Page 62 of A Shot of Pretty Poison

When I realize the key isn’t under the mat, I pout and glare at the door like it’ll open simply because I’m mad at it. But that doesn’t work.

Pretty rude.

I bang my fist on it, at first to punish it for not opening for me, and then to try to get it to open. “Bed? Are you in there?”

Nolan is a mess of giggles and hiccups behind me. “I think we’re at the wrong house.”

“No,” I slur. “The door is just mean and won’t open. Open, Mr. Door!”

I light up at the sound of the door unlocking, but then it opens, and an exhausted Hayes stands on the other side of it.

Why hello, handsome man.

Out of all thethings I expected when I heard someone outside, Laiken wasnotone of them. Laiken’s eyes are glassy as she looks at me, going cross-eyed when she fails to focus. I just got home from the bar a half hour ago, and I had to keep the window open on the drive home so I didn’t fall asleep at the wheel. But now, as I stand here looking at her, I feel wide the fuck awake.

“Laiken,” I drawl. “What are you doing here?”

A girl off to the side giggles, and it takes me a minute before I recognize her from the picture she showed me earlier—Nolan, herroommate. Yeah, even if Laikenwasinto girls, this one looks a little high maintenance for her.

Laiken looks confused as she tilts her head to the side. “What areyoudoing here?”

“I live here.” Jesus. How drunk is she?

Her lips purse, but she does it too much to where she looks more like a duck, then gets sidetracked for a second by the fact that she can see them.

“Laiken,” Nolan mumbles. “Where are we?”

“My house!” She beams.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. Seriously, I deal with drunk chicks all night long. Why do I have to deal with them at home now, too?

“Lai, this isn’t your house,” I tell her softly. “This is my house. You don’t live here anymore. Remember?”

She tilts her head to the side, and I wait for the moment it clicks into place.

“Oh!” she says, both looking and sounding mortified.

“There it is.”

Her hands cover her face as she freaks out. “Oh my God, I’m sorry. I…I just…” She looks at me and I can see the sadness all over her face. “I just came home.”

Home.

Fuck. She really knows how to say things that stab me right in the heart, doesn’t she? All I wanted for months was for her to come home. And now she did, but it might be too late.

The damage is done, and I don’t know if it can be repaired.

“Laiken,” I breathe.

She shakes her head. “No, it’s fine. I’ll just get another Uber.”

But when she takes out her phone, she starts to sway, and it falls out of her hand.

“Okay, you really need to do something about the spinning porch, because I don’t remember it doing that.”

I watch as she starts to lose her balance, and I’m right there to catch her. Scooping her up into my arms, I know there’s no way I’m letting her get into some stranger’s car right now. Not when she can barely remember her own damn name.

Leaving her friend in the doorway, I sigh and carry her up the stairs. Halfway up, I look down to see her quickly shut the one eye she was peeking with.

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