Dalliance - Z.M. (An Exquisites Original Story)

73; Honeymoon

Chapter 73

"We both know the history of violence that surrounds you.
But I'm not scared, there's nothing to lose now that I've found you."

(Raine's POV)

My eyelids feel a thousand pounds heavy as I attempt to lift them open long enough to see the clock on my bedside. Night has fallen as the big hand reaches one AM, pin-drop silence steady throughout the house. I've been sleeping for the entire day and I almost forget why when I sit up too fast and feel a rush of pain shoot through my head. With an annoyed groan, I kick my covers off and stumble to the restroom as fast as I can before hunching over the toilet and throwing up the last remnants of the strongest cocaine I have ever fucking taken in my life. It's almost enough for me to swear off the drug for the rest of my life.

Almost.

When I'm sure I have nothing left inside of me, I pick myself up off the floor and strip down before getting in the shower. The cold water acts as an extinguisher to my heated body, my skin feeling tender to the touch. The last thing I can recall before I passed out at the foot of the door was the entire house rushing up to me, calling out questions about the mission that I just couldn't respond to, especially when my legs gave out from underneath me. The next thing I know, I awake in my bed nearly ten hours later.

I nearly lose track of time in the shower when I find the water extremely soothing, but I force myself to get out when my stomach starts to grumble with hunger. Slipping on a large Queen tee-shirt, some pajama shorts, and high socks, I step out of my room to make my way downstairs. The house is so quiet that I almost believe that nobody is awake, but when I step on the bottom floor, my ears perk up at the sound of muffled voices speaking in the near distance.

The office light is open and only when I get closer do I make out the voices; Apollo and Zayn's. I almost think about walking away but when I hear my name being repeated a few times, I make my way to the cracked door as silently as I possibly can.

"-isn't taking care of herself," Zayn's voice explains. I press my ear against the rich mahogany and listen to him continue. "This isn't the first time she's been through something like this. Don't you remember that night at the club, the night she almost fucking died?"

"Vividly," Apollo grumbles over the sound of pouring drinks.

"Look, she'll understand. This is for the best," Zayn responds so certainly that I almost believe him even though I have no idea what he's talking about.

Apollo chuckles without a single hint of humor. "I doubt she'll see it that way."

With a heavy sigh, Zayn's voice gets so low that I have to push my ear as close to the door as I possibly can to even make out a single word. "Every single night since we've been in this fucking house, she's had to drink herself numb or bar herself out. She may not think it's a big deal but it's killing her. I can't sit back and watch it all happen, man. I can't."

"I know," Apollo agrees. "But we need her to win this."

"We have her," Zayn ensures him. "She will stay on our side but we can't do this with her here. I'm constantly worried about her, constantly. If she isn't drunk, she's sneaking out to sex clubs, she's popping pills, she's snorting lines, she doesn't sleep, she never eats... this is killing her."

There's a hefty silence until Apollo responds which gives my blood all the more time to boil. It bothers me that they're both here, talking about me like I'm a rebellious child as opposed to just one of the other members in this house that practice very similar habits to mine. My fingers curl around the handle of the door but I don't yet swing it open, wanting to hear what decisions my parents have made for me now.