Bastian's Storm (Surviving Raine 2)

The dizziness of overindulgence wrapped itself around my head. My nose was stuffed up, and I couldn’t breathe properly. A moment later, my stomach joined the party.

Fuck.

“Gonna be sick,” I muttered as I pushed away from her. I blundered my way into the bathroom just in time to fall against the toilet and start puking. My stomach heaved and my hands shook. My back arched as my body tried to eliminate all the shit I had put into it. I could hardly hold myself up when I was done, but Raine was right there with her hand on my shoulder, offering me a glass of water.

I rinsed my mouth and spat into the toilet before reaching up to flush it.

“What the hell happened with the toothpaste?” Raine mumbled quietly.

I glanced up to see her picking my toothbrush off of the floor and wiping the paste out of the sink. She carefully distributed a little onto the brush and knelt beside me.

“Do you think you’re done?” she asked.

I thought about it for a second before nodding.

“Do you need help with this?” She held up the brush, and I shook my head. “I’ll be in the bedroom when you’re finished.”

My head was a little clearer as I leaned against the sink and cleaned myself up. I brushed my teeth, splashed water all over my face, and looked at myself in the mirror. My normally blue eyes looked almost purple with all the bloodshot lines running through them. I was pale, and my hair was a mess. I tried to calm it with my fingers before I put everything away as best I could and headed to the bedroom.

I looked at Raine where she sat up on her side of the bed. She had the blankets pulled back on my side, so I crawled in beside her, reaching out tentatively. I was relieved and a little surprised when she accepted my embrace and pulled me close to her.

“What happened, Bastian?”

“I ordered a drink,” I whispered.

“Where?”

“Bar Crudo.”

“The place down the block?”

“Yes,” I said. “I go there every day.”

“You go to that bar every day?”

I nodded.

“And…and what?” her voice broke. “You usually just sober up before I get home?”

“No!” I looked up to her, pleading. “I never have before—I swear. I’m there every day, but I never order anything. This was the first time. Please believe me, Raine—this was the only time. I didn’t mean to…it just…it just happened.”

Raine’s lips mashed together as she stared at me.

“I don’t know if I should believe you or not,” she said.

“I swear,” I repeated. “I never drank anything there or at that other place.”

“What other place?”

Shit.

I really wasn’t handling this well. I was just sober enough after puking to know how much worse I was making it.

“There was one other bar I went to,” I admitted. “That night I got pissed and left you with Lindsay and Nick.”

“That’s why you were gone so long,” she surmised.

“Yeah,” I admitted, “but I didn’t drink anything, not a drop.”