Tethered Hearts | ✓ | Books 1 & 2

Episode 68| The Lion's Den

Bryce's P.O.V.

Considering today was the day of the wedding, waking up with a hammering headache, missing clothes, and a sore body wasn't the perfect way to start the morning. I drank so much last night that I felt as if I had to promise myself to never drink again. However, that oath was useless. I had gotten stuck in my old ways the last two days, trapped back into the cycle of addiction to hide my own woes.

"...he's here, but he's not awake." Conner said into a cordless phone, pacing the kitchen. The drapes didn't resemble the ones at my place. They were black whereas mine were blue. This had to be his apartment. I must've passed out on his couch last night. "Oh, wait, I think he's waking up."

I shook my head, hugging my abdominal area as a new shudder coursed through me, trembling at the mere feeling of the fan across the room. I was either having a migraine or on the verge of throwing up - or possibly a mixture of them both. The small stream of light pouring into the living room caused me to squint in pain, groaning louder each time I opened my eyes.

I hate alcohol.

"I don't want to talk to anyone." I cried out. "Give me fifteen minutes. Or an hour."

"It's Sophia on the phone." He shifted the phone into his other hand, gaiting to me. "She sounds really sad."

"What is she saying?" Was what I wanted to ask him. I couldn't get the first part of my question out though. The urge to vomit overpowered me and I began running for the bathroom, falling in front of the toilet with my body giving up on itself.

. . .

"Hey. Are you alright in there?" Time flew by. I didn't know how long I had spent in the bathroom. I must've gotten food poisoning last night. In the past, I had got nasty hangovers, but it was never this bad. "I can call the ambulance for you."

"I don't need the ambulance." I shouted, splashing cold water on my flushed cheeks. I stuck my head underneath the faucet, eagerly gulping and lapping up the tap water. "I need the keys to my apartment. Is Sophia there?"

"About that..." he cleared his throat. "She's at her dad's house."

Taking one of the towels in the cabinet – etched with Conner and Kelsey's initials with gold thread – I wiped my face and unlocked the door, glaring at my friend. "Why do you say it like that? She'll be at the chapel at 6:00pm."

"No, she's not."

"Yes, she is." I spat. "She knows what today is and how important it is."

"That was what I was trying to tell you, Bryce." He bit the inside of his cheek, slowly releasing it. "She's not going to be at the chapel."

"Why the hell not?"

"Maybe if you would've picked up the phone when I told you to take it, then you would've cleared this entire Trenton thing out."

I exited the bathroom, snatching the phone out of his hand "Who is Trenton?"

"Me." Skipping out of the kitchen, a young boy with curly red hair entered the room, holding a cookie in his hand. Kelsey wasn't far behind him, holding a juice box and a bowl of grapes.

"Is that your cousin or something?" I asked Conner. Kelsey and Conner winced at my words as though I had said the wrong thing. "What's up with you? Tell me what's going on. Tell me why Sophia isn't going to be at the chapel."

"You should sit down first." Kelsey advised. "This isn't going to be simple."

"I don't need to sit down." I clenched the towel and threw it over my shoulder. "Tell me."