𝘿𝙀𝘾𝙀𝙋𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 • 𝙇𝙍𝙃

48. he likes her

HE LIKES HER

Vodka makes one hell of a painkiller.

Michael was far from drunk, only having enough to dull the splitting pain in his wrist and the obnoxious beating of his heart. He'd been anticipating a visit from Luke, but instead was left to wallow in his disappointment.

"How long do I have to wear this thing?" Michael asks as Ashton gets his arm situated in a sling he made from a spare sheet.

"A while."

"Okay." He takes another drink. "Maybe when Lila wakes up we can give her some vodka to help with her pain too."

Once Ashton is finished tying the sling around Michael's neck, he stands with a sigh. "Alcohol thins your blood. She can't have any of that."

"More for me." The boy says, pressing the bottle to his lips.

"Easy with that." Ashton makes a grab for it. "Need I remind you the last time you got drunk you gave Calum a black eye."

Michael rolls his eyes. "He cheated and we all knew it."

"Or you're just a temperamental drama queen." Ashton says with a sly grin as he successfully snatches the vodka.

"That's something Luke would say." He smiles before his lips fall into a frown. "Do you think he hates me?"

Michael could bounce back from a broken wrist. But being hated by his best friend just might make him bleed out until there is nothing but sadness left.

Regret gnawed at his skin, not for what he said, but for when and how he said it. The weight behind his words felt like he was pulling a trigger, and Luke was the recipient of the fateful blow with the emotional scar to prove it.

"I think we all have someone that we're terrified of losing, and Luke figured that out tonight. He didn't hurt you solely because of what you said, he was just scared and didn't know how to deal with it, I guess."

"Should I apologize?" Michael asks.

Ashton shrugs. "Tell me what you said to him and then I'll give you an answer."

"Nothing worth repeating."

The conversation seems to die off when Calum enters the kitchen, unexpressive as he looks at Michael and says, "Let's talk, yeah?"

"I'm sort of still recovering from the last talk I had, to be honest with you." The boy wiggles his fingers in the sling, as if Calum needed a reminder.

Ashton nods along. "It's been a rough night. Why don't we regroup after we've had some sleep?"

"This can't wait." Calum takes a seat, straddling the back of the chair. "Luke is a fucking wreck in there, what did you say to him?"

"Eh, I'd kind of like to know too."

Michael's mouth drops. "You said we should regroup!"

"Overturned." Ashton smiles.

"Ugh." Michael groans. He rummages through the fridge, finding a cold beer to simultaneously sip and ice his wrist with. "I said some fucking up shit. He said some fucked up shit. Let's leave it at that."

Ashton jumps from his seat and places the beverage back into the refrigerator, cutting Michael off with a scowl. "When Luke reaches a certain point, we all know to walk away. Why didn't you?"

"Because..." Michael's green eyes flick between Calum and Ashton. He tilts his head to the side, lightly blinking as the air leaves his lungs. "He likes her."