The Secret I Tried to Keep

Chapter 35B

(Haven't had one in a while, so here's a POV chapter for Zane again!)

*Zane's POV*

Dria's words echoed in my head as she left with Presley. I was frozen in place with the bottle in my hand. Out of everything she could have said, and she had to go and say that. I didn't know if she was the bitch, or I was. I closed the cap on the half empty bottle and took the last half of my stash back up to my room to hide it in a different place. I didn't like alcohol very much, but desperate times called for easy measures. I understood why my father drank after my mother's death now. It numbed the pain and made everything seem like a dream, if only for a little while. I finished off the bottle of Jim that I started pouring down the sink earlier before cracking open another bottle and chugging it.

After a moment, I decided to text Paris. This whole mess started when I decided to bring a girl over for the first time. Maybe I could end it the same way. I needed to feel good right now or I was going to lose my mind. I couldn't ask Dria because she regretted it in the first place and we were fighting. It was always a fight with that woman. She took everything to a hundred. It was like tried to hold air: stupid and pointless. I loved her so much it hurt, but she couldn't be bothered.

It wasn't long before Paris came into my room looking as easy as ever. I locked the door behind her and wasted no time getting her on my bed.

"I thought you didn't want me around anymore," Paris breathed as my drunken self, kissed her neck sloppily.

"Right now, I need you here," I breathed as I began pulling on her dress. She chuckled sensually as her head hit my pillow.

"What about you rules... and Chandria," she asked again. I pulled up just enough to look at her.

"Stop talking," I said before I kissed her eagerly. I wasn't in my right mind in my drunken state, but I didn't care. As long as that alcohol was running through me and I was between someone's legs, I didn't feel the sting of Dria... or everything.

~

I woke feeling like I'd been hit by a freight train. Someone was holding onto my arm. It took me a moment to remember the events of last night. And even then, a lot of the details were fuzzy. Looking over, I knew I must have had Paris in place of dinner. She wasn't all that great, but she did the job. I released my arm before I pulled on my basketball shorts and went downstairs. I made a beeline for the kitchen. My head was pounding and I was starving. I located the Advil first and downed a couple of those before I began searching the fridge for something quick.

"Have a good night?" a deep voice asked from behind me. I froze and didn't turn around. That voice was supposed to be gone. "You talked a lot of hype yesterday about being a good father and loving that girl for someone who doesn't care," my father said. I turned and glared at him and tried to ignore my pounding head.

"I do care!" I yelled, instantly regretting it.

"No you don't... because you're back to your old tricks again. And you've learned a few new ones at my doing," my dad said as he set the empty bottle of Scotch on the counter. It was the one Presley made me toss.

That was poured down the drain," I said as I turned back to the task at hand of finding food.

"I know a hangover when I see one. Meaning you have alcohol somewhere. I also know that there's a girl in your room, and it's not Dria because Presley took her home last night," he continued. I turned back towards him and proceeded to do a slow clap.

"Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 years, he finally cares," I said sarcastically to no one in particular. I turned my frustration back to him. "Do me a favor, and don't," I said before I grabbed a banana and pushed past him to go back to my room. I ran into Presley at the bottom of the stairs. She was dressed for school with her book bag on her shoulder.

"Is that Paris in your room?" she asked confused.

"Nope. That's Paris in my bed, and that's where she's staying until I decide otherwise," I snipped at her.

"I can't believe after everything, you're going to do this to Dria," Presley said in disappointment.

"Yeah, well we can't always get what we want, can we?" I said before I continued to my room. Paris was still asleep on my bed. I locked the door behind me and opened a new bottle, taking a swig, before I got back in my bed. My lips went to her already bruised neck as my fingers fondled her under the covers.

"Wake up," I said quietly. She moaned before her eyes fluttered open. She smirked when she saw me.

"I wouldn't mind waking up like this more often," she said huskily. She sighed before she sat up and pushed me off of her gently. "We're going to be late for school," she noted when she looked at her phone. I hovered over her so her back was pressed against the bed again.

"We're not going to school," I smirked. She moved to kiss me and I turned my head at the last minute. For some reason, I couldn't kiss her. Using her as a sex object was fine to me, but kissing her would mean that I liked her, and I didn't. I just liked her body and the distraction it provided.