Don't Know Why

Chapter 23

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Stay safe everyone. Take care.

Alanna...

"What the fuck did you do?!" I stormed inside the house, breezing past Travis and into the second landing. I ignored him, but the look on his face has me all sorts of scared.

I've never seen him look this panicked.

But I don't let it show as I went to Lance. I didn't mind that I was almost on my tiptoes as I yanked him on his collar and shook him. To both my expectation and annoyance, he didn't even budge the slightest.

"Me?" He drawled out, a lazy smile creeping on his face. "I didn't do anyth'n. Said he wanted someth'n stronger to help numb out the pain. You" He pulled out of my grasp easily, pointing a finger towards me.

"Did this to him." He sidestepped, giving me a clear view of Brian.

I was aware of his presence from the moment I stepped into the room. It was hard to keep my eyes from him even though I'd rather look anywhere else.

His eyes were closed. His chest rising and falling steadily.

He almost appeared peaceful.

Almost.

The skin under his eyes looked purplish. A wheezing sound could be heard from him when he breathed and there were semi-dried stains on his shirt that could've only come from his mouth. The stench permeating the air was proof of that and I don't know how they could remain unbothered.

I stared at Brian again, a pang hitting my chest.

He looked pitiful.

I turned to Lance. "Is he okay? Why didn't you bring him to a hospital?"

He gave me a pointed look, as if I was supposed to know and immediately I did. Snickers echoed around us and I restrained myself from snapping. No use attempting to knock some sense into sober-less minds.

My fists clenched. I wanted to punch him.

They couldn't risk their reputation and safety by bringing Brian to a proper hospital.

"Seb said he'll be fine."

Cole was leaned against the wall as he calmly explained. He didn't mind as I shot him daggers, just shrugged his shoulders.

Dr. Sebastian Jennings, or Seb as they called him was their on-call-physician. Apparently, he was aptly skilled in situations like these. I'm not sure how many of these he's witnessed or handled. I'm not even sure how much Lance greases his palm, just so he's readily available for an "emergency".

I didn't trust him.

Sadly, he's the only one I could rely on right now and as much as I hated it, put confidence in Cole's words.

Their gazes followed my every move, but I paid them no heed as I sat on top of the bed, beside my unconscious boyfriend. I could feel my eyes starting to well up, but I refrained from shedding a single tear. I refuse to let them see me crumble.

From my peripheral I could see some of them file out of the room. One of them, Sheila – I think is her name – grumbled about getting hungry. It angered me, how, in this current situation they'd prioritize mundane things. It just shows how little they valued their so-called friend.

But deep down, I knew I was partly to blame.

I reached a hand out and very lightly caressed his cheek. He didn't stir, just kept dozing off.