I scoff. “No.” I haven’t been eating much at all these past couple of weeks. Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten at all today. Maybe that’s why the alcohol pulsed through my body the way it did.
He huffs. “Yeah, me neither.”
We both sit here, not knowing what to say. Not knowing what to do. At least we know each other’s presence is helping.
I hear the swish of the liquor in the bottle. I glance over and Ez takes another gulp. I reach out and grab the bottle from him as he wipes his lips with his arm. I take a gulp myself.
Just like him, my eyes don’t shut, and my face doesn’t wince. Not even liquor can make our faces move from the blank expressions that have been there since we sped out of the bar’s parking lot. Not even the liquor can put a dent in us. Not after what we’ve been through. What we’regoingthrough.
“I’m guessing you don’t want to go home?” he asks, starting the car.
“No.”
He pulls out of the gas station like he’s still figuring out his next move. “Me neither.” He makes a right turn out of the gas station. “But we need to go somewhere if we keep drinking.”
“We can get a hotel room,” I say, which should sound like a bad idea. I should be uncomfortable with the fact that I suggested this. It sounds like the right thing to do.
Two best friends.
One betrayal.
Two hearts shattered.
That’s the only thing that makes sense right now. Us, together. Two broken hearts just trying to make it as each minute passes.
We pull up to a Marriott; the engine dies and I say, “How are we going to hide this?” I say, shaking the bottle. “Would they even care?”
Ez shrugs his shoulders. “Do you want to wait here while I get us a room?”
I nod.
After Ezra gets us a room, he comes back for me like a gentleman. Reminding me of all the times Zayn would call mefrom the hotel room, saying to come up. So there I was, dragging my bag and his to our hotel room because he thought going in to get a room for us was enough for me to carry the bags up myself. The nerve he had. But what does that say about me? I stayed with the man.
We walk inside side by side with the bottle between us to hide it. Just in case. Once the ping of the elevator rings through my ears, the doors slide open, and we step through. The elevator rides up slow and steady. The only thing that feels weird is we came empty-handed. No clothes, pajamas, or toiletries. The only thing we brought is our dignity and a now half-empty bottle of vodka.
The elevators ping once again, opening up to our floor. Ezra leads me down the hall. We get to our room, and he slides the key card down; the lights flash green and in we go.
My mouth falls as I take in the suite before me. The living room is spacious, with big open windows with the outside lights shining in. A big TV is mounted up on the wall, and marble countertops line the kitchen. “You shouldn’t have gotten a suite,” I say while walking further in.
He slumps down on the couch. “We deserve it.”
“Yeah, I guess we do,” I say, sitting next to him on the couch and letting out a sigh. “Thanks.” I glance over at him. My head feels hazy, my limbs feel heavy and weak.
He grabs the bottle out of my hand and takes another gulp.
“I don’t know if you want to talk about it or not. But I do want to know if you had any clue about them?” I ask, but the more I run everything through my head, the more stupid I feel for missing the signs.
“Remember when I came to you thinking something was off with Rya?”
I nod, remembering vividly. That was the day Zayn accused us of cheating. I should have known then he was the onecheating. They say the ones who cheat accuse the other of cheating. Another sign I missed.
“Well, around that time, it crossed my mind that she might be cheating. Not with Zayn, though. But then she told me about losing her job and the thought of her cheating went away.”
I shift in my seat, feeling a little better that I wasn’t the only one who missed the signs. Did we both miss them because we had already been so close, making it harder to notice what they were up to?
“Did she really lose her job?” I ask, wondering what else she’s been lying about?
He shakes his head. “She says she did. At this point, who knows what else she lied about.” He runs his hand through his hair and leans his head back onto the couch. “How did you find out?”
