blood runs red ✓

XXXV

'drugs take you to hell, disguised as heaven'

- donald lyn frost

Ares

Lana stayed over on the sofa and left the next day, mad at her brother for being an ass to what seemed like such a genuine man. She told him to get his shit together and text her when he finally got the man back, and treated him right.

Ares knew he'd fucked up, but having his one-year-older sister scream in his face for mistreating August made him properly deep how much he'd ruined things. And he didn't know how to deal with losing someone who was so right for him, so he turned to his only coping mechanism.

Drugs and alcohol. And sex.

For the past few days, Ares had been drowning himself in every bad substance possible, and slept with any person throwing themselves at him. He'd been so reckless he probably contracted twenty STIs.

He did not, just putting that out there.

On a Saturday night in the middle of January, he found himself at a party. It had been more than days at this rate. It'd been a few weeks.

This party was different to all the others he'd been at, because it was in the middle of Brooklyn. Ares wasn't sure how he got to Brooklyn, but he was there, and he was completely out of it.

"Hey ladies." He smirked, throwing his head back to take another shot. He wasn't sure what the shot was at this point, because he'd had so many.

"Hi, handsome." The first girl put her hand on his shoulder. "Wanna take me away from here?"

"Mm, depends." He slurred. "You wanna drink a little with me? Invite your girls over too, I don't mind."

The girl blushed, nodding at the girls who moved closer. "I'll take a drink. What's your name?"

"Ares."

"Well, Ares, I'm Lyn, and this is Aria and Niamh. We'd love if you paid for our drinks."

"I see how it is." He smirked. "James, put whatever they're getting on my tab."

"Alright Cirillo." The bartender nodded. 

"Cirillo?" The blonde girl, Aria, asked. "As in Ares Cirillo?"

"Oh my god, you're that boxer guy." Niamh gasped, her voice having an accent that Ares couldn't figure out. He was too wasted. He guessed it was British.

"Oh, I guess I am." He raised another shot. "To me being that boxer guy!"

"You're pretty wasted, boxer guy." Lyn pushed the glasses out of his hand. "I don't think you should be taking us anywhere."

"I don't care, honestly." He groaned into his hands. "I could do with something stronger right now."

Aria smirked and nodded at her brunette friend, who pulled out a bag of cocaine. "Care to do a few lines with us?"

"Now that's what I'm talking about."

In his state, Ares should not have been doing drugs. He'd drunk way too much for his body to handle, and drugs wouldn't help with that. Though he didn't care, his body did. But it seemed like these girls wanted him to get worse, so he wanted to get worse with them.

"Let's go somewhere less public, shall we?"

Niamh drove, as she was the least drunk one out of the four of them. Ares was always risking shit way too much by going off with strangers, but since he was really drunk, this was much riskier. He knew it was a terrible idea, but did it anyways.

They ended up at a pretty apartment, not one as fancy as his, but nice enough. The three girls shared the place, so it was quite spacious.

Lyn unlocked the door, stumbling in with Aria behind her. Niamh hung back in case the 'boxer guy' tripped over and kissed the ground, which he almost did. "God you drank too much. Lyn shouldn't have offered you coke."

"It doesn't matter. I'd do some at home regardless."

"Oh, so you're that type of rich?"

"What does that mean?"

"You're the rich guy who does everything he shouldn't because he can afford it."

Ares would've argued, but it was true. So instead, he stumbled into the apartment and tossed himself on the nearest sofa, as if that place was where he lived. It made the British brunette laugh a bit.

Lyn and Aria walked out in just bras and thongs, and damn did they have nice bodies. But Ares could only think of how perfect August's body was, and how perfect he was. Those girls couldn't get him hard, but if he was going to enjoy the night, he was going to have sex.

So naturally, he thought of August.

"Make some lines for us, will you Niamh?" Aria smiled. 

"Will do."

She did as told, and got out a dollar bill, making white lines on the coffee table. Ares pulled out a hundred dollar bill and snorted one immediately, shoving the cash into Aria's bra. He did the same with all three girls, the flirting working like a charm.

He was naturally so good at getting into people's pants, but it didn't feel right, not right now. Not without August.

"Wanna head to the bedroom, darling?" Lyn asked, sitting on Ares' lap. She was grinding against him, the friction making her wet.

Ares couldn't get hard over that though, so he thought about getting into bed with August so he wouldn't hurt the dark haired girl's feelings. He felt a tent in his pants and decided to remove them, leaving him only in his boxers.

"I think we should. You girls coming?" He winked, Aria blushing immediately.

"I'll stay here." Niamh nodded. "I think I'd like one on one time with the boxer guy later on, actually."

Ares smirked. Niamh was his favourite out of all three girls, so if anyone was to get sole attention, it'd be her. The brunette reminded him of August, so it wouldn't be difficult getting hard for her.

"You won't have to wait too long. I can make these girls feel good very quickly." Ares said boldly, knowing these girls would probably pass out soon, and he would be able to leave them. He didn't have sex with girls who were about to drop out.

A quick trip down there was all they needed to feel good.

Ares stayed true to his words, making both girls feel good before leaving them tucked in their beds. He was a manwhore, but he knew how to treat people right in the bedroom, whether it was sexually or just about keeping them safe.

Fuck, I should've done that for August. I should've treated him like a prince. 

"You coming?"

"We'll see." Niamh winked, and led Ares to her bedroom.

It was safe to say that Niamh felt very good before falling asleep. Ares had his fun, but that was all it was. Fun.

It wasn't like it was with August.

Fuck, he missed August.

So to get over that, he raided the girls' alcohol cabinet and did a few more lines, smiling at the feeling of his consciousness slip away. He knew he'd be able to forget for a little while, and he was glad. Thinking about August only made him feel worse.

Deservedly so.