Words & Whiskey

EDITED VERSION: Chapter Nine

Once Nathan managed to get me off the countertop a couple of hours later, he dropped me off at our apartment before heading out to get himself a new pack of cigarettes. Though he was determined not to let me out of his sight, wanting to make sure I got to the apartment without puking in the elevator, but I insisted I was perfectly capable of doing it myself. I only had that one shot with Sam and the mojito with Nathan. I stepped out of the elevator and walked slowly down the hall that led to our apartment. Finally, when I reached the door, I noticed someone standing beside it.

His red hair was tucked underneath his camo baseball cap. When he caught sight of me, his eyes narrowed. "Audrey, are you drunk?"

I stared at him, fighting hard to concentrate on the figure in front of me. I may not be drunk, but the lights were so bright in the hallway compared to the dimness of the club and I still needed to adjust. "Who are yo-" I stopped when I got closer and immediately sobered. "Kieran, what are you doing here?"

"You didn't answer my question," he snapped. "Are you drunk?"

I pulled my keys out of my clutch and ignored his question. "You shouldn't be here."

"And you shouldn't be acting like a slut seeing as we broke up like two seconds ago, but here you are doing just that," he retorted with so much venom I winced. "So much for coming here to work things out."

I got the door open but my hands were shaking, not sure how to go about this. Nathan should be home in a few minutes, the store was only a block away. If Kieran wanted to talk, we could talk, but I was keeping my distance. Before I let him inside, I said, "My roommate should be home in a few minutes. So, if you want to talk we can, but once they get here, you have to leave because they have an early shift tomorrow. And for your information, I haven't even looked at a guy in a romantic way since we broke up."

Kieran tilted his head backward and let out a menacing chuckle as he stepped through the door. "Don't lie to me. You have been acting like a slut ever since you've gotten here."

"Excuse me?" I nearly yelled. "I have not been acting like a slut! I have done absolutely nothing to have you believe I am a slut."

Kieran shook his head, muttering under his breath.

The room went into an uncomfortable silence and I sighed as I poured Kieran a glass of water. I didn't take a genius to know that he had been drinking tonight and that he needed to sober up. "Here," I said, handing him the glass. "You're drunk, you need something to drink."

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Kieran boomed, causing me to flinch at his volume.

I stayed silent and looked at the floor once I sat down on the couch.

Kieran started to pace in the living room, grasping onto his glass of water so tightly his knuckles were white. "I have tried to be patient with you. I tried to support your ridiculous dream of being a writer but enough is enough. Tomorrow, you are flying back with me to Trillium."

I jumped to my feet, heat rising from my toes all the way to my chest. "I am not going anywhere, Kieran. I like it here, I'm not just going to pack up everything and leave. This is my home now."

"You only like it here because I'm not around to keep you from acting like a whore," Kieran barked back, continuing to clutch his glass. "Having two roommates that are guys, going to party after party, having a best friend basically whoring herself to everyone."

"I am not a slut," I whispered, hugging myself to feel some sort of comfort. "Neither is Samara."

Kieran just ignored me and chuckled again. "Honestly, I should be thanking you for your behaviour. Now I don't feel so bad about sleeping with Abigail when you and I were still together."