Nothing We Could Do

Chapter 32

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It took five guys to wrestle me off Tyler and even then I managed to land an aimed blow right at his jaw which had him hollering in pain and spitting curses at me.

"Kioshi what the fuck is wrong with you?" Danny yelled as he pushed me to the wall, "Are you trying to kill him?"

My knuckles stung and my face ached. I knew I didn't look too good but Tyler was far worse so that's all that mattered. I wiped the blood from my mouth, my body still humming from the adrenaline and pent up frustration.

"I had a lot on my plate." I shoved past him and headed up to the bar, ignoring Danny's protests.

Sure, I could have gone a lot easier on Tyler but he was the one who'd offered a spar in the first place. After seeing that guy kiss Ivanna, I had nothing but rage simmering beneath my skin.

I got to the bar and slumped down. Shot after shot hit the back of my throat but I was too far gone to even wince at the burning sensation.

I signalled for the bartender to prepare yet another round. He gave me a worried glance, warily eyeing the blood on my shirt, but did so anyway. It was fine though, I could take the alcohol. I could take the burn and the sting but what I couldn't take was the memory of that guy which played in my mind over and over like a broken record.

My brain conjured up images of him touching her like I used to; running his hands through her hair, brushing his thumb over her lips, breathing in her scent as he woke up, touching and tasting her all over...

Oh god I couldn't think about anything else and the hole in my chest just kept on expanding. I should've felt happy she'd moved on, happy she'd found someone new, but all I felt was an overwhelming sense of grief. I mourned every kiss we shared, every touch, every word she said to me —even the insults. It wasn't like she was dead but oh god it fucking felt that way.

I tipped back another four shots and reached for the fifth.

"Hey man," Naveen snatched it from my hands and tipped it back, wincing at the burn, "Dam, how've you been drinking this shit like water?"

I signalled for another round and rested my heavy head in my hands, "I got shit I need to forget."

"Is this about Ivanna again?"

I lifted my head and frowned, "How did you know?"

Naveen shrugged, "I thought I saw her at the library and remembered you two had a thing. I figured you ran into her or something and now you're wallowing in your misery."

I huffed a laugh, "Sometimes I forget your not as brainless as you make everyone believe."

"I can't help it," He grinned, "Chicks love to screw brawny brainless dudes."

He was right and at one point, I'd lived by that motto myself. At one point, having chicks drooling all over me had boosted my ego and made me feel like I'd made it in life but all I could think of now was how none of them were her.

"So tell me," He nudged me, "Anything significant happened this time?"

I told him what I'd seen at the cafe and he listened intently and nodded along as if I were spewing some deep philosophical shit. It was weird telling him this shit since I wasn't as close to him as I was with Zeke. We'd used to be the exact same person with the exact same goal: fuck chicks and play ball, and whilst my priorities had changed drastically, he was still the same. He reminded me of my old self which I didn't like to reflect on much but he was always busy with girls that he was hardly even around anyway.