Page 6 of Embriagado

Life was a bitch, and tonight was just further proof of that.

1

SANTIAGO

3 years later

“Fuck,” I grunted, throwing the tie I’d been trying to put on for the past ten minutes on my bed. Tapping the floor with my shoe, I considered what to do when the alarm on my phone rang. I picked it up, ignoring the cracks on the screen that needed to be repaired, and turned it off. Needing to leave or I’d be late, I passed on the tie and left my room. Walking down the narrow hall to our kitchen, I could see into my little brother’s room as he kept his door open. To no surprise, he was in his bed, his girlfriend sleeping next to him, both of them mostly naked.

Great.

With a sigh, I moved on to the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee before leaving, only to find the mess my brother and his girlfriend had left behind. “Fucking assholes,” I muttered. Last night, before I went to sleep, I made sure to clean the place, and now, it looked like a storm had blown through there. Not having time to clean up after them, I went over to the cabinet—which they’d left open—to grab the instant coffee, and of course, we were out of it.

“Fuck.”

I slammed the empty jar into the garbage bin, only for it to fall out. About to lose my shit, I turned and placed both hands flat on the counter. Closing my eyes, I took three deep breaths, reminding myself I had to stay calm if I wanted things to change this time around.

“The fuck you dressed like that?”

I straightened in time to see my brother, Ignacio, walking into the kitchen. Yawning, he scratched his abs, eyes half-closed. I grunted at the sight and pushed away from the counter in the hope of finding something in our fridge.

“I have a job interview,” I said, scanning the empty shelves. Shit. It felt like only yesterday I’d spent fifty bucks on groceries, and we were already out of it all.

“Which number is it now?”

I sighed. “Eleven.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “You really can’t get a job, huh?”

I answered him with a pissed-off look that finally made him shut up. Or so I thought…

“Anyway, that’s what you’re wearing?”

I slammed the fridge door, then looked down at my clothes. “What’s wrong with it?”

He grimaced. “You look like some shady salesman who’s about to offer little girls candy in the park.”

“Oh, fuck off.” I picked the empty coffee jar up from the floor and put it back in the bin.

“I’m being dead serious, bro.”

My brows furrowed. “It’s just a suit.”

“Yeah, a shitty one.”

Obviously, it was shitty. But it was the only suit I could rent for under a hundred.

“Whatever. It’s a rental, anyway.”

Running his fingers through his brown hair, the same color as mine, he hummed. “You could have just borrowed my suit. You know, the one I wore to Dad’s funeral. It’s decent.”

I paused for a moment, bitterness filling my mouth as the room turned still. But snapping out of it quickly, I shook my head.

“Like any clothes of yours will fit me,” I told him with a slight grin, causing him to grunt.

“You’re not that much bigger than me, yeah? I bulked up while you were away.”

Away.