A Silent Hope

Chapter Nine

Mackenzie

The bar was busy tonight, filled with music and loud voices trying a talk over the sound.

I sat in a corner alone, already tipsy from a few drinks I had. Paul was somewhere in here mingling with strangers. Or maybe he knew them since he knew everyone it seemed.

The waitress, I think her name was Layla, came with my next two drinks and placed it on the table. "Thanks."

I emptied the glass in my hand, cringing at the burn and quickly downed one of the new glasses. I wrapped the second one between my hands and stared down at the golden brown liquid.

"Know when to slow down." I heard a voice say over the music.

I lazily looked up to see Layla still there. "What?"

"Cool it with the alcohol." She looked at the glass in my hand while taking the empty ones.

I ignored that and asked, "Where's Thalia?" I hadn't seen the woman in a few days, not at the gym or here.

Layla appeared to be wondering if she heard me right before answering. "She took a few days off."

I nodded and went back to my sulking. This had been my routine all week since Bella left. I'd go to work, kill my body at the gym and then waste my nights here. It wasn't good, I didn't care.

It was an old habit I indulged in before. Drinking, sleeping around, temporary fixes to a permanently broken heart. I hoped and prayed everyday that I was wrong, that my heart wasn't going to feel this pain forever.

It wasn't fair, being in love with someone who I could never have. A happily married woman who never thought of me in that same way. I should've had a say in who I fell for. It wasn't fucking fair.

I emptied the glass in my hand and tested my balance. I wasn't drunk, my intolerance level was high. I walked through the crowd and pulled out my wallet, flipping it open to get some cash. I clumsily waved at whoever saw me first which happened to be a girl I didn't recognize.

After paying and securing my wallet again, I found Paul and grabbed his shoulder. "I'm gonna head home." I yelled over the music.

"Sure? Want me to walk you?" He yelled back.

I shook my head. "I'm good. Get home safe."

"You too, buddy." He gave me a salute and turned back to his friends.

I got to my apartment with no trouble, no drunken thoughts about having the call the damn thing. I did, however, accidentally knock down a vase on top of a console table that sat in the hallway. Luckily it was a plastic vase. I picked it up and fixed the fake flower arrangement before placing it down.

Laughing at my stupidity, I put the key in the door knob, but a voice stopped me from entering.

"Hey, there."

I whipped my head around to see Daphne standing in her opened doorway. "...Hey."

"Fun night?" She casually asked.

I leaned my back to the wall near my door. "Not really. There's nothing fun to do around here."

I eyed the smirk on her lips then. "I can think of a few fun things."

I inhaled, immediately picking up on what she was implying. I slowly scanned her body, biting my lip at the long, toned legs, the tan stomach that portrayed a set of abs and the breasts. She really wasn't wearing much and my tipsy mind was liking everything it saw.

"I wouldn't mind participating in some of them with you." I zeroed in on her lips, following the pink tongue that licked them.

Daphne walked backwards into her apartment. "Come on then."