24 24 | Just Don't Leave

____ 𝐒𝐄𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐍

"Dude? Did you listen to a word I said?" He snapped his fingers in front of my face.

"Nope."

"I was asking when I'd meet your wife," he said.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"I'm joking. But seriously, how are you and your father doing?"

"Nothing changed. In fact, he's gotten worse over the years. He's become an alcoholic especially now that he and mom are divorced." I chugged down the mojito cocktail given to me.

"Wait, your parents are divorced?" He choked on his drink.

"Yeah. For eight years now," I answered nonchalantly. My parents divorced after years and years of arguments and I was the root of all of it. Maybe if I hadn't come into this world, they'd still be together. I know how much they love each other. 

"Shit! What? I've been living under a rock then!" he exclaimed.

I laughed. We continued drinking and chatting after that. Amarra and Lancelot are the only ones that know my only secrets. Even the darkest one.

__________❇__________

I went back to the house after a few more drinks with Lance. It's a quarter after two when I pulled up in the driveway. I stayed inside for a few minutes before going inside the house. Lights turned on upon my first step. Adrianne came walking down the face with a frown plastered on her face.

"Where were you? Do you know what time it is? I've been waiting for you since you left," she said, her voice groggy.

"Adrianne, go back to sleep–"

"Oh sure. Don't answer me." 

"Be quiet, please," I said, firmly, feeling my head throb. I may or may not have had one too many drinks with Lance. 

"Let me make a wild guess. You were with Amarra." She scowled at me.

"See? You already knew, why were you asking me?" I asked. "Wait– how did you know about that?"

"Because I wanted to know if you would be honest with me," she said, a flicker of hurt flashed across her face. "There was a picture taken by the beach and she was holding you– what was happening?" 

"Adrianne, I'm tired. I don't have time for your drama," I said to her.

"No. No rest for you. What? You leave without explaining anything to me and then I find out that you're with Amarra–"

"I thought we made it clear that we wouldn't give a single damn about each other?" I interjected.

She scoffed. "You know what? I can't handle this. I feel like a fool." She went back up the stairs.

"What are you doing?" I called out to her.

She came back down dragging one of her bags with her. "You have the house all to yourself. Enjoy."

I felt my heartbeat stop for a split second. 

Please don't leave, a small voice in my mind echoed. 

No. I can't. As much as I hated to admit it, I didn't want her to leave. I don't want to be alone. I can't bear another week of being alone.  

She passed by me and went out. She was grabbing her keys from her pockets when I ran out. She was going to open her car door when I wrapped my arms around her waist, resting my head on hers. "Please don't go." She stopped what she was doing. 

She snorted. "What? After you made me look like a fool waiting for you all day? Or maybe the fact that people now assume that I'm fine with you being in another relationship and that's with Amarra? Or maybe after you didn't give me a single explanation?" I stayed silent and hid my face in her neck. She groaned. "Let me go, Sebastian."

"No– I'm sorry. For everything." I shook my head and hugged her tighter. "I'm sorry for telling you to starve to death. I'm sorry for calling you a bitch– I'm sorry for everything I said. Just don't leave, please."

She sighed before saying. "Let me go, Sebastian." 

I still didn't let her go. I couldn't. What if she still leaves? What if she leaves and doesn't come back? What if she eternally hates me now?

"Let me go, Sebastian," she said, softly.

"But you're going to leave," I said quietly. 

"No, I'm not," she said. "Let go of me so I can look at you." I let her go and looked down at the floor."Apology accepted. And I'm sorry too."

I looked up at her with wide eyes. "So you're not leaving anymore?"

She nodded. "I may have overreacted and I'm sorry for that too."

I smiled as I picked up her bags on the floor and took her hand, heading inside. I returned her bags to our room and she laid down on the bed after fixing the line of pillows that separated us.

"I also ate your breakfast burrito. That's too bad, they were delicious," she teased.

I chuckled. "Maybe tomorrow? Maybe we could also put our clothes in the walk-in-closet. Maybe we could also finally go shopping for furniture," I suggested.

Her eyes lit up and her lips curled into a smile. "Yes! Yes, okay! Let's do that tomorrow!" she exclaimed. "Go to sleep! We have a big day tomorrow."

I smiled at the sight of her getting excited and pulling up the comforter before surrendering herself to sleep. But I wasn't sure if I was ready for more pain. I'm not sure if I want to open my heart for her.