PLAY WITH FIRE

CHAPTER 3

HOLDEN KINCAIDE

PRESENT TIME

Stumbling my way into my apartment, hands held my shoulders, more pairs of hands hovering against my back to stop me from falling if I did so. And I certainly felt it coming. When I lost my footing on thin air, I tripped, stumbling face first through my apartment door.

"Fucking hell. Who was in control of watching how much he put in his mouth tonight?" Eros snapped, his hands instantly gripping my shoulders and pulling me back to my feet. Grabbing my hand, he slung my arm over his shoulder, Dean grabbing my other arm and slinging it over his shoulder as they ushered me into my own apartment, Schmidt closing the door behind us.

"I'm a fucking adult. I don't need you guys babying me every time slip-"

"Then start fucking acting like it, Holden" I pulled my arm from Eros' shoulder, before shoving him hard, not giving him a second glance as he stumbled a couple steps. Dean didn't remove my arm from his shoulder until he'd directed me to the large couch in the center of my living room.

"Stay sat" He pointed a finger down at me. I slouched into the couch, spreading my legs as I let my head fall back onto the head rests. Closing my eyes, I sighed.

"Wasn't planning on going anywhere" Schmidt, Dean and Eros all gave me a once over before making their way towards the kitchen. Turning my head to look over my shoulder, I looked towards them.

"Grab me a beer" Eros and Dean rolled their eyes while Schmidt laughed, giving me an amused glance.

"You're dreaming, man" Schmidt replied, the three of them disappearing into the kitchen.

Turning back to face forward, I allowed myself to sink into the confines of my couch. I hummed at the comfort and warmth I found myself in. My eyes shifted from the large floor to ceiling windows in my penthouse apartment to the black TV in front of me. My head pounded, a mix of alcohol and light making it worse as the seconds passed.

"Somebody turn the damn light off. I'm getting a migraine" I called out, hearing a huff. A couple seconds later the room went dark, the only light source being the moon shining through the windows. I stared blankly, allowing my heart to slow its beating as I found comfort in the silence. Not for long though.

"His parents called" Eros' voice echoed throughout the penthouse apartment, my jaw instantly clenching at the mention of them.

"So he went and got himself hammered?" Dean questioned Eros, the tone in his voice making it seem like that wasn't reason enough. But it wasn't all of it anyway.

"That's not it" A long pause before a sigh.

"She got out today" My chest began closing in on itself. My heart instantly picked up pace, my chest heaving up and down at the mention of her. Of course I knew today was the day she got out, but it's not like I've been counting down the days till her release since she was found innocent, since I'd made the court see her innocence. 54 days since she was found not guilty. Maybe I was counting.

The blank TV worked as a frame, images in my head coming to life as I watched memories from 5 years ago dancing behind my eyes. Her long brown hair. Her bright green eyes. Her large smile. Her single dimple. If I tried, I bet I'd even be able to hear her laugh. I hadn't seen her in 5 years; did she still look the same? In my head, in my fantasy, we were still 17 going on 18. In my fantasy, we were 17 again, and I was seconds away from asking her to go out with me. But the second the image comes, it fades just as fast. We never got that far.

In reality we were now 23, and that childlike innocence had been stripped from us years ago, and I'm somewhat to blame. I'd defended my brother in court, and that was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. At the time, I thought it was the right thing. He was my brother who begged me to see that he was telling the truth, and they were my parents, telling me one slip up would cost my brother his life. They'd manipulated me to the point I believed every word that came from their mouths. I'm no longer as easily manipulated.