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She turns her head away, cupping my face. “Bash, you’re drunk.”
“Say it again,” I plead, leaning into her touch.
Her face scrunches in confusion. “You’re drunk?”
It feels like there’s cotton in my mouth. “My name. Say my name again, please.”
“Bash,” she whispers gently, her eyes softening in understanding.
I lie down, resting my head in her lap. “Don’t make me leave. Please, Thalia,” I beg, feeling more tears slide down my cheeks, and she combs her fingers through my hair.
“I won’t.”
These are the things I know: Kiera cheated, she’s pregnant, I left her, the wedding is off, I love Kiera, I’m homeless, I still love Thalia, and I’m going to be extremely hungover tomorrow.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Thalia
I WAIT UNTIL Sebastian is dead asleep before I dare to call Owen. I got lucky I had my phone in my pajama pockets, or I’d be stuck here all night. Zeus is a smart dog, but not smart enough to retrieve my phone on command. Instead, he’s decided he’s too tired for this bullshit, and is asleep in his dog bed by the fireplace.
I don’t know what to do right now. I fear I’m way out of my depth here. After calling for the fourth time, my brother finally picks up the phone. “You better be dying or have a good fucking reason for waking me up in the middle of the night.”
“You need to come over. It’s Sebastian,” I whisper, continuing to stroke my fingers through his soft brown locks.
“I’ll be there in five minutes. Don’t do anything stupid, Lia,” he warns before hanging up. I look down at Sebastian curled into an awkward position for someone of his stature on this couch. Despite falling into a deep sleep, he’s holding tightly to my legs.
He kissed me and I kissed him back. I wasn’t thinking, and it’sSebastian.
Sorry, Owen, I already did something stupid.
At least Eric and I are broken up. We’re keeping our thirty-five marriage pact, but I have no doubt he’ll be able to find someone.
In all of Sebastian’s slurring, he said something about Eric, my phone, and leaving me alone. It was hard to understand him, but I was still trying to process Sebastian kissing me, telling me that Kiera’s pregnant, and he left her. I can only sort through so many thoughts at once. It sounded kind of like he did call to apologize and make things right, but Eric answered my phone for me. He had no right to do that. That would mean that Sebastian tried to apologize. It changes everything.
It’s been four years since we broke up. Bash remembered what day it was. I did too. I just didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that the anniversary of our breakup was two days ago. Is that a weird thing to keep track of?
Owen is true to his word, and walking through my front door less than five minutes after hanging up. He stops in his tracks quickly at the sight of Sebastian in my lap. I would have the exact same expression if I were him. “What the fuck?” he swears, motioning toward us. There is no us, though. Sebastian has so many things to work through, and figure out right now. I can’t be added into the equation.
“Sit down before you wake him up,” I hiss, and Owen gapes at me in disbelief.
“I should wake him up! The asshole is engaged to someone else, who is not you in case you forgot, Thalia. Why the hell is he here, let alone asleep in your lap?” He pauses to pace before continuing with his rant. “You fucking wokeme up in the middle of the night to tell me you guys are back to doing whatever the hell you always do? It really couldn’t wait until morning?”
Did Sebastian not tell him what happened? What is going on? I rub my eyes tiredly because I’m exhausted. Sleep is a gift I rarely get, and tonight I actually was asleep when Sebastian started knocking on my door. “He isn’t engaged.”
Owen looks at me as if I’m an idiot. “I’m in the fucking wedding, and you were supposed to photograph it before you quit. I’m pretty sure he’s engaged to Kiera. Remember her? Short, dark hair, pretty blue eyes? Does any of that ring a bell for you?”
I scowl at him because I’m really not in the mood for any of this. I called Owen for help, not for a lecture.
“If you would shut up for a moment, I could tell you that he left Kiera. She cheated on him and is pregnant with someone else’s kid, Owen. The wedding is off, but thanks for being a jackass.”
“We’re talking about Kiera Davis, right?” he asks skeptically. I can’t blame him. It’s not as if I shared the information I had. It’s only fair to give him a moment to catch up, but I don’t appreciate Owen treating me like I’m stupid.
“Yeah, she might seem like the perfect princess, but she’s far from it,” I say bitterly, the argument we had the day I quit is still fresh in my mind. I can’t believe she tried to justify cheating by comparing us. Owen takes a seat, his eyes widening in realization.
“You knew.”
I look down at Sebastian to make sure he’s still sleeping. His mouth is slightly ajar, but his face is relaxed. I don’t think he’ll wake up because of how much alcohol I couldtaste and smell on his breath when he kissed me. I’m not sure how long it will keep him out cold, though. He’s always had a fast metabolism. Our grocery bill was astronomical those months we lived together.