Page 98 of Surfer's Paradise

Warm hands were on her.

Big. Familiar. Steady, even though he was just as goddamn drunk.

“Oh, baby, come here,” Isaac’s voice was low, rough, too full of something she couldn’t handle right now.

She was too far gone to fight it.

The next thing she knew, he was pulling her up, lifting her, carrying her like she weighed nothing.

She mumbled something into his chest, but his body was so warm, his scent so dizzying—whiskey, cigarettes, something undeniably him—that she forgot how to be angry.

The door swung open.

He brought her inside.

And then, just warmth.

The weight of his arms around her, the quiet of the house, the steadiness of him holding her together when she had nothing left except nausea and wine.

She let out a soft, broken breath.

Let herself sink into him.

Because for now, just for now—

It was easier than falling apart.

Everything was spinning as he carried her through the house. And within two minutes, Rosie’s knees were hitting the bathroom floor, her fingers gripping the cold porcelain of the toilet bowl as the nausea slammed through her in waves.

God. Wine vomit.

The absolute worst.

Her stomach heaved, and then she was losing it all— everything she’d swallowed down, every ounce of alcohol, every unsaid word, every buried heartbreak. It all came up.

And Isaac was there.

Holding her hair back.

Rubbing slow, steady circles on her back.

Not saying anything, just being there, just keeping her together when she felt like she was breaking apart.

The next wave hit, and she gasped between sobs, spitting out the sour remnants, tears burning hot down her face.

This was it.

This was rock bottom.

And yet, Isaac still hadn’t left.

Her stomach finally settled, but everything else was still spinning, spinning, spinning.

Her cheek hit the cool rim of the toilet, her breath shaky, uneven.

Isaac exhaled roughly, shaking his head.

“Jesus, Coco,” he muttered, adjusting his grip in her hair, brushing it away from her damp face. “You won’t remember this, but… fuck it. Let me tell you the truth.”

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