500 Days (41 page)

I shifted in my seat.
“What the hell are you talking about? I’m
not
in love with anyone. Where did
you come up with this shit?”

“
Colton told
me.”

Son of a bitch.

“
Colton’s a pussy whipped
little bitch. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

“
What was her name? It
began with an A. Alice, Ally, Alex? Alex, that’s it. It’s Alex.
She’s Declan’s cousin and roommate.”

“
Remind me to kill Colton
when I get home,
after
I drop you off. And we’re not talking about Alex.”

“
Why not?” she
pestered.

“
Because it’s none of your
fucking business,” I snapped.

“
Chillax, don’t get your
panties in a bunch,” she pouted, upset with my outburst. I didn’t
care. I was not in the mood to deal with her. I put the car in
drive and we drove the rest of the way in silence. I pulled up to
the house and warned her if I ever caught her trying this again she
wouldn’t live to see the light of day. She flipped me off and
slammed the door, stomping up to the house.

I went back to the apartment instead of the
Frat house to bitch out Colton. “What’s up dude?” Greyson greeted
from the couch.

“
Where’s Colt?”

“
In his room with
Declan.”

I stomped down the hall and pounded on
Colton’s door. I hit and kicked it until he opened it. “What the
fuck is your prob’ –” His expression said he thought I was Greyson
being a douche. He was wearing only sweatpants and from the looks
of the crumpled up sheets and Declan’s oversized shirt I must have
interrupted something. “Cas, what the hell?” I barged past Colton
and started pacing back and forth.

“
You told my sister,” I
growled, stopping, and marching right over to him. I punched him in
the shoulder.

“
What was that for?” he
whined, rubbing his shoulder.

“
For telling CiCi about
Alex.” Colton couldn’t hide the smile from his face, clearly happy
that he opened his big fat mouth to the gossip queen. I raised my
arm to punch him again. He flinched.

“
When did you see CiCi?”
he asked confused, knowing I wouldn’t voluntarily go to my dad’s,
alone.

I laughed humorlessly. “She was at a
bar.”

“
What, what bar?” he
growled, just as angry as I was when I found her. “How did you find
her?”

I ran my fingers through my hair, reminding
myself I would need a haircut soon. “I was following Reece out when
I spotted her.”

“
Back up there,” Declan
got off the bed. “You were following Reece?”

Shit. I scrubbed a hand down my face. I
wasn’t going to be able to get myself out of this one. “He was
there with some chick and I just wanted to make sure he
wasn’t…doing anything he shouldn’t be.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “You guys always
overreact. I’m sure it was just some friend or classmate he
knew.”

“
He left the bar with
her,” I said, lips tight.

“
Did you see them leave
together?”

“
Yes…No,” I frowned. “I
was too busy with CiCi.”

“
He was probably doing the
gentlemanly thing and making sure she got to her car
okay.”

“
And you’re an idiot. This
is why you girls make it so easy for guys to cheat on you. Because
you’re too dumb and naïve to see what’s right in front of
you.”

Declan stood up fast and got in my face, not
caring she was just wearing a t-shirt. “You,” she stabbed a sharp
nail into my chest. “Are the biggest jackass. How dare you speak to
me like that? It’s not my fault you were too much of a pussy to
admit your feelings to Alex. She’s moved on. I think it’s time you
did too.” Declan grabbed a pair of jeans off the floor and slipped
them over her slender legs. “I’ll call you later,” she told Colton,
giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“
No, don’t go because
Casper’s a dick,” Colton said, shooting daggers at me with his
eyes.

“
I have stuff to do,” she
said, walking out and glaring at me.

Something clicked in the middle of their
banter. “Wait, what did you mean she moved on too?” Declan ignored
me and kept walking. I chased after her but Colton stopped me,
shoving me into the wall.

“
Back off,” he
growled.

“
What the fuck is your
problem?”

“
I’m not the one with the
problem, you are.” I tried to leave, not in the mood. Colton
grabbed a handful of my shirt and slammed my back up against the
wall. “If you ever talk to my girlfriend like that again, so help
me god I will beat the living shit out of you.” I shoved him off of
me and left, fuming. I hopped in my car and drove. I had no
particular destination in mind. I just drove. I drove in circles,
not realizing where I was really going until I pulled into the
parking lot. The neon sign reflected off the hood of my car. The
word Demons shining brighter than the rest. I turned off the engine
and climbed out. I greeted the bouncer with a nod and took my
normal seat at the bar.

“
Hey, stranger.” I looked
up at the sweet yet vile voice. “Oh, or should I say good evening,
Petruchio?”

“
Crown, on the rocks, and
keep it coming.”

“
Cas, I’m not in the mood
to feed your ever destructive behavior. So how about you just save
me the time and tell me what’s going on?”

“
I believe I asked you for
a drink, not a therapy session.”

“
Someone’s in a sour
mood.”

“
And you’re not helping.”
Alex walked away, hopefully to get my drink. She returned with the
glass and slid it across the bar to me.

“
You visit the clinic and
find out one of your skanks gave you chlamydia?” she smiled,
thinking she was funny. Any other day I would give it right back to
her, but today was not a good day. I picked up my glass, holding it
before my lips and watching her with heavy eyes. I slammed the
drink back and pushed the glass in her direction. “No,” she said.
“You want to get sloshed. Do it on your own time. I’m not going to
be your enabler.”

“
Just do your job and pour
the damn drink.” Alex stood up straight, narrowing her eyes at me.
Then she walked away from me.

“
What can I get ya,
sweetheart?” asked another bartender.

I peeled my eyes away from the retreating
Alex and gave the brown eyed beauty in front of me a half smile.
“Crown and make it a double.” She gave me a shy smile in return and
refilled my glass.

It was only an hour before the bar started
to pack with bodies, but with the tension between me and Alex and
the argument I had earlier with Declan and Colton, it just fueled
the fire. I was bordering a fine line of drowning my sorrows and
suppressing my anger.

I knew the bassist in the band that was
playing tonight. He invited me backstage to hang. I debated about
joining him. I knew he liked to party, a little more than I did. I
fought the good and bad that was boiling in my chest. I downed my
drink and said fuck it, joining Johnny in the back.

The door opened and I was greeted with a
cloud of smoke. Once my vision cleared, I rubbed my eyes, thinking
I stepped into another world. There was a topless girl in the
corner grinding on one of the other band members and to my left was
another girl in just a shirt and thong giving the drummer a lap
dance. Everywhere I looked was a half-naked chick or some type of
illegal activity going on. This wasn’t my type of scene. I rubbed
the back of my neck. I shouldn’t be here. “Come on man, have a
seat,” Johnny gestured. I never pictured Gus to be a guy to be okay
with this. The only way they were getting away with this was
because he didn’t know. The bouncer at the door confirmed it when I
saw Johnny pay him off.

A thick, brunette, slid her arm over my
shoulder. I stepped away. “No, thanks, you’re not my type.”

“
Come on baby, I’ll show
how much better it is with a bigger girl.”

“
It’s not your fat ass
that’s the problem.” I twirled a piece of her dingy, over dyed hair
between my fingers. “I’m just not into brunettes.” She slapped my
hand away and gave me a nasty look before she walked over to her
next victim.

“
That was brutal man,”
Johnny laughed, throwing an arm over my shoulder and pulling me
over to one of the couches. I took a seat and accepted the drink
that was handed to me. Johnny apparently wanted to take the party
to a new level. He dumped some powder on the table and cut a line.
He handed me a rolled up bill.

“
No thanks, I’m good.” I
wasn’t into that sort of thing, but clearly Johnny was. I didn’t
judge, but I wasn’t going to get dragged down either by the
temptation. I finished my drink and headed back out to the front. I
enjoyed a good party, but this was a little too much for my taste.
I thanked Johnny for the beer and told him I’d catch up with him
later. I took a seat at the bar. Alex glared at me as she passed,
indicating she was still pissed at me. I didn’t care at this point.
Maybe having her hate me again would make it easier.

A few girls approached me during the night.
I tried to give them the attention they wanted, but Alex was making
it hard with the way she was staring at me. The band was beginning
to play their final set. I ordered another drink and a round of
shots for my new lady friends. Then I wrapped my arms around the
two closest girls and escorted them to the front of the stage. The
band started to play and all I wanted to do right now was get lost.
I closed my eyes and let myself get pulled in by the music. My new
friends joined in by grinding up on me and groping my chest and
back. I let them, relishing the feel of their hands on my body. By
the time the band’s set was over I was covered in sweat and ready
to get a party started with these lovely ladies.

I ordered another round for my guests. My
order was intercepted by the green eyed devil. “I think you had
enough, Casper.”

“
And I think you should
mind your own business.” She stomped off, but not before giving me
the look of death. Oh how I missed that sharp gaze. I was sick and
needed some serious help.

I tried again to order some more drinks.
Unfortunately, Alex had made it known that she flagged me and I and
my guest were not to be served. I even attempted to get Gus to
overrule her call, but he said he agreed and I should go home and
sleep it off. I planned to do neither. Instead I rejoined Johnny in
the back to continue the party. The four girls who had been
attached to my side followed me back and were welcomed with open
arms. I found a bottle of tequila and helped myself.

It was just half past
closing time and a few of the workers had come back to start
cleaning and kick us out. Amongst one of those workers was Alex. I
watched as she tossed empty bottles into the trash can. Between
each throw she would glance at me and every bottle would clank a
little louder as she tossed them in. Glutton
for punishment, I got up and made my way over to her. “What
do you want?” she snapped.

I leaned against one of the tables and gave
her a half-cocked smile. She stopped cleaning. Hands on hips she
took a step closer making my heart beat double time. “Why don’t you
just go back to entertaining your whores instead of bothering
me?”

“
Because this is more
fun,” I smirked.

One of my groupies came over, slipping an
arm around my waist. “You ready?” she asked, feeding me a come
hither smile.

“
Back off, skank,” Alex
said, getting in her face. I couldn’t help but be slightly amused.
“The only place you’re going is home with the band of whores you
brought with you.” I laughed, getting a look from the blonde. I
shrugged my shoulders when she glared at me.

“
And who the hell are
you?” The blonde crossed her arms in a defensive pose.

“
I’m the bitch who’s going
to kick your ass if you and your STD infested friends don’t take
your ugly asses out of here.”

The blonde took a step forward, ready to
start an unnecessary fight. As much as I would enjoy a good girl
fight especially with Alex in the mix, I knew I had to stop this
before it started. “Now ladies, no need to get hostile,” I said,
stepping in between them. “I think we all remember how to share.” I
threw my arms over both of them, smiling. Alex shoved me away and
then went after the blonde, shoving her so hard she almost fell.
The blonde came at Alex and then all hell broke loose.

“
A little help here!?!” I
called, trying to keep the girls from killing each other. I kept my
back to Alex while I held the blonde at arm’s length. Alex punched
me in the kidney. I flinched, dropping my arms and giving Alex an
opening to the blonde. Thankfully, one of the bouncer’s was already
charging forward to stop the fight. He grabbed the blonde and
pulled her away before Alex even had the chance to get a swing in.
Pissed off for the kidney shot, I placed my arm around Alex’s waist
and dragged her out of there. She struggled to get free.

“
Let me go you asshole!” I
put her down. She placed both hands on my chest and shoved as hard
as she could. My back hit the wall. I was beyond pissed.

“
What the hell is your
problem?”

“
You! You are my problem!
I’m tired of having to save your ass from doing something stupid,”
she yelled.