Ashley tried to speak to her brother but she didn't know where to start but she spoke anyway.
"You should go to bed, brother. It's enough for one night. I— uh —checked her. No harm done. He was just.... drunk."
Alejandro didn't move. He didn't. Didn't even blink. He didn't seem to hear Ashley speak at all.
Fine?
What the fuck did fine mean when Bree has been lying there—vulnerable, disoriented, drunk and wide open to whatever predator would have wanted to take from her.
His body quivered slightly with uncontrollably anger and he tightened and buried his face in his hands. The blinding fury that crawled through his chest was a consuming flood.
He really wanted to smash something.
Ashley wasn't meant to be nice to him but she was because she was pitying him.
Of course, she would.
Who wouldn't pity someone who was well known as the badguy. He never let go of his composure, he was always not reacting but he had. Tonight.
All because she'd gone outside and that bastard....
Alejandro fumed and buried his face into his hands, the scene with Tobe flashing into his mind again.
He shouldn't have let him go this time.
He should've punched him to the death.
He should have just killed him and gotten it over with.
He'd hated the whole truth of the matter. That it was no other person but Tobe who had been with the girls.
And yes, that other stranger.
"To God, you'll actually have to talk some sense into this girl's head. She's so dumb she couldn't go to bed."
He glared at the wall.
He could feel Ashley still standing there, awkward and unsure about what to do and he managed to ground words from between his teeth.
"You can leave."
"Oh.... Ok.... Goodnight."
Silence.
A hand squeezed his shoulder kindly and Alejandro bit his lips.
Ashley left.
Alejandro let out a long sigh and watched Bree from behind his hands.
Something was whirling in his mind and he didn't like it. So, he got his feet and left the room.
★★★ ★★★
It was morning time and Bree stirred. The first thing she knew she needed to do was buck off the bed, stretch her back and pray but she stopped instantly because her eyes seemed to have clamped shut with glue and some strange pain shot up her spine like a spear.
Somehow she knew it was morning. And somehow, she began to feel like her heart was beating in her head.
She tried to test her voice but it seemed she couldn't talk.
Her limbs felt heavy and she had to stop in everything she was doing or rouse something worse.
She began to hold herself down.
Bree curled in on herself, hugging her arms tight like they were her safety net.
"Are you sure you can see?" Her head whispered and she abruptly panicked and decided to test the waters.
She tried and slowly, she managed to open her eyes and notice she was in a strange room.
She went back to memory.
The party.
Throb-throb, her head banged.
And then, they began to fall in.
The party.
The new friend.
The guy.
This was Alejandro's house.
"Oh my God."
★★★
★★★
"Ashley?" Bree suddenly called and Ashley whipped around shocked.
Bree's eyes were very red and she looked like she'd swallowed a plate.
"Hey, girl. Good morning."
"Did you call me?"
"Uh.... No? "
"You heard me call you?"
"Yes. I was also surprised seeing you're far from the room. Haha. But, it's usual."
"Yeah. Yeah. You don't feel any headache?"
"No, but I did. So.... What happened to me last night? I made a friend and we drank and I guess...."
Something struck Bree and she paused.
It crossed her expression. Something negative. And it made her shrink and look down.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah." Bree replied and shrugged.
"Hey...." Ashley called, her voice toned with understanding. "I know it's bad. What he did.... But, I really...."
"Nah." Bree laughed. "You shouldn't. Alejandro is the badguy here. He should be the one apologizing."
The door came open and Bree turned.
The room went silent.
Bree managed to step out of the way incase Alejandro wanted to come in but he remained where he was staring daggers at her.
"Alejandro." Ashley began but that helped him interrupt.
And what he said made Bree's heart tug with a slight ache of shock.
"Meet me at the sitting room."
★★★ ★★★
Her feet felt like they were walking ahead of her.
She didn't know why his words tugged at her like that. Like a string around her ribs pulling tighter with each step.
Maybe it was the way he didn't blink when he said it. Or maybe it was the fact that she hadn't looked into his eyes since so many days. Many days since she saw something there that wasn't just rage.
It was personal.
And Bree didn't want to admit it but... she remembered now.
Bits and pieces.
Of Tobe.
Of Alejandro's voice, distant but angry.
Tobe retching and vomiting.
Of hands pulling her away, grounding her.
Of safety.
And the girls who had talked about his affairs after he'd neglected her in her stupid high hopes.
When she got to the sitting room, he was there already.
Standing. Back to the window. Hands in his pockets. Head low. Shoulders squared tight.
He didn't look like someone about to yell. He looked like someone who had already done enough yelling — at the world, at everything.
But still, he wasn't smiling either. That counted too.
Then he looked at her.
Bree clenched her teeth and looked down.
"Why did you drink? Weren't you meant to be asleep?"
No reply.
No repetition.
Just silence.
Then a command.
"Sit."
It was a sharp word. Urgent and sudden.
Brielle refused to raise her eyes but she went to sit.
"You had the bedroom key with you and you chose to go out there and be careless. Why?"
And Bree replied him.
It came as a shock to her too. She could see it reflect on Alejandro's face.
"You shouldn't be concerned."