I scoffed. “And what do I actually want, genius?”
“Someone you don’t always have to take care of.”
I sniffled. “Please, go away.”
“I’m not going anywhere. Not until you let me in.”
“Then you’ll stand out there all night.”
“Can you get her out of there? I have to take a piss.”
Allison hissed behind the door. “Go upstairs, asshole. I’m talking right now.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Did you just say ‘asshole’?”
“Well, if you weren’t acting like one I wouldn't have already made the connection.”
I snickered. “Thanks.”
“What in the world is going on right now? Do you not want to be with Clint anymore?”
“I’m not talking about this through the door.”
“It’s either that, or you let me in. There’s no other option. So take the help.”
I laughed bitterly. “You think this is helping?”
“Well, getting high and drunk isn’t helping. So let’s try another route.”
I sat there, staring at myself in the mirror. My skin had grown pale. My eyes had become sunken in. The bags underneath them were beginning to become a problem as the world tilted around me. I closed my eyes. I drew in deep breaths. I didn’t know what I wanted. But I knew I didn’t want this.
“Don’t shut me out now. Please,” Allison begged.
I sighed as I reached over. I unlocked the door and heard her quickly slip in. Her flats slid along the floor as she closed the door. But I didn’t hear her lock it.
“You’re going to have to--”
“Here we are. All right,” Michael said.
I rolled my eyes. “Of course he’s with you.”
He closed the door, then locked it. “Yeah, because that’s what good partners do. They look after those they love.”
I snickered. “Glad you're an expert in love now.”
Allison pulled me up onto my feet. “You want to tell us what’s going on now?”
“And why aren’t you with Clint, Michael?”
He shrugged. “He stormed off. Seems you two have that in common.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course he did. Because it always has to be about him.”
Allison shook her head. “No it doesn’t. You feel like that because you met him during a time when he needed help. And a lot of it. Now you need some but, for some reason, you’re not letting him help.”
Michael sighed. “You’re not letting any of us help.”
My face fell. “Because I don’t need it.”