Petal [h.s.]

Chapter 67

Harry.

"Another one." I sat at the bar of my own café as I motioned to Steph to pour me another shot of tequila.

My right arm hung limply in my lap as I took the glass with my left hand and brought it to my lips, feeling the liquid run down my throat before I put the glass back down.

I had given up on wearing the sling. It had been two weeks since my surgery, and so far everything was going great. There still wasn't any nerve damage, besides a bit of a tingly feeling in my pink finger but with physiotherapy, that should be good.

It was a Friday evening and I had been working all day. I had just closed a pretty big deal with a new client, and I wanted to celebrate. But the only person I wanted to celebrate with didn't want to see me.

I sat at the bar with Zayn, who was high and dazed. I couldn't even put up a conversation with him, he had been staring into nothing for about thirty minutes now as he tried to keep his balance on the barstool.

Louis and Eleanor had been by Ian's side as he recovered in the hospital. He had been sent to a more critical facility for two weeks where they'd get him through his relapse with extensive therapy and where there was also heavy medical security.

After those two weeks, he'd head back to the RSP to start his program from scratch. Back to phase one.

In the corner of my eye I saw Zayn taking out a small bag of pills, grabbing one and popping it in his mouth.

"You want one?" He asked, holding the zip-lock bag out for me that I eyed carefully. The pills had a funny colour.

My tongue swept over my bottom lip. I couldn't deny that I craved drugs right now, but I still shook my head no and denied him. "No, thanks."

Zayn nodded to himself and put it back in his pocket before he took a sip of his beer. His hazy eyes and his stare into nothing returned as he swayed to the music on his barstool, completely out of it.

"More?" Steph asked over the music, pointing to my shot glass. I nodded and she refilled it, almost dropping the bottle of tequila but I quickly caught it with my hand and handed it back to her.

"Thanks." She smiled, her fingertips lingering on my hand as she took the bottle back from me. I nodded and pulled my hand back. It felt uncomfortable being touched by anyone else than Violet, even if it was just a little, innocent touch on the hand.

I took the shot, slamming the glass down as I felt the alcohol entering my bloodstream. I was very drunk right now, as I had been most nights to be honest. There was no reason for me to be home, no reason for me to get out of bed in the morning. I didn't have to try for anyone.

Violet didn't care. She was gone by the time I woke up and went to bed earlier than ever. I sometimes saw glimpses of her in the hallway, and she still texted me every day that she was hanging out with Abby after her work hours, even though I knew it was a lie.

I had been biting my tongue about that for a while, feeling the need to snap at her and tell her I knew she was hacking the app. I wanted to see her reaction as she tried to bullshit her way out of that one.

Abby telling me to respect Violet's boundaries was like asking a dog to not go after the bone. I couldn't. It was against my nature to let her do her thing. I wanted control, I needed it.

The way my hand had rested in her neck still sent shivers down my spine. It was such a stupid touch, and I hated that it had lingered with me for so long. It shouldn't have. A fucking hand on her neck shouldn't be the highlight of my day.