Even Heroes Have Scars

[52] Two Pieces

Ansley's P.O.V.

"Why are you so late? And what the hell is he doing here?" Jacob tensed at the thought of a male figure both in his presence and in his apartment.

"Jacob. Hi. It's me, Hayden. You know, from last night?" Hayden extended his hand to Jacob.

My brother rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know who you are. What are you doing with my sister?"

"He says I'm approximated," I giggled, stumbling into my apartment with Hayden behind me.

"Intoxicated," he corrected me. "Meaning drunk, drowning in alcohol, and in dear need of a shower."

Jacob shut the door as chuckled softly. "You're telling me. Pew. Did she have cigarettes recently?"

Hayden nodded. "About two minutes ago. But I stopped her as soon as I could. She up-chucked about three, four, maybe five times."

I wasn't sure whether that should have been taken as an insult, but I didn't really care, either.

My brother grabbed my hand and dragged me to my room, shoving me into the bathroom. "Clean yourself, please. Like, multiple times. You smell like shit."

I groaned and obeyed, sighing heavily.

Jacob's P.O.V.

I set a pile of pajamas on Anna's bed and exited her room. I rested into a chair in the living room, motioning for the British guy to sit on the couch, which he did with his hands folded in front of him.

"Tell me what happened," I instructed.

He sighed. "She called me while drunk and came to my flat just as drunk," he told me.

"Why?"

"She said it would be closer to where she was than her apartment."

"Where was she calling from?"

"Not sure. It could have been a bar, which leads me to believe downtown, which is, in fact, farther away from my flat than from your apartment."

"Why was she out drinking and smoking?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

"What do you mean 'you don't know?'"

"I mean I don't know. She wouldn't tell me when I asked."

"I don't believe you," I pushed on.

"Why are you interrogating me?"

"Because I don't trust you."

"Why not?"

"Because you're an adult male and you have the power to take away my newfound safety."

"Because of your dad?"

My breath caught. The internal voices inside my head were screaming at me to pull out of the conversation and leave his sorry ass on the couch to think about how he went too far in turning the table to question me. My intimidating light should have been on him, not joining his eyes in burning into my skull.

I stared around the room in panic. Sensing an attack's arrival, I rose to my feet and jogged into my bedroom. My back pressed against the wall and my face hid in my knees as my lungs gasped for air. Once I was able to control myself a few minutes later, I heard footsteps enter my room, and I knew they weren't Ansley's. He shut my door and slumped down beside me.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I shouldn't have said that, buddy."

"Why are you here?" I asked harshly, lifting my head.