Page 11 of Bleeding Hearts

“Last door on the left,” I say.

He walks into my bedroom, leaving the door open behind us before setting me down on top of my bed. My buzz from earlier still lingers, but I seem to have a lot greater of a handle on it now.

The reminder of what caused me to drink so much earlier creeps into my mind and I try to shut out the intrusive thoughts just as quickly as they surface, instead focusing on the fact that Asher is in my bedroom right now.

It feels weird to have a man in here. Well, a man besides Theo, Lo’s coworker, and my other best friend, but that’s different. Theo would be far more interested in Asher than he ever would be in me.

Anyway, other than Lo, Gabby, and Theo, I rarely have anyone else in here. Definitely not anyone that I’m attracted to. So, yeah, strange.

I sit up and watch him look around the room, taking in his surroundings. It’s a fucking mess in here.

Clothes and shoes are strewn across the floor from when I was searching for an outfit earlier, and my dresser is covered in old mail that I haven’t gone through. Jewelry and random junk I found in my purse when switching bags.

Plus, I have about five half-drunk water bottles and an open bag of Ruffles on my nightstand.

I should probably be embarrassed, but I’m not in the slightest. Apologizing for who I am is something I stopped doing a long time ago, and who I am ninety-nine percent of the time is a fucking mess. I embrace it.

A sudden pang of hunger causes my stomach to growl, and I reach over, grabbing the large bag of chips from the nightstand.

I reach my hand inside, grabbing a few and shoving them in my mouth before turning to Asher, who is watching me with what I think is amusement.

“Want some?” I hold the bag of chips out toward him, offering them to him.

He considers it for a moment before walking over and plopping down next to me on the edge of the bed.

“Why the fuck not?” he says while reaching into the bag and grabbing a handful of his own.

He smiles at me as he shoves them into his mouth, and I return the gesture. We sit there in comfortable silence, eating chips and just coexisting.

“So, do you want to talk about it?” he suddenly asks, turning to look at me.

“About what?” I ask, playing delusional.

“You got drunk at a barbecue with kids. Nobody does that shit unless they’ve got a reason. Trust me, I’d know.” He doesn’t buy it, just raising an eyebrow at me.

The way he says it makes me believe that he does know. That he understands the need to forget sometimes.

I kick off my shoes, letting them fall with a thump onto the floor before moving to the center of the bed, lying down on my back and staring up at the ceiling.

“I had lunch with my mother earlier. First time talking to her in over a year, first time seeing her in even longer.” I pause, knowing I won’t be saying much about the topic but needing to say something. “Basically, it was shit, and I felt the need to get drunk to try and forget the shittiness.”

“Makes sense. My parents drive me to drink half the time too.” He shrugs, grabbing another handful of chips. “What’d she do to make you not talk to her for a year?”

“I’m not drunk enough for that story anymore.” I laugh halfheartedly. “Let’s just say some people aren’t meant to be parents,” I say, and he nods his head in response, grabbing another chip out of the bag.

“To shitty fucking parents.” He holds the chip up toward me. I smile, grabbing my own chip from the bag and tapping it with his.

“To shitty fucking parents.” I pop the chip in my mouth at the same time he does his. “So how did your master plan end up going with Lo and my brother?”

“Fucking fantastic.” He sits up straighter, completely invested. “I caught them standing extremely close to each other in Willow’s room when I went to find Lo.”

“Seriously?” I ask, sitting up to look at him again.

“Yup. Clearly, I’m a genius.” He smiles proudly.

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far, don’t get cocky now.” I smile at him. “Professional matchmaker? Maybe.” I laugh. “You do realize that you just set up both of our best friends with each other though, right?”

“So?” he asks, still eating the almost empty bag of chips now.

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