Page 99 of The Hallows Queen

“I know.” I laugh, sliding my hand to his to start leading him out of the club. Maybe some fresh air will level him out so we can make it back to the hotel without any issues. I’m just thankful I have the address, otherwise we’d be sleeping on the street.

Once we’re outside, Hayden falls against the side of the building while he digs around in his pockets for his cigarettes, then laughs at himself. “Baby, can you light one for me?”

He holds the pack toward me, and I pull two out, slide them between my lips and light them together. I hand one to Hayden, then take a huge hit off mine. After I’ve blown out the smoke, I look over at him.

“Think you can make it two blocks back to the hotel?”

He nods, and it isn’t convincing since he wobbles as he does, but I don’t really have another choice but to try.

I wrap my arm around his waist, then we start walking down the sidewalk toward the Four Seasons.

It takes three times longer than it should, but somehow, we make it to the hotel, through the lobby, and into the elevator.

“You think there’s tequila in the minibar?” Hayden asks, leaning against the wall of the elevator.

I snort. “I think maybe we should just go to bed.”

He grins at me, sliding his hands around my waist. “I’m fine, P. Really.”

“You aren’t, but okay,” I say, barely refraining from rolling my eyes, and he kisses me. His lips are messy and wet, and when his tongue slides against mine, he tastes like alcohol and cigarettes.

When the elevator dings and the doors open, I pull away from him and drag him behind me out onto our floor. When we reach our room, I hold my hand out to him. “You have the key?”

“In my pocket,” he says, lifting his arms up above his head.

Laughing, I slide my hand in the front pocket of his jeans and pull everything out. His wallet, the room key, and a little baggie filled with pills.

My heart races, and his eyes find mine. “Oh, shit. Who put those there?”

I ignore him, slide the key for our room over the sensor, and push the door open. He follows me in, tripping over his feet and banging into the walls as he goes. “P.”

“You only have this”—I hold up the baggie—“because of your tattoo, right?”

“Right,” he slurs. “Of course, yes.That’swhy.”

I shake my head, laughing without humor. “You’re lying to me right now.”

“I’m not!” he yells.

I sigh, dropping everything on the table and sitting down on the bed. “I don’t want to deal with this right now, I’m fucking exhausted. Can we just go to bed?”

He stumbles through the room and drops down in front of the minibar, pulls it open, and grabs for a few of the little bottles of liquor. When he’s taken the cap off one and downed it, I lunge for him.

“What’re you doing?!”

He grins at me, dropping on his ass and taking off the cap of the next one. “Drinking, you want one?”

“Hayden,” I sigh, trying to grab for the bottle, but he pulls out of my reach. “Please.”

“Penelope, stop being like that,” he groans. “Please, just let me get fucked up without turning into a complete bitchforonce.”

“Nice,” I say, standing up and walking away from him.

He yells after me, but I ignore him and shut myself in the bathroom. Leaning against the counter, I take a deep breath and close my eyes, giving myself a moment to get my shit together.

There’s a part of me that knows he doesn’t mean to be a raging dick, that he doesn’t have his mind right now, and that he’s been triggered by his dad today – but there’s also a part of me that knows I don’t deserve to be treated the way he’s acting. All I want is to help him, but are my efforts wasted on someone who doesn’t want the help in the end?

I fucking love him, and I want him to be okay, but at what point do I step back and let him explode without me trying to put a stop to it?

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