Page 113 of Prince of Pain

My head was hammering when I woke up, and my mouth was dry as fuck. I grabbed the half-empty beer off the bedside table to swig it, choking on it and almost throwing up as the taste of cigarette ash hit my tongue.

I forgot I’d used it as an ashtray.

Dragging myself out of the bedroom, I found Tempest curled up on the floor right by the door. I wasn’t about to wake her up when she was so damn quiet, so I stepped over her and went into the kitchen for a drink of water.

Tempest had apparently trashed the place last night after I’d gone to bed too.

My hands were shaky, and I scowled when I almost dropped my damn phone as I checked it. The battery was almost dead since I’d left it in the kitchen all night.

I frowned at the time on the screen, realizing I’d slept in.

Apparently, it was almost ten in the morning. On Tuesday.

Didn’t Marco say it was Sunday when he was here? Had we slept for almost two days?

I put my phone back down and found my cigarettes, lighting one and flicking the ash in the sink as I smoked. I needed a fix of some kind to stop the shakes, it was driving me insane.

I heard Tempest throw up, and I sighed, moving back in the direction I’d seen her last.

“You okay?”

She wasn’t on the floor, and relief filled me when I found her hunched over the toilet and not ruining the carpet.

“I’m dying,” she said as she gagged, her skin clammy and her hair tangled on top of her head.

I grabbed a hair tie and tied it up for her so she didn’t get vomit all through it, resting my hip against the sink to watch her. “We slept for almost two days.”

“No wonder I feel sick. I’m sober,” she joked, sitting back with a wince. “Do we have anything left?”

“Maybe some weed, but that’s it.”

“Call Channing to do another drop off.”

“He told us the last lot was meant to last until Thursday,” I reminded her, and she scowled.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll ask.”

“Suit yourself, but he won’t show up like Santa,” I deadpanned, flicking ash on the floor and groaning as I heard Jett’s car pull up outside. “I don’t need this bullshit today.” Multiple car doors closed, and I frowned, leaving Tempest to die in the bathroom while I headed to the front door, emotions hitting me as I found myself face-to-face with Beckett. “Beck?”

“Hey, Ry,” she said with a small smile, studying me for a second before stepping closer to hug me. I instinctively jerked back, but I found myself almost craving the hug, leaning into her and letting her tighten her arms around me. “What did you do to yourself?”

The familiar pang of shame and embarrassment hit me, especially when I glanced over her shoulder and found Maddox and Jett standing behind her.

They were all judging me, it was all my family did.

“Can we come in?” Beckett asked gently, and I almost said no. I didn’t want her here, seeing me like this. My comedown days were the worst, and since today seemed to be a self-aware kind of day, I knew I’d end up fighting with her.

Maddox moved closer and raised his knuckles for me to bump, clapping me on the shoulder as Beckett slipped inside. “Hey, bro.”

“Hey. No charges?” I managed to ask, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“Nah. There was a thief in the night, so I heard.”

I chuckled lightly, letting him inside and almost getting knocked over by Jett as he hugged me so tightly that I thought he was trying to fix all my problems with it. “Weird way to propose, but okay.”

“We’ll save the celebratory kiss for when you’ve showered and brushed your teeth. You stink,” he teased, ruffling my hair as he stepped back. “You should’ve called. I’ve texted you three times this week alone, dude.”

He had? I hadn’t really checked.

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