Crash and Burn (1)

sober me thinks you're beautiful too

♚ ♛

MY EYES FLUTTERED OPEN to find Soren sitting on the floor in front of me.

"Mmmm, hey, princesa."

In just his jeans, looking down on me.

I had to blink back the image. With barely distinguished muscles in his torso and his bare arms tan and toned, he was long and lean and strong. How sore I was testified to that.

"Soren?"

"Hey," it was soft spoken and so unlike him, as he reached out to brush my hair away from my face. "We've got to get out of here."

"Oh, okay." I murmured, sitting up and facing him, wincing slightly at the ache in my legs.

"You okay?" He asked, his eyes traveling down my body slowly. He always seemed to notice the smallest things. I'd underestimated how observant Soren was.

"Just sore." I murmured as he pulled his shirt over his head and handed me my jeans.

His wry smile made me flush immediately. "Lo siento."

"Where are we going now?"

"How about I treat you to breakfast?" He asked with a strange expression. Breakfast? His lips twisted into a scowl and he squeezed his eyes shut, his complexion seeming to pale right in front of me.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he tugged his sweatshirt on and pushed towards the back of the bar. "I just drank too much on an empty stomach. I need some food."

My heart sped up at the thought of him getting sick. "Okay, let's go."

Soren didn't say much as we slipped out of the bar and into the early night. It had to be close to three in the morning. It was humid outside, the small orange glow of the few streetlights blanketing us into a warm foggy haze.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked when he stumbled slightly. "Soren?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." He ground out, stopping in the shadows to lay his cheek against one of the closed metal gates. "I'm just going to throw up."

Was it wrong to think it was cute to see him like this? "Hmm, can't hold your liquor, huh, Calloway?" I teased, pressing forward to brush his hair off his clammy forehead.

"My tolerance for alcohol is not what it used to be, Lace." He murmured, and yet another puzzle piece seemed to fit on the board that was Soren Calloway.

Addiction ran in the family.

I'd seen the signs last night, but now that I knew about his parents, it made more sense. "You drank a lot, huh?" I asked timidly, as he cringed in discomfort. "That's why you don't anymore."

"Blackouts, Lace."

That was all he said. "Oh."

"I don't like not knowing what I'm doing." He paused. "Or saying."

"You shouldn't have drank last night." I was still angry that he'd been drinking when there were so many people out to kill us. Despite how quick he always was, he'd been the one who had said it. You can't watch your back when you can't see straight.

He nodded, swallowing hard before straightening. "I know."

I wanted to ask him why he did, but I knew that I couldn't. It had been a long, messy night and I didn't want him angry again.

"I won't judge you if you throw up in a bush." I teased again, pressing my palm against his cheek. It was damp with sweat and it made me worry. What if he was getting sick?