18
Ashtyn
"He'sgone?Whatdoyou mean he's gone?"
Axel looked as chill as ever as we stood in the pool house where he resided most of the time. He was kicked back on the leather sofa in the middle of a video game when we buzzed the intercom.
"He left early this morning according to the security camera footage. He left this note for you in his room. Left one for Avery too."
"Pffft," West said under his breath as Axel handed me a folded-up piece of paper.
Ash,
Thank you for taking care of me last night. I'm sorry you had to see me like that. I'll work on getting a phone and once I do, I'll text you right away. I've got the money situation handled. I'm going to see Dad in Castle Grove. I'm in deep, and I’m sorry you had to get involved. I will fix this. I promise. I love you baby sis. Try not to worry about me too much. Give 'em hell.
-Rem
I wasn’t going togive 'em hell. I was going to givehimhell when I sawhimagain.
"He's fucking gone. Again. No way to contact him either. Says he's going to see my dad in Castle Grove," I said with an exhausted sigh.
"Now what?" Axel asked as he flicked the joystick on his Xbox controller.
West stormed over to the kitchenette and pulled out three glasses from the cupboard. He found a bottle of whiskey in the freezer and poured until it threatened to spill over the tops of the glasses. "Here." He handed us each a glass and downed one himself.
Axel and I followed suit, the whiskey burning on the way down. The warmth it created in my belly settled me slightly. There wasn't anything I could do at this point. My brother was the epitome of a wildcard. If he said he was going to fix things, I had to trust that he would. I didn't have another choice considering he didn't even have a cell phone.
I didn't have to work tonight. I told Delaney my brother was in a serious accident the night before and that was why I didn't show up for my shift.Keep your negative vibes and energy away from Aces for the weekendshe instructed. And abide, I would.
I plopped down on the couch next to Axel and picked up a controller. "We gonna kill some shit or what?" I didn’t have a clue as to what the game was or how to use the controller, but I had nothing better to do.
"Sure, princess," Axel smirked and West growled at the use of his nickname for me.
"Another round, Moretti. I'm thirsty," I said before focusing on the screen.
He huffed and brought the ice-cold bottle over and poured. You know what they say, it's five o'clock somewhere.
AxelandIcontinuedto play video games for the rest of the morning. The buzz from the whiskey made me comfortably numb. Within twenty minutes, I started to get the hang of the controller and the objective of the game. Axel was much better at it than I was, but West sat next to me and gave me tips. Finally growing bored with it, I handed my controller to West and went to snoop around the kitchen.
The pool house was where Axel spent most of his time. It looked more like a lavish apartment than a pool house. It had a living room with comfy, brown leather couches and a square coffee table. The kitchen had an island, a wine cooler, a refrigerator, a sink, and even a dishwasher. There was also a full bathroom–which was larger than mine at home–with a walk-in closet and a bedroom.
"Do you have anything besides alcohol?" I asked as I peered into the wine cooler. There was a wide assortment of every kind of booze except for wine, ironically.
"That's what DoorDash is for," Axel shouted over the gunfire coming from the TV.
"Never used it," I said before going to the refrigerator to look forsomething. I didn't exactly know what I wanted, but I wasn't going to drink whiskey all day. I was amazed I hadn't thrown up what I already consumed. I didn't drink very often.
"I can order for you. Or you can use my phone," West said over his shoulder, his gaze never leaving his game.
"What do they do, just bring you food? From restaurants?"
"They can bring groceries and shit too."
"Wow, that sounds incredibly lazy."
"And convenient," Axel smirked.
"Wait, you have a house not even fifty yards away, and you still pay to have someone deliver groceries?"