Page 110 of Harrison's Wedding

We stare at each other for a few seconds before I turn and leave the room. I go to the room that I guess is mine for now and head into the bathroom to shower. I pull on a pair of jeans, a v-neck knit shirt, and a blue blazer. I’m getting my shoes on when my phone lights up with a text from Sebastian.

Dude, don’t go to a club. The press will have a field day.

I give a half-hearted laugh. News travels fast, I guess. I type a reply, because there’s no point even trying to hide my goal.

What do I fucking care? Nothing matters anymore. I’m going to get fucked up.

I add the shrugging emoji to the end of it because that’s basically me in this moment—a walking shrugging emoji. Heather is gone and everything that was good in the world is now bad.

I head out to the living area, but there’s no sign of Hayden. I head to his bar and pour myself a large tumbler of Glenfiddich whisky, drinking it neat while I wait for him to appear. I have no doubt that he’ll come out with me tonight, probably to babysit me like I’m a child.

When he appears, I say, “You tattled on me.”

“Heather called you?” he asks.

I narrow my eyes at him. “You told Heather I’m going out tonight?”

Hayden looks guilty, and he cringes before confirming, “Yeah, I did.”

“Ah. Well, no. Sebastian told me to stay home like a good boy, and I told him that I have important plans to get fucked up tonight, instead.”

Hayden doesn’t reply at once. Instead, he does that thing where he takes his time to reply. I can see him thinking through a response, but nothing that he says will change my mind. I’m feeling a lot less stressed since having my drink, and I just want to go to the club, get drunk, and forget the world.

“This really isn’t a good idea. Sebastian’s right, we should stay home. We can play pool or something, and I’ve got plenty of alcohol if that’s your plan.”

I smirk at him. “The person who likes to play pool is at Galena with my ex-fiancée. Good point about the alcohol, though. Want a drink before we leave?”

“Not really,” he sighs.

“Suit yourself.”

I pour myself another heavy-handed drink and finish it pretty quickly before we head out. Paparazzi snap photographs of us leaving Hayden’s apartment, and I cringe because I know this night out will end up in all the news outlets. I don’t want Heather to be upset, but I also want to just forget, and I feel guilty for that.

“Take us to Giovanni’s, Jesse,” Hayden instructs his bodyguard, then turns to look at me. “You need to eat something.”

“If you say so,” I shrug.

Hayden sighs and looks out the window for a few minutes before saying, “Heather wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself, Harrison.”

His concern is obviously coming from the same place as Sebastian’s with this new knowledge he has about what happened duringCards Have Been Dealt.

“I don’t plan on hurting myself; I just want to have a good night. Is that too much to ask?”

Hayden narrows his eyes at me. “Sure. I just don’t want you to get alcohol poisoning.”

I’m reminded of Heather telling me that if I put my health at risk, we would be over, and a stabbing pain hits me. It doesn’t matter anymore because we’re over.

“Noted,” I say with a hollow laugh. “Dinner, it is.”

We travel in silence to Giovanni’s, and I’m lost in memories of today. I’m staring out the window as we drive, and a car passes in almost the exact shade of blue as my guitar.

“Oh, one good thing happened today, I guess,” I tell Hayden.

“What?”

He seems surprised when I turn to look at him and I manage a tight smile. “Reid Music still wants to work with me. They’ve been trying to get my feedback on the guitar.”

“That’s great.”

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