The Leverage

Chapter 17

I wake up on Landon's couch, head throbbing with an alcohol induced headache which tortures my brain like it's been electrocuted for hours. I groan sleepily and painfully, too exhausted to attempt to sit up immediately. Too exhausted, and too hungover, apparently. Such a promising start to to the day, the pain a reminder of the hell I have to look forward to which inspired the alcoholic binge in the first place.

Landon fortunately, however, didn't sleep beside me on the couch, but I hear him moving about in his bedroom through the closed door which saves me from a potentially awkward conversation. I groan yet again, but this time with dread. I don't have the energy to figure out Landon's latest mind game. He loves me, wants to protect me, wants to own me, claiming he's never hated me. Which is all an elaborate lie meant to confuse me somehow. I just don't yet understand his motives.

Maybe Landon's simply bored now that Trevor's not around. And once Trevor finds his way back, Landon will reveal that this situation was all a big joke to humiliate me and cause stress in an attempt to distract me from my MIA fiancé.

Whatever the reason, I really don't feel like figuring Landon out. Doing so will only bring worse headaches.

Suddenly, speaking of the devil, Landon emerges from the bedroom and the door shuts a little too loud. The sound jostles my brain, sparking the aching of my body to grow more intense.

"Ow," I mutter, rubbing my head and snuggling deeper into the couch, not ready to face the day or the true intensity of the unbearable headache.

"You're awake," Landon announces, sounding somewhat surprised. "I figured you'd be passed out all day by the way you were snoring all night," he sounds disinterested and annoyed as he moves about the apartment behind me, not being cautious about the volume of his travels. "I wonder if you managed to keep the whole building from sleeping, not just me."

"I don't snore," I grumble grumpily, voice muffled by the leather couch my face is smashed against.

"Drunk Ally snores," is his response, followed by the feeling of Landon's weight falling into the couch. He taps my shoulder lightly to catch my attention, and when I begrudgingly open my eyes, I see that he is offering a pill and water.

"So you get me drunk and then you want to addict me to pills? What an influence you are."

"It helps with the headache."

"Fine," I sit up a little, snatching the medicine and the water, telling myself Landon's efforts to appear he cares about me are lies. Never once would he have bothered keeping me in his presence long enough to attempt fixing whatever problem I'm faced with before yesterday. However, I still gratefully gulp it all down and finish half the water bottle telling myself surely it's only an Advil, feeling immediately better having my mouth cleansed and cleaned of the lingering taste of alcohol, at least slightly.

"Better?"

"Sure."

He nods and scoffs a little, with the roll of his eyes which gives me a slightly more familiar feeling at the shift back to our regular dynamics. Though irritation follows that, since I don't know what I did to deserve the attitude. I figure my disgusting appearance may have something to do with his disapproval, but I can't care. Actually, I want to take a minute to look even worse if that's possible so maybe he would decide to just leave me alone altogether.

We then sit in silence, an awkward silence, as neither of us attempt to change the quiet. My mind is spinning with memories of the past day and all the events that have taken place due to Landon, and the fact that nothing makes sense doesn't help my scattered brain.