Addicted {bxb}

XVI

~1 Week Later~

I couldn't let it go. I couldn't forget about it.

"Adrian," I spoke softly. "I'm sor-"

"I don't want to hear that anymore!" he snapped, and I felt my body tense up. "I know that you're not sorry, Justin!"

"I am sorry!" I snapped, failing at hiding my anger from the way he accused me, and rolled his eyes. "I didn't mean to hurt you that night, Adrian!"

"Well, you did." His voice was calmer now, but I knew that he was still hurting. "You did hurt me that night Justin and I don't know why."

"I-"

"What did I ever do to you!?"

I didn't know what to say. I didn't have an answer to give to him.

"Nothing. Right?" he questioned. "And yet you took whatever was going on in your life out on me!"

"It's not like that," I said, taking a step closer to him.

"So, then what is it? Huh? Tell me!"

"It... I... I don't know, okay! I don't know what came over when I was with you. I don't know why I didn't listen to you but if I could go back in time, I would change everything. I would never put my hands on you in a way that made you feel uncomfortable. That's not the type of guy that I am. That's not who I ever wanted to be, Adrian. Especially to you!"

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"How come you don't go out?" I decided to ask to change the subject so that we didn't have to talk about the situation with my parents.

"I- I don't want to," he replied, and I watched him fiddle with his bed sheet.

"Why?" I asked, turning to fully face him.

"It's not for me."

"You would have a lot of fun," I said, leaning closer to him but still there was a lot of space between us.

"Do you not remember?" he asked suddenly, and my expression dropped.

"Remember what?" I asked.

"That night. That party at your house."

"You're going to have to be more specific," I said, trying my best to hide the annoyance.

"I was at your house that night. You threw a party and Erica dragged me there." He paused, noticing that I was still lost. "You really don't remember?"

His voice cracked when he asked me again and something inside made me feel bad for not knowing what he was talking about. He shook his head then dropped his eyes to the bed to hide the fact that he was crying. Why was he crying though?

"Adrian I-"

"I would tell you to just forget about it but," he said softly and then paused to look up at me again. "You already did."

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"You went to talk to Adrian?" she asked, cutting me off and I nodded my head. "Just now?" she added, and I nodded once again.

"He was asking me if I remembered anything that happened that night at that party which apparently you invited him to, and I told him that I didn't. Then he started crying."

"Did he tell you what happened?" she asked and for the first time the expression she wore showed me that she was worried. But what was she worried about?

I shook my head as a response to her question. "He's trying to forget it but I'm trying to convince him to help me remember."

"Why do you want to remember?"

"Because he said that I did something to him."

That was something that I regretted. Something that I wish I could go back in time and change everything that happened between us. I haven't tried reaching out to Erica after a week went by, but I still received text messages from her.

Erica: Any parties stirring up in your mind? (1 week ago)

Erica: My parents are talking to Adrian again. I'm not sure what it's about but I'll let you know. (6 days ago)

Erica: You told Adrian that you remember what happened!?! What the hell Justin?!? You said you were going to let it go (5 days ago)

Erica: Look, I'm worried about you okay. Just text me back so I know that you're okay. (3 days ago)

Erica: I guess you know this by now, but I did know about what happened at that party that I invited Adrian to. He told me about what you did to him, but I didn't believe him. Of course, now that I know it's true, I do believe him, and I did apologize to him but I'm not mad at you Justin. I know I shouldn't have lied to you about it, but I just didn't want you to find out while we were having a good time. Please just text me back, I'm worried. (18 hours ago)

I was laying on my bed when I heard my phone buzz beside my head, and I turned over to look at the notification. It was another message from Erica, but this one left my whole body frozen in place.

Erica: I'm outside. I just want to talk. (now)

~~~

I hesitated to go outside and speak to Erica when she texted me but when I finally did step outside, I saw her leaning against my mom's car. She was on her phone moving her thumbs across the screen until I cleared my throat, and she looked up at me, like she saw a ghost.

"What are you doing here, Erica?" I asked her, not wanting to waste any time.

"Have you been getting my text?" she asked then crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"I have. But you don't have to send me a million text messages to sugar coat the fact you hate me."

"I don't hate you, Justin."

I raised my eyebrow, concerned mostly but also confused. "You know what I did to your brother, and you don't hate me for that?"

She shook her head. "I told you that Adrian has been an attention seeker all his life," she said. "You got my text; you know what I said and how I felt. Yeah, Adrian's my brother and so what if he hates you. I'm not going to hate you for that. You did nothing to me."

I didn't know how to feel about that. Erica standing in front of me right now and telling me that she doesn't care about what happened to her brother didn't sit right with me. I barely knew Adrian and in this short amount of time I fucked up the friendship that we could've had all because of drugs.

"And... you said your parents know?" I asked, recalling her message from earlier.

She let out a sigh and ran her hand through her hair. "Yeah, they know," she confessed. "Of course, they're still trying to wrap their head around it, but you know how our parents are. One minute it's a big deal then the next, it's in the past."

"And that's how you think it's going to stay?"

"Yes Justin."

"So can I ask you this and I want an honest answer from you."

"What?"

I let out a breath, preparing for the question that I was about to ask. "How's Adrian really doing?"

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