The Ones Who Saved Us

Chapter 8

Avalee's POV

It was Friday, and Papa hadn't tried making me go to school again. He said that we would talk about it more tomorrow when Alessandro and Elijah returned from their business trip.

I knew my brothers and Papa would try to make me open up about why I almost had an anxiety attack yesterday, but I wasn't ready for that. Maybe I would be able to talk to Papa, but even then it was difficult. Papa had been through enough and shouldn't have to deal with my problems.

This morning before everyone woke up, I took a walk to the liquor store to restock my alcohol supply as well as replace the bottle of whiskey I consumed yesterday from my Alessandro's liquor cabinet. There was no evidence that I had stolen from the liquor cabinet other than Teddy witnessing my drunken state.

The twins and I had just finished sparring together, and I was soaked in sweat. As I was walking to my room for a shower, Teddy poked his head out of his room, running towards me with a wide smile when he saw me. He grabbed my hand and dragged me into my room, shutting the door behind us.

Once we were seated on my bed, Teddy asked, "Are you feeling okay? You drank a lot yesterday, so you must have a hangover. Do you need painkillers and water for your headache?"

I did have a headache, but it wasn't due to a hangover. My tolerance to alcohol was high, which made any hangover symptoms present minimal. It also meant that after at least six hours of no alcohol in my body, I would have a headache and some nausea. Because of my sparring with the twins, I had avoided alcohol, wanting to be sober during our session. I was starting to experience the symptoms of withdrawal, and I was in desperate need of a drink, but I had to wait until Teddy left. I didn't want to worry him any more than I already had.

"I'm fine, Teds," I replied. "I have a slight headache, but it's nothing I can't handle."

Teddy lowered his eyes, raising them for a split second to meet my eyes. "Do you do that often? Drink a whole bottle of alcohol?"

After a moment of hesitation, I lied, "No, buddy. Yesterday was just really hard on me, and I needed something to help with the stress. But it was a one time thing, honest."

Teddy furrowed his eyebrows, his eyes narrowed as he looked at me. "Why are you lying to me, Ava? I just want to help you, so why won't you let me? It was you and me against the world for four years, but now you don't tell me shit. What the hell changed? Why are there so many damn secrets between us? You used to tell me everything, but that changed last year. Please, help me understand!"

Teddy's body was tense, frustration clear in the tone of his voice. His volume increased with each consecutive sentence as he clenched his fists harder. I had never heard my little brother curse before, and it was worrying me.

"Teddy, relax," I said, trying to calm him down. "I have this under control."

"You don't have this under control," he yelled, switching to Swahili. "You drank a shit ton of alcohol yesterday and got yourself wasted. I don't give a damn if you talk to me, but you need to talk to someone."

Just then my bedroom door burst open as Leo stepped in, his eyes narrowed as he spotted Teddy and I. "What is going on here? I come home after a long shift at the hospital and try to get some sleep only to be woken by you two screaming at each other."

Leo wasn't yelling, but his annoyance was reflected in his stern tone. Teddy and I lowered our eyes to the ground, embarrassed by our actions. "Are you two going to explain yourselves or what?" Leo asked.

"I'm sorry, Leo," I answered. "We were arguing about something stupid, and it got a bit heated. We'll make sure to keep it down so you can sleep."

Skepticism laced my older brother's eyes as they flicked from Teddy to me and then back to Teddy. "I'm too tired to do this now, but this conversation isn't over. We'll talk about this tomorrow when I'm not sleep deprived."