Drunken Night And Hazy Nights

Arthur Point Of view

The clink of Macy's fork hitting the plate echoed sharply in the sudden silence. Her jaw clenched, and a tense energy crackled in the air. He opened his mouth to ask if she was alright, then shut it with a snap. Remember the rule – stay uninvolved.

Dinner stretched on, an agonisingly quiet affair. Macy's usual chatter was absent, replaced by a disturbing restlessness. He noticed her reaching for her glass more frequently, five refills by his count. Just as her hand grasped the wine bottle for another round, he caught it.

"Macy," his voice was low, "are you deliberately trying to drown your sorrows?"

Her gaze met his, clouded and distant. It lingered on his hand, still holding the bottle hostage, before flitting back to his face. A tense silence stretched between them.

"Nothing," she mumbled, eyelids fluttering shut for a moment. He couldn't help but be drawn to her, even in her distress.

The way her lashes fanned against her flushed cheeks, the vulnerability etched on her features, it was impossible to look away.

The dip of Macy's collarbones drew his gaze lower. A faint scar, almost invisible, peeked from beneath the delicate necklace adorning her neck. He found himself strangely fixated on it.

"Lost in thought, are we?" she murmured, eyes fluttering shut.

He propped his chin on his knuckles, forcing his gaze upwards. "If this is your way of attracting attention," he said pointedly, "it seems to be working on others."

A slow, lazy smile played on her lips as she tilted her head. "Oh? Like who?"

He followed the direction of her amusement, spotting a man in a grey suit staring intently. The man's friend was mid-sentence, seemingly forgotten.

"We're leaving," he declared, rising abruptly.

Macy remained seated, her gaze trailing him. He stopped in his tracks, his body instinctively shielding her from the unwanted attention.

A soft chuckle escaped her lips. "Jealous, are we?"

Arthur didn't answer. Instead, he leaned closer, their faces mere inches apart. The playful atmosphere crackled with a sudden shift in energy.

"You've not seen anything love, come on- it's getting late." He watched Macy swallow as her eyes danced around his face.

He helped her to her feet, his hands holding her gently against him. It was intentional. He wanted the man in the grey suit to see that she was someone he couldn't have and that Macy was all his.

"I need to use the bathroom." She muttered and pulled away from him. He watched her disappear and walked down the stairs to wait for her at the front.

He dialled Dalia's number which didn't ring more than twice. "Kent-"

"Are the documents ready?"

"You said until Friday," Dalia replied with a sleepy tone. She realised that Arthur was still waiting for her response. "Yes, yes I have. Are you going to go down with this? You two hate each other, I don't think it'll work-"

"I didn't ask what you think Dalia, that's up to me and so far I think we're doing a great job."

"We? You went out with Macy? She agreed to go somewhere with you?" Dalia couldn't hide the surprise in her tone.

"Yes-" he replied and stared down at his watch. Macy wasn't out yet and it bothered him, something felt off.

"What in the world-"

"I'll call you back Dalia," he ended the call and walked inside the restaurant, his eyes scanned the space but Macy was nowhere to be found. He was losing his patience and headed towards the restroom where he stopped when he noticed the man in the grey suit pacing around.

"What do you think you're doing?" Arthur asked with his fist clenched by his side. The man seemed taken aback that Arthur was there but only cleared his throat.

"Nothing-"The door slid open and Macy stepped out while brushing her hair over her shoulders. She noticed both men and wondered why they were there.

"Is everything okay?" She asked with her focus on Arthur who was glaring at the man in a grey suit. The man walked away leaving the two alone.

"Arthur? What happened?" She asked as she walked closer to him.

"Nothing, you were wasting my time. I had to make sure that you weren't puking all over yourself." She rolled her eyes, which was wrong and caused her to stagger. He caught her right before she tripped and her hands gripped his arms tightly.

"Sorry-" she hiccuped and pulled away. It was easy to overlook her repulsion since she hated his guts and a simple dinner wouldn't solve the case.

He followed her to the car and instead of sitting in the passenger seat she opened the back door and settled in. Arthur watched as she adjusted herself and leaned her head on the window with her eyes closed.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked but she only tapped her head gently. He raked his fingers through his hair and sighed. This was going to be harder than he thought, with one more glance at her he entered the driver seat and started the engine.

Dalia was surprised to see Arthur in front of her house, as she opened the door and walked to meet him with her question she halted as she spotted the woman at the back of his car.

"Why are you here? Why did you bring her here? Is she dead? Did you murder her?"

"Yes, I brought her here because it's a brilliant plan. Look she's deep asleep and won't wake up, I can't take her back to her apartment because I don't know the passcode so I thought it would be more reasonable to bring her here."

"And you didn't think to call first?" Dalia hissed silently. "I understand that we are family but you can't bring Macy to my house- why didn't you take her to yours?" She huffed.

"Are you going to let her stay here until tomorrow?" Arthur pressed, his voice laced with apprehension.

He nudged toward the door, ignoring her question for now. "What do I even tell her when she wakes up? I've never spoken to her, and frankly, I'm afraid she might bite my head off!" Dalia threw her hands up in exasperation.

Arthur chuckled softly. "She's not like that, Dalia. Calm as a dove, I assure you." He turned to the woman unconscious in the car.

Suddenly serious, Dalia stopped him. "You didn't exactly paint that picture when you heard she was coming back. What's going on, Arthur?"

He sighed. "Just do me this one favour, alright? When she wakes up, hand her the papers to sign. I'll be there tomorrow morning to pick her up." His explanation remained vague, but he carefully carried Macy out of the car. He half expected her to stir and protest, but she remained limp in his arms.

Dalia led him to one of the spare rooms and he laid Macy on the bed, Dalia watched as Arthur carefully tucked her in.

"What happened?" Dalia asked concern etched on her face.

"She was drinking so much, I don't know why but she wanted to keep going until I stopped her." Arthur sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Just keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't leave until I come-"

Arthur was about to leave when he noticed the plates and the two glasses of wine on her counter.

"You were busy?" Arthur asked, his voice laced with suspicion.

Dalia nodded, avoiding his gaze. "Something like that." He asked no more questions and walked to his car. With a small wave, he drove off thinking about finding the man in the grey suit.