Someone was at the door.

Vinny lifted his head from the rim of the bathtub, looking to the half-closed bathroom door. He could hear someone coming in. Lauren, no doubt. He was in no mood to see her at all. He’d gone through God knows how many bottles of different alcohol, and ended up fully clothed in the tub, full of water. The only image that played over and over again behind his eyes was Lauren laughing at Fox, Fox touching Lauren, Duke laughing, making fun of him, Meg incriminating everything about him, the absolute and utter confusion, pent-up anger, sorrow, blood trailing down his wrists, passing out in his bedroom, Lauren’s starred eyelashes, Lauren’s smile, Lauren’s eyes—

“Vinny?”

Vinny looked towards the door, his head lolling on the rim. Lauren stood there, looking down at him in shock.

“Hey,” Vinny managed to say, not bothering trying to get up.

“Vinny, what have you been doing?” Lauren asked, suddenly dropping to her knees next to him, scrambling to pick up the two empty bottles there, one of them already cracked into a few pieces.

“I just had a—a few drinks,” Vinny replied, straining to sit up a little. His head was spinning.

“I thought you were stopping this,” Lauren said, tossing the glass into the trashcan under the sink.

“Yeah, well, desperate times,” Vinny replied, his hand slipping on the rim, causing water to splash onto the floor.

“Come on, let’s get you out,” Lauren said, standing. She grabbed his arm and helped pull him up as he struggled to stand, his clothes weighing him down. He watched the floor teeter when he put his foot down on the tile. He gave up and leaned against Lauren, letting her nearly pull him out of the bathroom and into the dark hotel room, the only light coming from the TV.

He sat down on the nearest bed, putting a hand behind him for balance. Vaguely he felt embarrassment and the need to be alone—without Lauren there.

“God, Vinny,” Lauren said quietly, sitting close next to him and brushing his wet hair away from his face. “Why’d you do this?”

“Go have a drink with Fox, don’t let me stop you,” Vinny mumbled, trying to shift away.

“Vinny, it’s only been an hour and a half since, I hardly had one drink,” Lauren replied, trying to get him to look at her.

“Go on, Fox sure likes you,” he said, glancing at her to see her reaction. She just stared at him for a second, cupping his face.

“Vinny, Fox is just looking for friends. I don’t know why you won’t open up to him. Or to me.”

“I have,” Vinny insisted, looking into her storm-cloud eyes. “But I’m sick of betrayals.”

Lauren said his name again in a choked whisper, holding his soaked and hunched body close. Her hands were warm on his bare arms, her cheek soft on his shoulder. Through his hair he could see her pained face, and he had just parted his lips for air when she moved again. She kissed his lips hard and fast, pulling back to look at him. Vinny hardly knew what happened when she kissed him again, letting her lips linger.

Maybe it was the warmth of her lips, or the rose petal silk feeling, or the light smell of faint peonies, but whatever it was, Vinny became a little more aware, and managed to kiss her back, slight and hesitant.

Her hands were in his hair, on his neck and over his shoulder blades. Vinny wondered if she was drunk, or at least a little bit tipsy. But by the way she kissed him, he doubted it. He managed to tilt his head so his nose wasn’t in the way, creating a deeper kiss instantly. She was settled in his lap, small enough to fit, her legs curving around his. He could feel her slipping and put an arm around her slim waist. With the added imbalance, Vinny felt himself falling back, and let it happen. It was better having Lauren’s feather-light weight over him, comforting him further with her touches and kisses.

When they stopped, Vinny just stared at the ceiling. Lauren lay over him, her head over his heart, idly stroking his cheek. He kept one hand on her lower back, the other rested beside his head.

“Are you okay?” Lauren asked, looking up at him.

“Holding on,” he said. He was starting to fall asleep. Lauren sat up and kissed his cheek, staying close and looking straight into his eyes.

“Sleep well,” she said. Vinny nodded, letting his eyes close. He heard Lauren get up and go into the bathroom, maybe to drain the tub. In the meantime, Vinny blinded wiggled out of his soaked shirt, forcing himself to stand and get his jeans off, heavy with water. When he lay beneath the sheets, damp and slightly shivery, he just kept every feeling from before in his head, hoping that would drown out the throbbing in his head and wrists.

Still writing, of course. I had to recover from Warped Tour, but all’s well now. I just have to keep on truckin’. Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone, I heart it so much!