Page 87 of Shattered Oaths

My mouth is dryer than the Sahara Dessert and my brain is heavy as I roll over in bed and reach out in search of the warm body beside me only to come up empty.

Against my better judgement, I open my eyes and lift my head, scanning the room for Bella as the thumping in my skull crescendos beyond belief.

“Ahhh, fuck,” I groan, clutching at my head. “Bella?” I call out, my voice groggy and thick with sleep.

Silence.

“Bells?” I call again, confusion clouding my brain.

Where the hell is she?

I twist onto my back, prying my eyes open slowly this time and giving them the opportunity to adjust to the bright morning light.

I need some Advil and a gallon of water, stat.

“Ahh, you’re awake.” My mothers chipper voice has me jerking up into a sitting position, headache be damned.

“What the fuck?” I scan my surroundings, taking in my childhood bedroom before looking at my mom in confusion.

“Why am I here, Mom?”

“Language,” she scolds before her face turns soft, something akin to sympathy shining in her hazel eyes.

And then it all comes flooding back.

“Oh no.” I shake my head.

The bar.

Justin.

“I don’t ever want to see you again.”

“You lied to me.”

“Oh, no, no, no.” I rip the covers off me and jump out of bed, reaching for my t-shirt that’s on the floor.

“Noah,” my mom says, moving into my bedroom.

“I’ve gotta go, Mom. I need to go home and see Bella.”

Her hand lands on my shoulder. “She isn’t there.”

“What?” I frown. “Of course, she is, where else would she be?”

Bella climbing into Killian’s truck.

Grayson handing me a bottle of whiskey.

My dad carrying me to bed.

I freeze, my eyes finding my mom’s once again. “I really fucked up, Mom.”

She nods once, her face completely serious despite the show of empathy in her eyes. “I know you have, honey.”

My shoulders slump. “What am I supposed to do?”

“That’s not something for me to tell you. It’s something for you to figure out. But first,” she moves to sit beside me on my bed but just before she lowers, her hand comes down on my side of my head, partially deafening me.