Words & Whiskey

EDITED VERSION: Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Ten bucks Darian is sitting on the couch staring at the door like a lost puppy," Nathan mused as we exit the elevator and made our way down the hall to our apartment.

I forced myself to laugh but quite frankly, I wasn't in the mood to laugh. Especially if laughing causes my eyes to squint, making my left eye pierce in pain to do so. But I did anyway. I didn't want Nathan to think I was upset at him for what had happened in Trillium, he was already upset enough at himself. "Do you have the keys?"

"Yep, just gimme one sec-"

The door flew open and Darian threw himself on me. "Audrey, never leave again! Samara was so lonely she literally took over the living room and refuses to go home."

He faked sobbed on my shoulder and I let out a small laugh while patting him on the back. "Good to see you too, bestie."

Darian straightened himself out and gave me goofy smile. "Well, I missed you, of course, but your CRAZY ASS FRIEND won't get off our couch."

He turned towards the apartment as he said that, obviously hoping that Samara would hear him calling her out. From the living room, I heard Samara yell back. "I KNOW I did not just hear you call me crazy."

I glanced over at Nathan through my sunglasses and he just rolled his eyes. "Dar, get out of the way so we can come inside, we had a long couple of days."

Darian held up his hands. "Your wish is my command, bro."

As Nathan walked in, Darian continued. "I missed you too, by the way."

I shook my head with a smile. When I walked in, I was greeted by Samara throwing her arms around me much like Darian did just minutes before. "I missed you so much, not only because you were away but because that means Nathan is back and because Nathan is back Hayden can stop calling me out of boredom every two minutes."

I gave Sam a tight squeeze and replied, "I missed you too. I'm in desperate need of Starbucks and a Grey's Anatomy marathon."

Sam laughed and kept one arm around me, leading me to the couch, which was in fact, covered with her blankets and clothes. "Say no more. I already have it pulled up."

As I sat down, I attempted to move a stray strand of hair out of my face, but when I moved my hand upwards, I misjudged the distance and smacked the frames of my sunglasses, causing them to fly off my face. When I went to pick them up in a hurry, Sam touched my shoulder. "Audrey, what happened to your face?"

"It's nothing, really, it was just an ac-" I started to sputter but Nathan walked into the living room with a cup of tea and the exact moment.

When Samara saw Nathan come into the room she literally flew off the couch. "DID YOU HIT HER?"

I jumped up to try and get Sam away from Nathan but she held her hand back to distance me from her. Darian rushed from the kitchen with a half-eaten bagel in his hand. When he saw Samara in Nathan's face and then saw my swollen eye, he dropped it. However, instead of screaming he calmly asked, "Nathan, would you please answer Samara's question before I break your face?"

I slammed my head in my hands in frustration. "He didn't touch me!"

Darian looked relieved but also disappointed as he had dropped his bagel but Sam kept her eyes on Nate. "Did. You. Hit. Her?"

Nathan threw his head back and took a deep breath and I could tell he was trying to calm himself down. I didn't blame him. Not only did my best friend think he had hit me but his own brother thought for a brief moment he did as well. After a moment Nathan looked Sam in the eyes with the most serious and sincere look I have ever seen on his face. "I would never lay a hand on a woman. Let alone my girlfriend."