More than I remember

Valentin shifts on the mattress, the springs groaning under him as he props himself up on one elbow. He keeps his eyes fixed on the wall rather than on Ari, because looking at her right now feels like staring into the sun. "Last night's a blur," he admits, his voice still rough from sleep and cheap liquor. "I remember the shots. I remember the dare. And then... nothing. Just waking up here."

Ari lets out a hollow laugh, pulling the sheet tighter around herself. "That's more than I remember. I don't even remember leaving the party." She presses her fingers to her temples, wincing. "God, my head is pounding. I think I mixed tequila with something I shouldn't have." Valentin nods slowly, trying to piece together the fragments. There was a moment—he thinks—when she was laughing at something he said, her hand on his arm. But that could have been hours before the end.

"I remember you told me you deserved better," he says, the words slipping out before he can stop them. He watches Ari's expression flicker, something vulnerable passing through her eyes before she looks away. "I don't know if I meant it the way it sounded," he adds quickly. "But I meant it. Your boyfriend's a dick." Ari's jaw tightens at that, but she doesn't argue. She just sits there, wrapped in a sheet that's doing very little to hide anything, looking at her hands like they hold all the answers.

"We shouldn't have done this," she says quietly, and Valentin feels the weight of those words land on his chest. He runs a hand through his tangled hair and exhales. "I know," he says. "But we did. And now we've got to figure out what we tell him." He pauses, studying her. "Or what we don't tell him." Ari's eyes meet his, and for a moment, neither of them speaks. The silence is thick with everything they're not saying—the guilt, the confusion, the small, selfish part of him that doesn't regret it at all.

—————————-

Check out my Patreon for early access to the complete The Bad Girlfriend - Not Again! story and my other stories!

patreon.com/Nomixx