Fragmented ✔️

5. Sorry, what?

Zaire hadn't lied as the intimate get-together transformed into a crowded party, the numbers increasing as the evening went on.

Music played through the house and out the windows left open to circulate the stuffy air. Bodies swayed and bumped into each other as they fought for space.

Matt disappeared after the doorbell sounded and I stayed for a while on the sofa, waiting for his return. Holding on to my first bottle of beer, I had yet to take another sip, too scared that if I started drinking, I wouldn't stop and would end up doing something I regretted.

I stood up when a few girls tried to squeeze onto the sofa and one of them inadvertently elbowed me in the stomach. The culprit turned upon hearing my grunt and offered up a tight smile.

I walked into the kitchen and rested my hands on the cool counter, glancing around the brightly lit room for any signs of Matt. With no photos on the fridge or clutter on the sides, the space looked barely lived in.

Unlike the packed lounge, only a few people congregated around the fridge and breakfast table. I took in the unfamiliar faces and sighed; I knew no one. I wouldn't break my promise. Zaire would pay for this. He vanished the moment he left to get a drink with CeCe, and I didn't feel like following Matt around. Desperate wasn't in my vocabulary.

Through the kitchen window, I looked out to the compact garden. A vine-covered arbour stood over a dark stained decking, beyond a neatly trimmed grass patch. Fairy lights dangled over the airy shelter.

About to walk outside, I stopped as an energetic man came rushing into the room, claiming he had to catch up with everyone. He scrambled around in a cupboard, pulled out three shot glasses and lined them up, pouring a clear liquid into each one. After emptying his three shots, he filled them back up and handed one of them to me.

"Drink with me so I don't look like a loser. Can't drink alone," he laughed and scrapped his dirty blonde hair off his forehead.

I grinned and took the shot off him. "Only so you don't look sad."

"To not being sad," he said before downing both his shots.

The Tequila burned as it travelled down my throat. I coughed and squeezed my eyes shut; the aftertaste killing my taste buds. "That was horrible. Where was the lemon or salt?" I complained after swilling my now lukewarm beer around my mouth.

"Meh, prefer it that way." He strolled over to the fridge and pulled out a beer for himself and a fresh one for me. "I'm Dan. Freddie and Matt's roommate. Which one do you know?"

So much for not drinking. I grabbed the newly opened ice-cold bottle. "Matt, I guess. I don't really know him. He works with my friend." I shrugged and sipped my drink while giving him a quick once-over. He wasn't as striking as Matt, but even after the few minutes we had spent together, I could tell his attractiveness lay in his personality; his face neutral, an appealing boy next door type. Matt, however, was anything but the boy next door. He was hot, sweaty summer nights and excitement all rolled into one.

Dan stood, his left elbow resting on the counter, and with no prompting from my part, divulged his entire life story and explained how he met Matt and Freddie.

Freddie worked with Dan in construction, and they had been friends for years. They originally had another roommate, but after falling in love, that one chose to move in with his new partner and left them with an empty third bedroom. Instead of looking for someone else, they hit the bars and found themselves in the speakeasy where Matt worked. He overheard how desperate they were to find a new roommate so they wouldn't lose the house, and he asked to move in.