Rayston Point Road || Editing

Chapter Nineteen

The next morning at breakfast I was squished between the end of the booth and Isaac, who had not so subtly wormed his way through the group to ensure he was stuck beside me on the crowded bench after I left him in Andie's study and then avoided him for the rest of the night. Beside him sat Andie and Connor, undoubtedly Andie's plan to try to keep Izzy away from Isaac, who was sitting across from me with a sour look on her face. Filling in the rest of her booth was Mariana, Alex, and Lee, the rest of the group absent from the diner.

"What are you getting?" Isaac was looking down at me, glancing at the menu in my hands, continuing to act as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened last night, but the circles around both of our bloodshot, tired eyes were a telltale reminder of the argument we had and the stomach-wrenching amounts of alcohol we had both drank. I closed the faded, plastic covered menu and set it on the table in front of me, reaching for my cup of coffee.

"I'm not really hungry," I mumbled, before taking a long sip of what was still my first cup of black coffee. It was the truth, as the various shots I had taken along with a few more refills of my plastic cup had left me puking in Andie's bathroom last night, and I could barely stomach the coffee I was sipping on. The thought of food was nauseating to me at the moment.

Isaac kept his eyes on me for a moment, looking concerned, before he dragged his eyes up to the waitress, giving her his order so she could make her way through the rest of the group. When Alex opted out of ordering anything to eat I glanced at him, as did others at the table.

"I've got work soon. I'm heading out in a few minutes." At his words, I saw my out. Andie had insisted that we ride together to breakfast, after I spent the night in one of her guest rooms, too inebriated to drive home and my car had been left in the same spot I had parked it in last night, leaving my stranded.

"Would you bring me back to Andie's?" I asked, causing everyone's eyes to flash in my direction. I didn't bother offering an explanation though, just desperate to leave and find some solitude and sleep. For a moment, I wasn't sure if Alex was going to say yes, knowing that AJ's was only a few blocks away, while Andie's house was a few miles down the road, closer to the outskirts of town, but after a moment, he smiled.

"Sure. We should head out now, though, so I'm not late. Do you mind?" I shook my head eagerly, looking down my side of the booth while Alex stood up. Andie and Connor slid out of the booth immediately, but Isaac stayed put, his eyes cast down on the phone in his hands. He was purposefully ignoring my attempt to leave, I knew because only moments before he had cast his eyes in my direction when I asked Alex to give me a ride, so his lake of movement was a childish maneuver. I set my jaw and reached forward, plucking the phone from his hands and setting it down on the table.

"I'm trying to leave, Verano, and you are once again in my way. Move." I was still annoyed with him for what happened at the marina, his apology last night not quite enough to put him back in my good graces, was my rampaging hangover was far from being helpful. I needed to be away from him, even if it meant putting a further dent in our friendship by asking Alex to drive me home, when I knew very well that it would bother Isaac, even if he would never say so.

"Whatever," he mumbled under his breath, not looking at me as he slid out of the booth, allowing me to exit. I stopped briefly to hug Andie, promising to talk to her later, and then followed Alex out of the diner towards his truck.

"Everything okay?" Alex asked, glancing at me over the hood of his truck as we walked to our respective doors. I looked back over at him, watching as he adjusted his glasses on his face while reaching for his keys.

"Yeah," I responded, pulling myself into his truck once he unlocked the doors. "I'm just too hungover for this," I groaned, leaning my head back and closing my eyes. Alex didn't respond, but I felt the truck roar to life underneath me and start to move, and I was thankful for his silence because the motion only made the nausea worsen, and I shuffled down in the seat slightly, trying to relax.