Page 18 of Resist Me

West

You know that feeling when you’re drinking? At first, you mean for it to be casual but the more you drink, the more you want to keep drinking. Then, suddenly, you’re hammered and watching Charlie the Unicorn on YouTube, which you haven’t seen since you were a little kid laughing with your friends.

Maybe it was just me. It was also possible that signaled the beginning of a problem, as could the ease with which I drank vodka. Or I just had poor self-control. Did it matter?

I guess it mattered when it led to me doing stupid things. My DUI, for one. It happened two months before me and Kai moved here in August. I was fresh out of high school, eager for the next chapter in my life. With a full-ride scholarship in hand and a bright future ahead of me, it felt like I was on top of the world.

Then my dad shit on my parade.

Willow failed to graduate, which pissed him off. He wasn’t mad at her, of course. Just me.

Why didn’t you make sure she was passing, West? Where were you when she skipped classes, West? How could you let this happen, West? You’ve screwed up her future.

My accomplishments didn’t matter, even though I’d worked my ass off. Willow was gonna do what she wanted to do. That had always been the case and the more you tried to stop her, the more she rebelled. If I followed her around all the time, trying to drag her back to the light, I wouldn’t be here right now.

It was far from the first time that I wondered if I’d been selfish. I should’ve put myself second to make sure she was okay. It wasn’t entirely her fault that she was like this. She struggled for reasons nobody should have to experience. Maybe I did fail her.

I was bringing her to Seattle now, which was the right move. It was a good thing that the football season was over. It gave me more time to make sure she was okay and on top of her shit. I’d have practice again soon, but I’d probably just drag her along. She might try to sleep with the guys on the team, which wasn’t ideal. Again, though, Willow was going to do her thing.

When it came down to it, what mattered was making sure she was safe. I was better at that than our dad. He was afraid- always afraid. We were almost nineteen, so it was time to leave him behind. Maybe it was what he needed to move on. Me and Willow had. As much as we could, at least.

Despite my worries, I couldn’t wait for her to get here. I loved that messy little bitch and having her live with us, where I could be sure that she was safe, would be worth the added stress.

A soft knock on the door drew me out of my thoughts. I paused the video and waited, hoping they’d just go away.

“West.”

Damnit. Even if I hid the vodka, Kai would know that I was drunk. Overprotective asshole.

I continued to ignore him, but then I heard a key in the lock. Sitting up straight, I narrowed my eyes at him as he stepped into the room.

“You’re not the only one with secret keys,” he noted with a mischievous smirk.

“I don’t need to be managed.”

“That’s not why I’m here.”

He eyed the bottle on the nightstand before he came over to the bed. When he grabbed it, I thought he’d dump it or throw it out thewindow, but he took a long drink of it. Putting a hand over his mouth, he coughed.

“He didn’t get you the top-shelf stuff.” I raised a brow and he smiled. “I invited Linc to our place on Saturday. He mentioned this.”

“Narc.”

“Relax. He wasn’t telling on you.”

“Still. He’s a dumb hoe.”

“So are you,” he noted, offering me the bottle. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to finish the game. You got us that win, you know, and they didn’t make it easy.”

“Maybe, but it doesn’t feel the same.”

“I know. You don’t see it, but they respect you for what you did tonight. Continuing after that hit and admitting when you couldn’t keep going. Both took strength.”

“You don’t have to make me feel better. None of them like me.”

“Why do you think that?”

I gripped the neck of the bottle tightly. “They think I’m annoying.”

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