In Striking Distance

Chapter Four | Agent

THEA PULLED INTO her apartment buildings garage and remained in her car. She didn't have the energy to get out. She was tired of holding the tears at bay and the last thing she wanted to do was go upstairs and deal with Orson. She wanted to lick her wounds in private, maybe cuss out her coach, and then cuddle under a blanket to watch a terrible teen romcom.

The darkness of the parking garage soothed her. Here she could pretend that that last couple of days hadn't happened, and it was all a fevered dream. Her fingers clutched her dead phone. She couldn't keep away from the world forever, she knew there would be a few calls on her phone when it was charged.

She exhaled a breath before exiting her car. Thea's gaze landed on the duffle bag in the trunk, but she ignored it. It wasn't like she would be needing it anyways, she thought bitterly. She rode the elevator, glancing nervously as the numbers blinked. Turning the key, she quietly opened the door to see Orson's gaze already on her.

Only this time, she saw his eyes were cloudy. "Theeaaa," he said giving her a sloppy smile. "The queen returns to her kingdom."

Thea's eyes couldn't believe the scene in front of her. There were at least three types of alcoholic beverages open and sprawled across her living room floor. She spotted soiled socks and black boxers among the half a dozen McDonald's boxes.

Her eyes narrowed to the darker spot on her sofa. "Is that grease stains on my couch?" she shrieked before hurriedly rushing to the scene of the crime.

Orson's eyes followed the direction of her fingers before he shrugged. "They didn't give me any napkins, so I just rubbed my fingers on it slightly."

Thea took in a deep breath get her emotions under control. She was aware that Orson was glancing at her as well. He gave her a smirk, "What, you going to kick me out over a little stain? When did you become such a prissy princess? The Thea I knew wouldn't care about some little stain."

"There is a difference between stains on my clothes, versus my very expensive couch," Thea gritted her teeth.

Orson's smirk remained unchanged, and Thea narrowed her eyes at her drunk ex-best friend. She wasn't dumb, she knew exactly what he was doing. Orson was trying to make her life difficult so she would kick him out, but the joke was on him. She'd made a promise to her brother and no matter how hurt she was by him, she was going to put up with his lazy ass, even if it drove her insane.

She rubbed her forehead before picking up one of the chicken wraps. Thea gave Orson a withering glare, "Frankly, I don't have the energy to deal with this right now," she pointed towards the mess and him, "I've had the world's worse practice session so I'm going to go to my room and eat this terrible wrap and decompress. That will give you sometime to get sober."

Orson snorted, "I'm sober enough right now."

Thea didn't even bother arguing with him, she simply picked up his bottles of vodka and walked to the kitchen sink to drain them out.

"Hey," Orson stretched out, trying to grab the bottles, but Thea stepped out of his reach. "Give those back to me, I paid for those, you can't just take them."

She glanced at his legs, she knew it was cruel, but he had driven her off a wall when she was already falling, and this was the perfect revenge. She locked eyed with him, holding the bottles upside down.

"Make me," she said with a smirk before pouring them down the drain, knowing he very well could not.

Orson's scowl remained as he watched every drop fall in the drain.

Maybe there was some satisfaction in being cruel, she thought.

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