Page 95 of The Love Penalty
She’s all-consuming, and I miss her with an ache so deep, it’s killing me.
Gulping back my glass, I stalk out of the room, nearly running into Harvey and Halsey.
“Hey, man. You good?” He looks at me with a friendly smile, and all I can do is scowl at him. “Whoa.” He laughs. “What’s your problem?”
Stalking away from him, I feel my shoulders tensing as he follows me.
“I know you hate these things, dude. But make the most of it.”
I walk around the bar and find the bottle of whiskey, refilling my glass while he leans there trying to sell this to me.
“You get free booze, plus the privilege of hanging with Zee and me for the day. That’s not a bad payoff to spend a little time with your olds, right?”
Halsey throws me a weak smile, darting her eyes at Harvey before looking over her shoulder. I’m waiting for her to lean in with a conspiratorial whisper and say some shit like “Let’s brainstorm. How are we going to torture the twins today?”
But she doesn’t.
Maybe my foul mood is throwing her off. She can obviously read me better than my oblivious cousin can.
“Dude, seriously. You’re killing my buzz here. Would you smile already?”
I slam the bottle down with a huff and glare at him. “I just broke up with my girlfriend, and you want me to smile and laugh like nothing’s wrong?”
“Oh yeah, that’s right.” He winces. “Forgot about that.”
I narrow my eyes at him, a growl rumbling in my throat. “Considering you’re the reason it ended, I’m surprised you could dismiss it so easily.”
He scoffs and touches his chest. “Dude, we’ve been through this. I am not the reason this ended. It’s not my fault I look like him,” he finishes with a grumble, sipping his vodka and shooting his sister a sour frown. “I told you this guy’s fucking delusional.” He tips his head at me, then gives me a sharp glare. “You can’t go blaming me for this shit. Now get over yourself and let’s turn this snore-fest into something interesting. Or you can fuck off and go sulk in the pool house.”
Clenching my jaw, I feel my nostrils flaring as I snatch my drink and mutter, “Fine,” before stalking out the side door and heading for the pool.
Unsympathetic asshole!
I wrench the pool house door open and storm inside, pacing the room and downing my drink in one big gulp. It burns my throat, and I welcome it. Maybe I should get totally shit-faced. That can dull the pain and make this afternoon bearable, right?
I’ll need at least three more tumblers to really have any effect. Two small glasses is hardly enough.
I walk over to the cabinets, pulling them open and seeing if there are any leftover bottles around when the door pops open.
“I’m not in the mood, Harv!” I shout over my shoulder.
“It’s Zee.” Halsey’s soft voice makes me pause.
I let out a heavy sigh and turn to face her.
Her smile is sad, reflecting the ache in my chest, so I let her stay, because I think she gets it. She must have had some girl dump her in high school or something. I know she was dating some Vanessa chick for over half a year.
Shit, I was with Lani for less than two and my heart is shattered.
“So, Harvey told us about your girlfriend and the rape thing. Said he reminds her of the guy, and it’s put this huge strain on your relationship.”
I grunt, spinning my glass between my fingers and wishing there was still some liquor in there. “It ended it.”
“That sucks.”
“Yep.” I pop the P and look away from her.
“Do you love her?”