilet, get him a glass of water and a washcloth. I try to hand them over so he can clean up, but he's p ast that, so I wipe him down, get him to drink a little before I put the rinsed can back by the bed in case he needs it for round two , and start to leave.
"Winchester?" he croaks as I flip the light off.
In the dark, huddled on the bed, scruffy as hell and slack with sadness, he's unrecognizable from the hero of my childhood. I don't know this guy.
"You need something?" I ask.
"Do you think they'll take her away?" Sobs make his words cracked and wet sounding. "Tell me the truth."
"They will if you keep fucking up."
I tighten my grip on the doorknob, so ready to leave my brother's embarrassing sadness and all the problems that just keep multiplying faster than I can handle them lately.
"Pop said it would be okay."
His voice shakes, and he sounds like a much older man and a really little boy at the same time.
"Yeah, well you asked me for the truth. Night."
I pull the door shut and trip the lock so no one winds up stumbling in on him.
Lala's waiting down the hall, arms crossed, a scowl on her cute little face. "He okay?"
The fury I felt for her is already half-extinguished. I just don't have the capacity to give a shit where she’s concerned anymore.
"Blitzed, but he'll sleep it off," I lie.
If he slept for two weeks he couldn't sleep off all the liquor he has stored up in his body. His liver has to be pickled by now.
"I'm sorry about that, out there. We were just having fun."
She tosses a strand of blond hair over her slim shoulder. I lean on the wall across from her.
"You know he's in no place for your games. Between the two of you, I feel like a fucking nanny."
She takes a step toward me.
"I'm sorry, Winch. Really. I know you've been stressed. And I know I need a lot of attention. But wasn't I good for you, too? Didn't I make the crappy stuff worth it?"
She threads the questions with the hint of sex so hot and fierce, it's tempting. I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't tempted.
"No." I sidestep her. "I've got too much on my plate now. And you and I are a wreck waiting to happen."
"So, there's a chance though?" She rushes me, and before I really know what's happening, her arms slide around my waist and I can smell the sweet musk of her perfume in my nostrils. "I know I screwed up, baby. But it's always gonna be you and me. We have history. Our families practically arranged our marriage when we were babies. Don't let a few crappy weeks ruin all that."
I wish I'd stayed on the sand, looking at the moon like a sad old fuck.
" Lala , listen to me." Her big hazel eyes go wide and her mouth curls up with happy expectation. I shake my head before I shoot her down. "It's over. We're over. I don't want to hurt you, but you've got to let this go."
The sweet look cracks and falls right off her features. If I hadn't seen her do this manic emotion flip a thousand times during the course of our relationship, the complete twist would have shocked me. Since I know her inside-out, I'm just tired in advance from the tantrum I know is coming.
"This isn't over by a fucking longshot , Winchester Youngblood! You think you can just use me and toss me aside when you're done? You are so damn wrong, and you're going to regret this!"
She's starting to border on hysterical, so I walk away, leaving her to scream a long, nasty stream of curses and threats at my back.
The party is still in full swing, and, much as I want to split it all up and go the fuck to bed, I decide not to make a big deal or draw any attention to the fact that anything might be wrong. My family doesn't need any more gossip than it usually has going around.
I crack a beer and manage to keep myself separate from the crowd without standing out. Blending is one of my
"Winchester?" he croaks as I flip the light off.
In the dark, huddled on the bed, scruffy as hell and slack with sadness, he's unrecognizable from the hero of my childhood. I don't know this guy.
"You need something?" I ask.
"Do you think they'll take her away?" Sobs make his words cracked and wet sounding. "Tell me the truth."
"They will if you keep fucking up."
I tighten my grip on the doorknob, so ready to leave my brother's embarrassing sadness and all the problems that just keep multiplying faster than I can handle them lately.
"Pop said it would be okay."
His voice shakes, and he sounds like a much older man and a really little boy at the same time.
"Yeah, well you asked me for the truth. Night."
I pull the door shut and trip the lock so no one winds up stumbling in on him.
Lala's waiting down the hall, arms crossed, a scowl on her cute little face. "He okay?"
The fury I felt for her is already half-extinguished. I just don't have the capacity to give a shit where she’s concerned anymore.
"Blitzed, but he'll sleep it off," I lie.
If he slept for two weeks he couldn't sleep off all the liquor he has stored up in his body. His liver has to be pickled by now.
"I'm sorry about that, out there. We were just having fun."
She tosses a strand of blond hair over her slim shoulder. I lean on the wall across from her.
"You know he's in no place for your games. Between the two of you, I feel like a fucking nanny."
She takes a step toward me.
"I'm sorry, Winch. Really. I know you've been stressed. And I know I need a lot of attention. But wasn't I good for you, too? Didn't I make the crappy stuff worth it?"
She threads the questions with the hint of sex so hot and fierce, it's tempting. I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't tempted.
"No." I sidestep her. "I've got too much on my plate now. And you and I are a wreck waiting to happen."
"So, there's a chance though?" She rushes me, and before I really know what's happening, her arms slide around my waist and I can smell the sweet musk of her perfume in my nostrils. "I know I screwed up, baby. But it's always gonna be you and me. We have history. Our families practically arranged our marriage when we were babies. Don't let a few crappy weeks ruin all that."
I wish I'd stayed on the sand, looking at the moon like a sad old fuck.
" Lala , listen to me." Her big hazel eyes go wide and her mouth curls up with happy expectation. I shake my head before I shoot her down. "It's over. We're over. I don't want to hurt you, but you've got to let this go."
The sweet look cracks and falls right off her features. If I hadn't seen her do this manic emotion flip a thousand times during the course of our relationship, the complete twist would have shocked me. Since I know her inside-out, I'm just tired in advance from the tantrum I know is coming.
"This isn't over by a fucking longshot , Winchester Youngblood! You think you can just use me and toss me aside when you're done? You are so damn wrong, and you're going to regret this!"
She's starting to border on hysterical, so I walk away, leaving her to scream a long, nasty stream of curses and threats at my back.
The party is still in full swing, and, much as I want to split it all up and go the fuck to bed, I decide not to make a big deal or draw any attention to the fact that anything might be wrong. My family doesn't need any more gossip than it usually has going around.
I crack a beer and manage to keep myself separate from the crowd without standing out. Blending is one of my
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