“I wish… I wish…”

“Don’t you dare say it!”

His mouth fell closed. He stared, throat bobbing, I took a step back.

“Don’t soften the blow, don’t pretend that any of this mattered to you.” I turned and opened the fridge pulling out a bottle of wine then bustling through the drawers for a bottle opener.

“Sera can we please just-“

“NO!”

The drawer slammed shut and I pulled a glass from the hanging rack pouring wine with shaky hands.

Filling the glass I set it down ignoring the extra little pools now laying on the counter. The wine was cold but burned going down. I was refilling the glass only seconds later and I turned to look at him.

“You should go.”

“Sera…”

“Go.”

He sighed and grabbed his keys, I barely moved a muscle until the apartment door clicked shut behind him. I then downed the second glass and waited. When I still felt sad, I refilled one more time. After downing that third glass, the rage settled in. My bedroom door was open and I remember wanting to just set it on fire. I walked inside slowly turning in a circle in the center of the room. Everything was exactly where it had been last night when he’d seduced me. He had taken me to bed knowing he would come back and I had swallowed every bit of it without thinking twice.

What happened next is hazy. There was crying and screaming along with ripping things off the walls, breaking or trashing anything he’d given me, and piling anything he’d touched or commented on into my closet by the end I was in a pair of sleep shorts and a tank top with my hair up in a bun that looked like a crows nest sitting at the foot of the bed on the floor with the bottle of remaining wine in my hand. I probably looked like a psychopath sitting in the middle of a room that looked like it’s been hit with a controlled and concentrated tornado. I was downing the last of the bottle when the apartment door opened and closed.

“Hey… why’s there wine on the counter?”

Dorian. I had no patience for my roommate right now. The room was spinning enough that I couldn’t easily get up if I wanted to.

“Just leave it. I’ll get it later.”

He stepped into my doorway, eyes widening as he took in the carnage. His gaze focused on me.

“What the fuck happened.”

If I wasn’t drunk I would have though he was concerned.

“Nothing.”

“Doesn’t look like nothing.”

He walked to my side and leaned down taking the bottle out of my hands.

“Was this full?”

“Yes.”

Squatting down, he set the bottle aside.

“So what happened?”

“I told you, nothing.”

He waited, staring with more intensity than usual.

“What the fuck do you want to hear?” I began pushing myself up trying to find enough balance to stand.

“You were right about him being a douchebag. You were right, I’m an idiot. Happy?!”

His arm wrapped around my waist pulling me up. I shoved at him but he held on pinning me against his chest.

“I’ve never called you an idiot, but he’s one for bailing.”

He let go and moved to the bed grabbing my pillow.

“Come on.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not sleeping in here.”

“I’m not sleeping with you!”

“I’ll sleep on the couch or the floor, but you’re not sleeping in this wreckage.”

I grumbled taking my pillow and walking across the hall into his room. It was dark and brooding, a total cliche, but it was clean and smelled like some sort of woodsy cologne. He pulled his pillow from the bed and tossed it on the floor before pulling a couple blankets from his closet and laying them out.

“I can sleep in my own room…”

All he did was frown and I bit my lip crawling under his dark gray covers and getting comfortable. He stepped out and came back with a glass of water and a trash can setting both next to me.

“I’m gonna change. Drink all of this water and I’ll get you more in a minute.”

“I don’t want water…”

He ignored me walking towards his bathroom. I sat up taking the water in my hands. It was cool in my heated palms and I noticed the cuts from ripping posters down and the small bruises from smashing my room to bits. Drinking some I waited for the sadness to sink back in but nothing happened. All I felt was hollow and exhausted. I continued sipping at the water until Dorian came out. He’d showered and put on a pair of sweats but now shirt. I nearly choked.

“Finish the rest and gimme the glass.”

“You know just cause you were right doesn’t mean you get to boss me around.”

Again he just waited and I sighed finishing the glass and letting him take it. He went and refilled it setting it on the side table before settling down on the floor in his makeshift bed.

“Why aren’t you being an ass?”

“I’ve never been the ass. You were dating the ass and I didn’t like him.”

“Still, why aren’t you gloating?”

“Do you want me to gloat?”

I wasn’t sure what I wanted. He had been grumpy and rude ever since I moved in, but now that I thought about it, Aaron had always been around.

“You can sleep up here… just keep your hands to yourself.”

“Do you want me up there?”

Saying no would be a lie, but I couldn’t say yes. I was grateful when he responded to my silence by getting up with his pillow and sliding under the covers.

We stayed that way for a while with our backs to each other. I waited for his breathing to even out, but could feel him next to me just as awake as I was. I closed my eyes feeling the heat roll off of him and fell asleep thinking about his hands on my skin.