21

B I L L I O N A I R E  I N  L I Q U O R

SOMETHING WAS WRONG. I don't know what is going on. Auden seemed different today. He was too quiet, too soft-spoken and very inactive. He was always moving around, doing stuff and teasing me. But, he just seemed distant today. I tried cracking some lame jokes. I tried talking about funny and random stuff but he would just smile. And it is not a real smile. I tried to bring him out of the house but after a few minutes, he isolated himself from me.

He didn't eat well and I was getting more and more worried. I had no idea what to do. I tried asking him what was wrong, but he just shook his head, gave me a small smile and kissed my forehead. It hurt my heart to see him this way. I know he was trying to be indifferent about whatever he is feeling but I can see right through it. And he knows it.

We watched some lame reality show on T.V and a few more shows before eating our lunch. He mentioned that he was going to take a nap and disappeared into his room. I was currently lying on the sofa, watching some cartoon show. I could feel myself getting drowsier by the minute.

It has been a few hours since he disappeared into his room. I controlled the heavy urge to just burst into his room and demand the answer from him. My mind circled with thoughts of why he is being this way. Is it because of his mother? Did something happen? Did I do something? Is he feeling guilty about something?

I needed to know. I wanted to help.

Bang. Crack. Groan.

The loud sound of something hitting the floor made me rise from my position. It sounded like glass and I was sure the groan after that was from Auden. My head whipped around to look at the time. It was 6 pm.

It's evening already?

Another sound came from his room and I quickly stood from the sofa. Turning the T.V off, I made my way over to the corridor that leads to his room. Another loud groan came from the other side and it sounded like a howl of pain that my heart clenched with worry.

Opening the door at lightning speed, I came face to face with a very messy dishevelled Auden standing in the middle of the room with a broken beer bottle in one hand. The edges of the broken bottle seemed very sharp and I was afraid that he had hurt himself. The entire room was scattered with beer bottles and broken glasses. There were photos scattered here and there. Newspaper articles were torn to pieces and there was a broken vase in the corner. My eyes teared up in worry as I looked at how messy he was. It was only later that I noticed the small amount of red liquid pooling near his feet. Droplets of thick red blood were dripping from his hand and falling onto the maroon carpet, making it look darker.

My mind swirled as I looked at that sight and I rushed towards him. I grabbed his hand slowly. There was a deep slash right in the middle of his palm and I gasped. Quickly grabbing the white shirt hanging on the chair, I tore off a piece of small material and wrapped the cloth around his palm, controlling myself not to cry as I did so. My hands trembled with worry as I moved the cloth around. He hissed in pain as I wrapped the cloth around firmly. The thought of something hurting Auden made my insides fill with anxiety. I wanted nothing but to see him happy. I hated the fact that he was doing this to himself.

Why he is doing this to himself? Why won't he tell me? I didn't like seeing him hurt at all. Not one bit. After making sure that the bleeding had stopped a little, I looked up to meet his face. His eyes were closed and he was struggling to stand. They were puffy and there was red around his eyes. I cupped his cheek, lifting his head to look at me.

"Auden?" My voice cracked at the end as I tried to control a threatening sob. He opened his eyes with a little difficulty and I helped him stand firmly. He looked up at me and I gasped as I saw how red they were.

He had been crying.

Why? What is wrong? What happened?

"Auden..." I stroked his cheek softly and he narrowed his eyes at me. His cheeks were wet and sticky with dry tears and alcohol. He looked extremely tired and drunk out of his mind.

"W-what?" His voice sounded low and raspy like a rusty knife. He craned his neck as he started moving away from me.

"Auden. Please tell me what is going on." I pulled him back towards me. My voice sounded weak and there was a big lump stuck in my throat, making me want to cry.

"W-who are y-you?" He grumbled and my eyes widened at his question. He doesn't recognize me? Oh my god, he is drunk out of his mind.

"Shit." I cursed under my breath and grabbed his wrist to pull him out of the house. An idea popped up in my mind and I am doing it. I noticed a small stain of blood on the corner of his shirt. I cursed again before reaching towards the hem of his stained shirt. I tried to pull the shirt over him but his hands fell on my shoulders and he pushed me away. I frowned in confusion.

"Hey, b-back off." He slurred his words. "Only Kitkat can d-do that." He said and I realised that he was talking about me.

Did he think that I was removing his shirt because I wanted to sleep with him? My heart warmed at what he said and I tried to control my smile as I looked at him. I remained silent before asking him to wear a jacket over himself. Grabbing all the necessary items, I walked him out of the house carefully and slowly. We reached the parking lot and I threw him into the car as he kept grumbling under his breath.

Halfway through the journey, he had slept and I was thankful for it. Once we reached the park, I left him in the car before asking Johnny for his help to reach the beach house. He politely agreed and started getting the ship ready. Meanwhile, I woke Auden up and made him walk over to the small cruise ship.

The journey to the beach house felt long and I tried to treat Auden's wound in his palm. "Ow!" Auden shouted in pain.

"I'm sorry," I said sincerely, before wiping all the blood away from his hand. Applying some medication, I wrapped the dressing around his palm carefully. "Auden, eat this." I passed a drug towards him and he shook his head 'no'.

"No drugs." He said, shaking his head so wildly. "I'm already addicted to Kitkat."

I pursed my lips, trying to calm my speeding heart down at his sentence. It was sweet but it was not the right time for it. It did however calm my nerves down and I smiled before grabbing a glass of water and making him swallow the tablet. Auden slept again and using that as an advantage, I took off his jacket and his shirt before changing them to a loose t-shirt. I wiped his face with wet tissue to get rid of all the stickiness. I checked his palm to make sure that the bleeding had stopped.

It was getting dark and we reached the beach house. Thanking Johnny for his help, I watched the small ship float away as I sat beside a sleeping Auden on the bed. Turning over to face him, I laid down beside him on the soft comfortable bed on the porch.

The wind was calm and comforting. The sound of the waves crashing each other set my mind at ease. Inching closer towards Auden, I laid my head over his shoulder before closing my eyes. This proximity between us would have made him very happy. He would have smiled. No, scratch that. He would have grinned like a Cheshire cat. He would have said something sweet if he was awake right now.

"I like you, Auden," I muttered under my breath softly and smiled, wishing that he could hear it. The steady throb of his heart made me calm and I felt like I wanted to lay there forever. "More than I thought I would," I said the same words he had said to me the other time we were here. I reached up and laid my lips on his forehead. I pulled away and laid back on his shoulder, waiting for him to wake up and tell those words back to me.

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Auden. 😢

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