I wished he took that back. We were locked in a bubble, the same one we used to spend hours upon hours in, and it hurt that he chose to mention Chrissy.
“It’s okay. We had to meet sometime.”
“That’s three, baby doll. Stop lying.”
Another kiss on my shoulder and he left me alone, standing in the middle of the room, my heart pounding.
I pulled the cream jumper over my head and squeezed into a pair of skinny jeans, tying my hair in a ponytail. For a moment I stood in front of the nightstand, gawking at a bottle of Alprazolam AKA Xanax.
Swallowing pills when tequila was on the agenda was a bad, bad idea. I couldn’t watch Thomas with his new girlfriend without help, but I was done mixing alcohol with pills. I was done harming myself.
I shoved the bottle into the drawer, brushed a few locks of hair away from my face, and descended the stairs to join the party.
After a couple of minutes of awkwardheysandhow are yousI plucked the courage to approach Chrissy. She was even prettier close-up than from afar. The dark rims of her glasses made her blue eyes pop, and her skin was so flawless that it looked photoshopped.
A pang of jealousy twisted my stomach, when she laced her fingers with Thomas’s as if marking the territory. It hurt even more when he drew her closer to his side, avoiding my gaze.
“Hey, we haven’t had a chance to meet.” I outstretched my hand, half a dozen of donuts on their way out. “I’m Nadia.”
“Oh yeah, hey,” she twirled, her voice melodic and sweet like brownies. “I’m Chrissy. Gosh, I’m sorry about what happened to you. It’s so sad. How are you doing?”
I glanced at Thomas, annoyed and betrayed. He had no right to tell her about my problems.
“I’m okay, thank you.”
“Nadia!” Mel waved me over from across the room as if sensing that I needed an out. “Come on, tequila is waiting.”
Five fingers caught my arm when I turned my back on Chrissy and Thomas without as much as a fake, apologetic smile.
“Have a smoke with me,” Thomas urged, cinnamon eyes drilling a hole in me.
Chrissy’s eyes narrowed, but she covered her annoyance well with a flashy smile, even though her eyes said she was ready to barricade the door. Thomas didn’t let me decide. He dragged me out to the garden and slid the patio doors closed.
“I didn’t tell her,” he said. “Scorpio told Jane, and…”
“I don’t care that she knows,” I cut in, stepping back.
It proved fruitless. For every one of my steps back, Thomas took one forward, reluctant to let me wander too far.
“But I’m glad you didn’t tell her. It means I can still trust you.”
He took one more step, and we were almost touching.
“Always.”
My stomach tied in knots. He came here with Chrissy, seemingly certain that we were over, but he kept contradicting his own willingness to move on by invading my space any chance he got.
“I tried to cross that bridge, baby,” I said, sensing a good moment to apologise. “I’m sorry I looked down.”
He stepped back, flicking his cigarette onto the ground.
“You didn’t. You turned around.”
He walked back inside, not waiting for a reply. I finished my cigarette, fighting not to let the regret eat me alive.
Two minutes later, I crossed the living room, and Mel hooked her arm with mine, walking me into the kitchen. Chase was one of the tall, dark-haired twins who mingled with the crowd. They looked alike, but it was easy to distinguish between them.
Charles wore his hair short and sported a white suit with big, black letters printed all over. Chase had a beard and long hair tied in a bun. His style differed from his brother’s too—light jeans, black t-shirt and a chequered shirt thrown on top.