Eleven at night, and there's a strong desire for Oreos. I could stash a pack in a random drawer in my room, but I can't do the same for milk. Oreos need to be dunked in milk. There's a small bowl of Oreos on the counter, and I'm searching for milk in our fridge. If Laurance actually downed the milk again, I will be infuriated because he didn't buy anymore.
There's a knock on the door, and I can't help but grow a bit nervous. Who is knocking on the door this late at night? It takes me looking through the curtains and realizing that Laurance isn't coming down to see that it's Garroth at the door and not some crazy axe murder that knows how to knock.
I'm in my pajamas, but I don't have time to run upstairs and grab a sweatshirt or something to put over my shirt. I know he wouldn't mind, but it can be chilly at night. Garroth comes in once I open the door, and he quickly wraps his arms around him.
I'm hesitant to hug him back, and even then, my hug is half returned. "Gar? What are you doing?"
He pulls away with a pout before staring down at me. There's a moment of silence before he gives me a crooked grin and looks around the news. "I can't come and see you?"
I wince.
"Garroth, you've been drinking."
I can smell the alcohol coming off his breath, and it makes my stomach turn. Alcohol is something I can't stand the smell of. I wince every time.
"What? I can't have a drink?" His words are husky and slurred. My feet betray me, and they take a step back. I always feel safe around Garroth, but at this moment, I'm terrified. He looks over to the kitchen and stumbles his way to the counter top. He looks down at my little bowl and pops a cookie in his mouth whole before beginning to chew. It's then I noticed I'm slowly inching towards the stairs more.
"Do you want me to get Laurance? He might be able to help you more than I could."
He shakes his head, grabbing onto the bowl and walking over to me. He places it down on a random surface before staring down at me once again. "I can't spend time with my girlfriend without Laurance looming around?"
I look towards the top of the stairs to see if Laurance is lingering up there. It's just us. The secret remains safe, but I don't like this side of Garroth. I can't believe that Garroth can carelessly throw around that word when he scolds me for wanting to share it. He snakes his arm around my waist and presses me up against his chest. I instantly push him away and try to swallow down my fear. "You're drunk."
He shrugs again, stating that he only had a drink. It leads me to question just how many "one drinks" he had. Two? Three? Four? How? Who is going to serve him a drink? Where did he go? I know there was something Laurance came home earlier from, but it couldn't be from that, could it?
"Garroth, you shouldn't be doing this. What if you get caught? You'll ruin your spot on the baseball team. Your academics. Your reputation!"
He doesn't seem to care and lazily runs his hand through his hair. It's messy. He wouldn't dare let his hair look this way sober. I don't want to think about what could've happened. I don't think to ask of all my fears. I don't want to think about any of it.
Garroth laughs quietly before he reaches for my hand. He doesn't seem to notice when I recoil it back to my side. "That can be fixed. It's part of being a Ro'meave. Money can make it go away," he comments. His words sound cocky. It's like his holding the power of his last name over my head.
My teeth grit together. Garroth wouldn't say things like these. He hates pulling the Ro'meave card. They all do. Who did this to him?
"You can't rely on that. Garroth, this is messed up."
"Awe, come on, princess. Don't be that way." Garroth slings his arm over my shoulder and lazily stumbles forward to the couch. I try to stay put, but he's taller and stronger than me. He's even tainted his nickname for me. "I want to cuddle."
I try to slip under his arm and towards the stairs. "Go home, Garroth," I commend. My knees are weak, and they'll give out any moment now. I don't want to sound like I'm begging. I'm not a rag doll that can just be pushed around. "Go home!"
He stares at me like a deer in headlights. I can hear the sounds of doors opening downstairs following hesitant footsteps. Laurance's head pops into sight from the top of the stairwell. I wonder if Garroth had some sense knocked into him because he begins to retreat towards the door like a dog with his tail in between his legs.
I can't help but rush to the door to lock it for the night. No more visitors.
Laurance looks at me from the last step. "You're pale. What happened?" He asks, taking a few steps to me before I bolt over to him. I wrap my arms around his waist and hide my face away in his chest. "Who was that?"
"It was Garroth. Laur, he was drunk," I state. I try to hide topics regarding Garroth mentioning our relationship. "I've never seen him like that. Laurance, I've never fought with him before. That side of him scared me. He was so. . . careless."
He calls for Cadenza and holds me closer to him. I feel like a child. A baby. It's like I'm overreacting, but I've never once seen Garroth act like that before. I never want to again.
Cadenza quickly rushes down the stairs after the second yell of her name and seems oblivious of what happened. Laurance explains the context of the situation before explaining that he was going to contact Vylad to tell him what happened. Cadenza wraps me in her arms to substitute for Laurance and sits me down.
I don't want those Oreos anymore. But there's one thing Laurance I agree on, we rather have Vylad know what happened than Garte.
