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H E A T H

I popped my head out of the kitchen at the sound of a light thumping that I thought was the door. But I wasn't one hundred percent sure. Sarah and Alex were snuggled on the couch, giggling and kissing and not watching the movie that was on the television. Teenagers were still up to the same tricks.

"Was that you?" I asked.

Sarah peered over the back of the sofa, frowning. "Yeah we're just out here having a smash on the couch, Heath. No. It was the door dumbass."

"Oh okay. I'll get it. Stay where you are."

"Wasn't planning on getting up."

I rolled my eyes with amusement and wondered who was stopping in at eleven at night. As soon as I pulled the door open, Leonie, who must have been leaning against it, fell inside and landed on her back in a heap.

"What in the hell," I knelt down, her hair was spread around her head and she was giggling so hard that she couldn't seem to catch her breath. "Leonie, what the fuck?"

"Ooh someone's ripped," Sarah sang. I looked at her and Alex as I hauled Leonie to her feet.

"Hi," she slurred, waving at Sarah and Alex. Alex waved back with a wince.

"She was throwing them back at Jade's. I would have brought her with me if I thought she'd end up here."

Leonie ripped herself from my arms and stumbled towards the corridor, tripping over her own two feet as she went, shouting about needing to piss. I'd seen more coordination from a toddler fresh up from a nap.

I ran a hand across my face and looked outside to make sure that her car wasn't here. It wasn't. But I hadn't heard a cab drop her off either.

I stood outside of the bathroom, leaning on the wall while I waited for her. Her slurred singing echoed behind the door and I wanted to be amused but I had a strong suspicion that she'd walked here and if she had, I'd be pissed.

The toilet flushed, the faucet turned on and I could hear her chatting to herself. "What a mess," she giggled. "Get it together. Get. It. Together."

I couldn't help it. A snort of amusement escaped but as she swung the door open, her droopy eyes and fumbled movements reminded me that she was sunk and I felt frustrated again. She fell into my chest and stared up at me, half lidded and unfocused.

"You look so hot," she giggled and slid her hands under my top. "Want to bend me over your desk?"

"Uh," Sarah sounded offended. "We can hear you."

Leonie leaned off me and tripped her way back into the living room. She climbed across the couch and stretched out on Alex and Sarah, flailing about while she tried to get comfortable. Sarah thought it was hilarious and Alex was the definition of 'not my business' as he stared at the movie.

"Sarah would make the prettiest bride," she twirled a strand of Sarah's hair around her finger. "She wants to get married, Alex. Make her dream come true."

Sarah turned bright red and slapped her across the forehead. Alex was still minding his business.

I stood at the head of the couch and offered Leonie my hand so that I could hoist her up and let my little sister have some peace without all of her secrets being revealed. She ignored me though and started laughing at who knows what.

"You know who would make a pretty girlfriend," Sarah stared down at Leonie who wore a relaxed smile but she'd become visibly rigid. "You Leonie. You'd make the prettiest girlfriend."

"Bitch I will snatch that wig."

Sarah giggled as Leonie playfully tugged on her hair. All the while Alex was either thoroughly immersed in this show, or he was the embodiment of unbothered.

My guess was it was the latter.

"Alright tubs," Sarah teased. "Get off me."

Leonie tried to get up but instead of letting her stick her arms and elbows into Sarah's leg, I gripped her around the wrist, pulled her up and dragged her into my bedroom.

She let out a harsh gasp as I pushed her onto the mattress and pinned her down. The stench of alcohol coming off her might have been enough to get me drunk. "Did you walk here?" I asked and watched her cheeks turn pink.

"It's not that far."

"Leonie," I growled. "What the hell were you thinking? It's dangerous round here at night."

"It just happened! I started thinking about you and the next thing I know, my feet were moving and here I am. It's not my fault."

I moved away from her and sat on the edge of the bed, running my hands up and down my face. Picturing her barely able to walk, stumbling her ass here in the middle of the night made my stomach turn.

"You should have called me," I said, peering over my shoulder. She was still sprawled out, staring at the ceiling. "I would have come to you. Or you could have called a cab. Leonie, don't walk. Don't ever walk alone at night."

She sat up and her frame swayed from side to side. "I don't know where my phone is. I can't find it. I think it's been stolen."

"Really?"

She nodded and it almost sent her off the edge of the bed. "Can we use your phone to call it? Just in case someone found it. Or the thief answers."

I shook my head with a light laugh but stood up and picked my phone up from the side table. Leonie stared up at me as I found her contact in my text messages and hit call. If she wasn't so drunk, I'd think that she was giving me those seductive eyes. But it was hard to tell at this point. I put the phone on speaker and waited.

"Hello?!" Jess answered. Leonie stood on the mattress and leaned on my shoulder with a harsh scowl.

"Who is this?! Why do you have my phone?"

"It's Jess," she screamed back. I sighed. If the neighbours were sleeping, they weren't anymore. "Where the fuck are you?! We've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Oh," Leonie laughed. I managed to stand in front of her just before she slipped off the bed and landed in a heap on the floor. My arm went around her waist. "I'm at Heath's. Why do you have my phone?"

"You told me to hold it!"

"Oh."

"How did you get to Heath's? Did you walk?"
I heard Bray in the background. "Is that her? Where the fuck is she?!"

"She's at Heath's."

"Did she walk?"

"I dunno. Hang on. Leonie?" Jess shouted. "Did you walk?"

"I have to go. Love you."

Leonie tapped the end call button and smiled as she gripped my shoulders so that she could keep upright. She had a smile that was full of devious intent but somehow, she managed to look breathtakingly beautiful. In a drunk sort of sense. I dropped my phone again and held onto her waist. She was still standing on the bed and I looked up at her, glad that she'd made it here but still frustrated that she'd walked.

Her expression dropped a little. Her lip jutting. "Today is Benny's birthday."

"I know," I nodded. "Sarah told me."

She looked down, shame etched in her features. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you."

"Why are you sorry?"

"Well," her brows pinched and stepped down onto the floor in front of me. "I don't know. I'm not I guess. But I should have just said something. I felt weird about it. I don't know why."

I tipped her chin up so that she had to look at me. "Are you okay?"

"I told him about you."

My heart stopped. My stomach flipped. Leonie's past with her boyfriend was hugely influential on her life. It was the reason that she couldn't commit to me. In fact, I had a feeling that it was a bigger part of her life than she'd let on. So to hear her say that, it meant more than I could have been prepared for.

I wanted to ask what she'd told him. I wanted to know why she'd brought me up at such an important time. A time that she spent visiting her late boyfriend. But I also didn't want to push it. Or have her shut down on me. Her emotions were always a timebomb when she'd been drinking.

"You want something to eat?" I asked, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and letting my fingers trace her cheek and jaw. Her skin was smooth and makeup free tonight.

Her sorrow morphed into glee and she gave me a cheesing smile as she nodded. I didn't even bother offering her something from the fridge because there wasn't jack to eat in there. There certainly weren't fries. So I told her that we'd go for a drive and she was out in the passenger seat before I'd even closed the front door.

We drove towards town and she bopped to the music. Her black waves fell around her shoulders and swished with her movements. Which were a mess. But shit, she looked fucking cute. "Can we stop and get my phone from Jade's?" She slurred.

"Yeah of course. Food first or after?"

"After," she nodded. Like a big nod that made it look as if her head was about to come clean off her neck. "Like I can't relax and enjoy my food if I know that I've still got shit to do. Eating is a time to be chilled and ya know like, I wanna do it when I know that I can just sit afterwards. Or sleep. Like, does that make sense?"

Surprisingly, I sort of understood what she meant. "Yeah," I laughed. "We'll go and get the phone first."

I looked down and figured what I was wearing was good enough to show up at a party in. A pair of joggers and a slim long sleeve shirt. It'd do. Leonie was in a hoodie and jeans so I figured it had been a casual sort of event.

That was until we pulled up a few houses down from Jade's and the road street was lined with cars. There were people spilling out onto the front lawn, the footpath. The music was vibrating the ground beneath us as we walked toward the house. Leonie surprised me by lacing her fingers with mine as we walked up the front path and into the house.

"Shit head!" Bray pushed through a thick wall of people and singled out Leonie with a frustrated glare before he pulled her into a crushing hug, ripped her hand out of mine. "You scared the shit out of me. How many times have we talked about this. Don't. Fucking. Walk. Off."

"I know," Leonie laughed and patted his back. She was almost disappearing into his hold. I really appreciated their friendship. It was obvious that he cared about her a lot. "Where's Jess? I need my phone."

Bray rolled his eyes and let her go, raising his hand for me. "What's up dude. Thanks for looking after her," we slapped backs and I nodded.

"Of course."

"This is nothing new by the way," he pointed at Leonie who was now engaged in some drunk, girlish squealing with a red head. "She gets ripped and walks off. Dumb ass. At least she made it to you."

I chuckled and nodded in agreement. Without looking back at me, Leonie reached back and found my hand again. I couldn't help but smile at the fact that her brain was scattered but she was still seeking me out.

I wish she'd let me love her.

"Heath!" Jade squealed as she came shuffling through the crowd. Her dreaded hair was in a knot on top of her head and as she lifted her arms to hug me, she hit some dude in the back of the head.

"Oh shit," she gasped with amusement. "Sorry dude."

"Watch it," he spat and Bray immediately squared his shoulders, staring him down.

"Whatever," Jade scoffed and stuck her tongue out. "It was an accident so lighten the fuck up or leave."

The guy turned around and gave Jade his full, frustrated attention. "Who the fuck are you to tell me to leave?"

Jade recoiled, her double chin in full effect as she pulled a face at him. "The owner of the house. Moron."

The guy turned a rich red and scowled as he shoved her in the shoulder. "Watch the mouth little girl."

"Bro," Bray stepped between them and his fists balled at his side. I drew Leonie into me, feeling that things were about to turn south. Unsurprisingly, she seemed enthralled at the drama. "Don't touch my sister."

The guy shoved Bray in the chest. "What are you gonna do?"

His jaw tensed and he shook his head. "Don't fucking touch me."

"What about it?" He shoved Bray again.

"Don't fucking touch me dude."

The guy shoved him again but he didn't get a word in because Bray swung and smacked him straight in the jaw. The tension that had been building, snapped like a rubber band and chaos broke out. Jade started screaming because Bray copped a punch in the mouth.

I was bracing to step in but he had it handled. He hit the asshole straight back. However, Leonie must have detested the fact that her friend had a bleeding lip because she ripped out of my hold and ran straight at the brawl, diving onto the assholes back.

"Leonie," Bray and I snapped in unison as she jabbed the asshole in the head over and over again.

Bray headlocked the guy while I went to his side and tried to drag Leonie off of him. She was on tight though and from the sound of it, landing some decent swings.

All I could hear was screaming and shouting and the occasional cheer and then Bray flipping the fuck out.

"Leonie fuck off out of here."

"Fuck You," she snapped back and threw her body back with so much force that she took the asshole down with her and he landed on top of her small frame.

Bray immediately picked him up by the shirt with the help of Ethan who had appeared and they dragged him out the front door while I scooped Leonie up off the floor. She was giggling, breathless, but giggling.

"What the fuck is going on," Jess intercepted us as I led Leonie towards the front door.

"Oh hey," Leonie grinned, her hair a mess and her hoodie smudged with someone's blood. "Just came to pick up my phone."

Jess still looked bewildered as she reached into her pocket and handed Leonie her phone.

"What's going on?" Jess looked to me just as Bray appeared, wiping some blood from his lip.

"You can't fucking help yourself," he said to Leonie and pushed her chin from left to right, inspecting her for injuries no doubt. "You know how bad it makes me look when you get in on a fight and land more hits than me?"

Leonie burst out laughing and punched him in the arm. "You're welcome fool."

"What happened?!" Jess shouted again.

Jade appeared then, still screaming and Leonie squeezed my hand and started dragging me outside.

"You're something else," I ran a hand through my hair, feeling stressed the fuck out after all of that.




"How are you feeling?"

Leonie sat cross legged on my bed, wearing one of my T-shirt's while she cradled a burger in two hands and chewed, slow.

"Drunk."

"Yep," I chuckled and ran a thumb across my brow. "Oh. Sarah had her doctors appointment on Wednesday. She gave us the all clear for London. Sarah still doesn't know though."

Leonie narrowed her drunk stare. "That's like ten days from now."

"Yeah but she's cleared to go. Unless she takes a turn for the worse. But she's doing well at the moment. The doctor reckons her newfound friendships and boyfriend might be having something to do with her energy."

"Aww," Leonie cooed. "That's cute. Well that's good. We can tell her now. When should we tell her?"

"You wanna hang out tomorrow and tell her then?" I offered, watching as she dropped the last quarter of her burger into the bag and put it on the side table. "Mom is home on Sunday so we could do lunch or something?"

Her gaze lit up and she slapped me on the leg. "We should put the airline tickets in an envelope and put it in the mailbox and address it as if it's from like, the doctor or something. So she's like meh, a doctor's appointment. And then she'll get so excited!"

I laughed at her enthusiasm and nodded. "Yeah we could do that."

She grinned with triumph and turned around so that she was beside me, leaning against the headboard as well. "So," she swung her leg over my lap and straddled me. "Wanna get naked and make me scream?"

"Lord," I laughed and ran my hands up and down her back. "Normally I would love to. But Sarah and Alex are out on the couch. And you're drunk. I'm not."

"So," she shimmied forward and her hard nipples grazed my chest. "I want it. It's consensual. You don't always have to be such a gentleman."

I shook my head when she pouted at me. "I can't baby," I told her, quiet and gentle so that she didn't feel rejected. "Maybe if I was drunk as well. But not when I'm sober and you're wrecked. It would feel— wrong. And that has nothing to do with you. Trust me. You're hard to resist."

She groaned and dropped her face into my neck. "Fine," she mumbled. "Never one to beg. Would you object if I laid here and rubbed one out?"

Now it was my turn to groan. "Leonie."

"Wanna watch?"

She rolled onto her back and smiled, drawing her lip between her teeth as her hand trailed down her front and dipped between her legs.

I swallowed and snatched her wrist.

"Mmm," she softly moaned. "Alright. You can do it for me."

"Ugh," I exhaled. "Do you like back tickles? Your hair being played with? You wanna fall asleep to a back rub?"

She smiled and turned over onto her side. "Alright. I like it light and slow. The very tips of the fingers. All over. Don't linger on one spot for too long or it gets dull. Ha! You can tell I'm not talking about sex."

I shook my head, laughing. "Got it boss."


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