Breaking Barriers - S.R.

28

I sighed as Dean dragged me to his table, wrapping my fingers around my cup and following him slowly. Miles smiled at me as I sat down and I gave him a half hearted grin.

"How's it going?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Okay."

"Rough day?" Dean asked, taking a swig of his beer.

"What makes you think that?" I responded.

"You rarely drink, and you definitely don't drink alone." He pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Today kind of sucked but I'm fine." I muttered, taking a big gulp of the bitter drink in my hand.

Dean's eyebrows rose and Miles was watching me with concern.

"What happened?" Dean finally asked.

I sighed. "Spencer and I aren't together anymore."

The two guys looked at each other and back at me. The environment in the room shifted to something slightly more uncomfortable as they both contemplated on how they should respond to my admittance.

"I'm sorry." Miles was the first to speak up. "Are you okay?"

I swallowed the last of my drink and set the glass on the table. "I've been better, but I'll be fine."

"I'll get you another drink." Dean offered, picking up the empty glass before walking over to the bar.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to ruin guy's night out." I said, making a noise between a scoff and a chuckle.

"You didn't ruin anything." Miles replied. "I'm sorry that it didn't work out."

"Are you though?" I asked, looking up at him.

"I want you to be happy." He replied.

"That's not really an answer." I pointed out, just as Dean sat down beside me again with new drinks for all of us and a tray of shots.

I gave him a look as if he was crazy and he smirked. "You want to forget him or not?"

"I never said I wanted to forget him." I deadpanned.

"Well, then consider this a celebration. No more trips to the local prison." He replied.

I cringed, looking away in discomfort. I didn't know how much Miles was aware of and this wasn't exactly a conversation I felt like having in front of him. However, I was thankful that he chose to ignore Dean's crass comment and instead, held up a shot, waiting for the two of us to do the same. We obliged, clinking the small glasses together and downing the bitter liquid. I was already feeling better and it was nice to be with friends again. If Sophia was here, it would be like old times again. Back before Spencer and the mess that followed...

Dean's laughter pulled me from my thoughts and I realized I had missed most of the story that Miles was telling, so I just smiled politely before taking a big gulp of my drink.

"Easy there." Dean stated, placing a hand on my arm. "You're a lightweight. Unless you want to end up crouched over a toilet at the end of the night, I suggest you drink slower."

"I'll be fine." I grumbled.

"You say that now." Miles chuckled in amusement.

Despite wanting to be defiant, I did in fact, slow down on the drinks, but I definitely didn't stop. The three of us ended up having dinner, which helped sober me up, and spent a while catching up on each other's lives over the last couple months. As soon as the buzz started to wear off, thoughts of Spencer crept into my brain again and all the happiness that I was feeling earlier had left me. So I drank more. A lot more.