South-Side Renascent || c.g.

Retail Therapy

Carl

My head was pounding when I woke up. I rubbed my eyes a bit before attempting to open them. I blinked them open and took in my surroundings. My head snapped toward Cailee, who was asleep cuddled up to my side. I didn't remember a thing that'd happened the night before, but I didn't care because I'd woken up next to her.

I kissed her on the cheek and slipped out of the bed slowly. I stumbled past the vanity, taking in my appearance and suddenly regaining my memory. "Jesus..."

My face was bruised, different shades of purple surrounding my right eye and cheekbones. My lip was swollen and showcased a scratch that'd be a bitch to heal. I probably deserved it.

The Advil was in the bathroom, one door down from Aubrey's room. I cracked our door, looking around before sneaking into the bathroom and managing to take medicine.

I snuck right back into the bedroom and shut the door softly. I was gonna set things straight later; I hadn't gotten the chance to tell Cailee the full truth about everything. She probably thought the worst had happened. Honestly, the situation was fucked either way.

I laid down, Cailee wrapping back around me in her sleep. I knew things would be different when she woke up, so I just enjoyed the moment while I could. Might not have gotten another.

Cailee

"Mmm..." I nuzzled my head into Debbie's unusually flat chest and frowned. "Where'd your boobies go?"

I got a laugh as a reply, the laugh where you violently push air out of your nose. Weird reaction... Debbie would've just snorted. I sniffed the person. Nope, it wasn't Debbie...

"Carl?" I asked, sitting up. He sat up too. "Shit," I pulled the covers back and got out of bed, backing away from it. He got up as well, coming a little closer to me. "No. Just stay over there... Please."

He sighed and backed up, "I know you're upset, and you have every right to be, but please let me explain things..."

After a few awkward ass seconds, I nodded my head.

He took a deep breath, "The night you told me to give you space, she texted you. When you didn't respond, she texted me saying she was unsafe and all by herself. I found her near the park with some man trying to mess with her and scared him off. Then we came back here and she told me about Matt. I was still upset from you and I's argument, and she was mad at Matt, so we smoked to forget about everything."

I stood there, twiddling with my fingers. He continued to go into detail about what'd happened at the club, and how he ended up at his house.

I was pissed that he'd gotten drunk and high for two reasons: (1) it was irresponsible, and (2) he couldn't handle it. I had to literally drag him back home the last time we'd done that, a year before. My stomach turned at just the thought of him getting into the van with her, especially with lowered inhibitions. I knew how bad he could get, which is why we always drank together.

"We didn't have sex, but we did stuff," he continued. I could tell he'd explained it before, most likely to Debbie since she was so pissed about it. It only hurt slightly less knowing they didn't have sex. I was left more disappointed than sad. "I didn't remember anything the next day."