Taming Alec(32)

“I can’t just walk away from her, Logan.”

“You have to. And if she chooses you”—I took a deep breath—“I’ll have to walk away. We’re ripping her apart.”

“You’re right.” Drake stood and kicked the chair he’d just been sitting in. “Why the f*ck can’t I let her go?”

“For the same reason I can’t—you love her. Chloe is special.”

He smiled, the first one I’d seen all night. “Yeah, she is.”

I frowned as he stared off into space with that damn smile on his face. He pulled out his phone and started typing on it.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Texting her to see if she’s okay. She was really upset when she left the bar.”

“So, what do you want to do? Go talk to her now? Or wait until she calms down?” I asked.

“Let’s wait. I doubt she’ll speak to either of us right now,” Drake said as he looked at me. “Look, I know you don’t like me, and I sure as hell don’t like you, but let’s try to be civil with each other until this is sorted out. Once she chooses, we can go back to hating each other. I don’t want to upset her more than she already is.”

“Fine with me,” I mumbled.

We spent the next hour texting Chloe, but she didn’t respond to either of us. I started to worry, especially with her psychotic mother trying to contact her again.

“Maybe I should go check on her,” I said as I stood and started walking to the door.

“You’re not going over there without me. I don’t know what you’ll say to her. I’m coming with you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. I just want to make sure she’s okay.”

I ignored him as we walked back to the bar where our cars were parked. I climbed in and drove back to the dorm, refusing to think about anything. I would deal with everything when I was in my room by myself. If I thought about it now, I’d lose my mind and probably hit Drake again.

I pulled into the dorm parking lot and shut off my car. I stared at the dorm in front of me, unable to move. I didn’t want to face Chloe right now. I loved her more than anything, but I also hated her at the moment. We’d finally found happiness, and she had gone and screwed it all up. If she had stayed away from Drake, we would still be together in her room right now.

I opened my door when I saw Drake walking past my car. I followed as he walked into the dorm. I wasn’t about to let him see her alone either. I couldn’t handle that yet. We were both silent as we walked up the stairs and onto her floor. Once we reached the door, Drake knocked. A minute later, the door swung open, and Chloe was standing in front of us. Even though I was pissed, the mere sight of her took my breath away.

She smiled as soon as she saw us. “Hey, guys! How are you?” She giggled. “Actually, never mind. You’re both pretty damn fine, like always.”

She turned without another word and made her way back to her bed. She fell on top of it, and she glanced back at us, still smiling.

“What the hell is wrong with her?” I mumbled to Drake as I stepped into the room. “Are you all right, Chloe?” I asked, my voice louder.

“I’m great! I had a couple of shots, and now, I’m all set.” She smiled brightly at us. “What are you guys doing here? Wait, you’re together, and there’s no blood!”

Both of us continued to stare at her.

I glanced around the room to see a bottle of vodka on her nightstand. Shit, she’s drunk. That was what the warm welcome had been all about.

I leaned down beside her bed and looked into her glassy eyes. “Just how many shots have you had, love?”

“Only a couple.” She motioned to the bottle on the nightstand. “See? It’s still full. I just opened it tonight.”

Drake glanced at the stand before looking back at her. “Uh…Chloe, the bottle is empty.”

She stared at the bottle. Realizing that he was right, she slapped her hand across her face before laughing. “Whoops! Guess it’s a good thing it was the cheap stuff. Otherwise, I’d seriously be drunk right now.”

Drake and I exchanged looks with each other, both of our expressions filled with concern. She was past drunk and moving into wasted.

“Chloe, honey, you are drunk, excessively drunk actually,” I said as I watched her.

She rolled her eyes. “Seriously, guys, I’m fine. Why are you here?”

Drake spoke up from his spot in front of the bed, “Look, Chloe, you’re trashed, so I don’t think right now is a good time to talk, like Logan and I planned. We’ll come back tomorrow”—he glanced at the bottle again—“or the day after. I’m pretty sure you aren’t going to be up to any talking tomorrow.”

“I said, I’m fine!” she grumbled as she sat up.

Two seconds later, she grabbed the garbage can beside the bed and threw up violently into it. I jumped back a couple of feet as she continued to throw up. It seemed like hours had passed by before she was finished.

Jesus. I’d never seen her like this.

Finally, there seemed to be nothing left in her stomach, and she rolled back onto her bed, groaning. “Fuck. Maybe I am drunk.”

Drake chuckled quietly. “No shit, Chloe.”