Nightcall - Billie Eilish

32 -

The day flew by in a blur. We'd spent it holed up in our rooms, not saying a word to each other.

The only interaction was when Billie came to grab Shark from my room to take him out.

That was it.

Skeet and his crew finally showed up around 9pm completely wasted. Judging by their state, they hadn't been sipping water all day, and clearly, they weren't planning to stop anytime soon.

Before heading to the living room, Kate called me to check in on how things went with Billie.

As usual, she scolded me with her classic I told you so attitude, convinced that the mess I'd gotten myself into was doomed to end badly.

But this time, I was determined to keep my distance from Billie.

My pride was on the line, I wasn't about to lose it now.

"Talk soon. Love you too."

I hung up, tossed my phone beside me, and stretched out on my bed.

I could hear the chaos spilling from the living room, but I didn't care. My social battery was dead, and Skeet's friends had way too much energy for me.

I was drifting off, my face buried in my pillow, when there was a soft knock at my door.
I sighed, tempted to ignore it, but mumbled:

"Come in."

The door creaked open, and a sliver of light stabbed at my eyes. I groaned, rolling over to escape it. The light disappeared as the door clicked shut.

I turned back and saw Skeet standing there in the dim light.

"Hey, Dina."

"Skeet, you good?"

Yeah, no. He was definitely drunk. He tried to play it cool, but the wobble in his stance gave him away.

It was kinda cute

"Don't wanna come join us?"

"bro, not gonna lie, I really don't feel like it."

"Why? Something happen with Billie?"

"No, I was just on the phone with Kate. It went longer than I thought, and now I'm dead tired."

"Oh... okay. If you say so."

He pushed off the wall but stumbled a little. Instinctively, I reached out to steady him.

"You should go to bed, man. You look wrecked."

"Or... you could come with me. Keep an eye on me."

"You seriously trying to play with my feelings right now?"

He clutched his chest dramatically.

"Me? Never."

Then he held out his hand.

I hesitated. I still didn't feel like it. But honestly... in two days, this would all be over. Back to the work and no breaks for months.

fuck it.

I took his hand. His grin grew instantly, and he helped me up.

"Let's go."

I followed him toward the light, leaving behind the peaceful darkness of my room.

The living room was buzzing with noise. First thing I noticed? Billie wasn't there. Neither was Claire.

My heart did this annoying little skip. I shook it off. Whatever. I don't care.

An hour later, I stepped outside with Mike. He lit a joint, the familiar scent hitting me instantly.

It'd been a while.