Chapter 5

I don't plan on ending up in a bar.

But life has a way of making bad decisions for me.

It starts with one text from Cel.

[We drinking tonight. No excuses.]

I ignore it. Obviously.

Then comes the second text.

[If you don't come, I'll tell Migs you cried during that one romance movie.]

Okay. That's just slander.

And the third text?

[Migs already knows. He's laughing.]

I groan, shoving my phone into my pocket. "Fucking parasites."

Neil, who's still sitting next to me, raises an eyebrow. "What?"

I exhale sharply. "Congratulations, you're coming to a bar."

Neil blinks.

I grab his wrist, dragging him out of his seat. "Not a choice."

He doesn't resist.

Which is mistake number one.

MISTAKE NUMBER TWO: THINKING I COULD DRINK RESPONSIBLY.

"Cheers, you emotionally constipated bitch!" Cel grins, slamming a shot glass into my hand.

The bar is dim, packed, and loud as hell. Music thrums under my skin, bass shaking the floor.

I sigh. "Cel, I swear to—"

He throws back his own drink and shoves mine toward my mouth. "Shut up and drink, wristband Barbie."

Fine. Whatever. I knock it back.

Mistake number three.

Because it does burn—just not as much as everything else I don't want to think about.

Neil watches from the side, sipping his drink like he's analyzing everything.

"Why are you even here?" I mutter, voice slurred.

"You dragged me," Neil says.

"And why did you let me?"

Neil tilts his head. "Because you clearly didn't want to be alone."

I scoff, but there's no real bite to it.

Then—just as I think I can suffer through the night in peace—

Someone slams a drink onto my table.

I glance up.

A girl.

Tall. Pretty. And very, very pissed.

"Unbelievable," she hisses.

I blink. "...Huh?"

"Are you fucking serious, Charssein?"

I look around. Then at Neil. Then back at her.

"Uh." I clear my throat. "Who are you?"

Silence.

The kind that makes Cel's grin freeze. The kind that makes Migs choke on his beer.

"You," the girl says, voice cold, "are an absolute piece of shit."

And then it clicks.

Migs coughs. "Oh. Oh no."

Cel wheezes. "Oh my God, you forgot her."

Kenji snorts into his drink. "You were dating her, dumbass."

I choke. "WHAT?"

The girl glares. "Two months, Charssein. Two. Fucking. Months."

I stare at her. Then at my drink. Then back at her.

And all I can say is—

"...Are you sure?"

Cel bursts out laughing.

Neil just watches. Amused.

The girl looks like she wants to strangle me. "Yes, Charssein, I am sure. We went on dates, you met my friends, and we literally—" She cuts herself off, inhaling sharply. "You don't even remember, do you?"

I sip my drink. "…Nope."

She slams her hands on the table. Cel is already crying from laughter. Migs looks like he wants to die from secondhand embarrassment. Kenji just leans back, taking another sip of his beer.

"Bro," Migs whispers. "You're actually a terrible person."

I rub my temple. "Listen, you can't break up with me if I didn't even know we were together."

The girl gasps—like I personally shot her grandmother. "You absolute piece of shit."

I squint. "That's a little dramatic."

"Oh my god, I cannot believe this. You— I— We kissed!"

I blink. "…When?"

"Oh my—!" She throws her hands in the air. "I am going to kill you."

"Hey, hey, no murder in the bar," Cel says, grinning. "At least wait till we finish our drinks."

The girl whirls around, looking at the others for backup. "You guys knew?"

Migs shrugs. "I mean… yeah?"

"And none of you thought to tell me he was emotionally unavailable?"

Kenji snorts. "If you couldn't figure that out yourself, that's a you problem."

"I thought he was just shy!" she yells.

Neil, who has been silent this whole time, finally speaks. "He's not shy," he says simply.

The girl spins on him. "And who the hell are you?"

Neil doesn't blink. "Someone he actually acknowledges."

Silence.

Cel nearly chokes on his drink. "HOLY SHIT—"

Migs slides down in his seat. Kenji looks deeply entertained.

And me?

I just stare at Neil.

Did he just—?

The girl exhales sharply, turning back to me. "You know what? Forget it. You're impossible. Good fucking riddance, Charssein."

She storms off.

The second she's gone, Cel collapses into Migs, howling. "That— That was the funniest shit I've ever seen—"

Migs wheezes. "Bro, how do you forget a whole-ass girlfriend?"

"She wasn't my girlfriend," I say flatly.

"You literally kissed her—"

"That doesn't mean shit."

Cel wipes fake tears from his eyes. "Damn. Cold."

Neil is still watching me.

I glance at him. "What?"

He tilts his head. "Do you really forget people that easily?"

I don't answer.

Because the truth is—

I don't forget.

I just don't care.

---

MISTAKE NUMBER SIX: THINKING THIS NIGHT COULDN'T GET ANY WORSE.

Hours later, the bar is quieter. Migs and Kenji are still arguing over some bullshit. Cel is three drinks away from throwing up.

And Neil is still here.

Sitting next to me.

Close enough that our shoulders brush.

I tap my glass. "You enjoying this?"

Neil hums. "It's interesting."

I scoff. "That's one word for it."

He watches me. His gaze is steady, unreadable. "You really don't remember her at all?"

I roll my eyes. "I didn't even know we were dating."

"Why did you go on dates, then?"

I lean back, tilting my head toward him. "Does it matter?"

Neil doesn't answer.

I exhale slowly. "People think 'relationships' mean something. That just because you kiss someone, you owe them something." I shrug. "But feelings? Meaning? That shit's all made up. Just chemicals in the brain."

Neil hums. "And you think you don't have those chemicals?"

I laugh, but there's no real humor in it. "I think mine are fucked beyond repair."

A pause.

Then—

"You're wrong," Neil says softly.

I glance at him. His expression is unreadable. But there's something there—something in the way he watches me like he's looking through me.

I huff. "And you're a psychologist now?"

"No," Neil says. "But I know what people look like when they're actually empty."

He leans closer. Just enough that his voice is a murmur against my skin.

"And you," he says, "are full of ghosts."

Something crawls under my skin.

Unsettling. Familiar.

Like he knows something he shouldn't.

Like he's seen something no one else has.

I grip my glass tighter. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Neil doesn't blink. "You'll figure it out."

I scowl. "You're insufferable."

Neil's lips twitch. "So are you."

I roll my eyes and take another sip of my drink.

The conversation dies. But the weight of it lingers.

Like an itch I can't scratch.

Like a shadow just out of reach.

And then—

Neil stands up.

I blink. "Where are you—"

"Let's go," he says, grabbing my wrist.

I scowl. "Go where?"

"Away."

I frown. "We're already away."

"Not far enough."

I narrow my eyes. "I'm not drunk enough for this cryptic shit."

"Then let's get out of here before you are," Neil says easily, tugging me toward the door.

I resist. "Why the hell would I—"

"Because," Neil says, "I told them you'd pay the bill, and you don't have your wallet."

I freeze.

Then turn sharply toward the table.

Migs, Kenji, and Cel all raise their glasses at me.

Migs grins. "Thanks for covering, Chars."

Kenji smirks. "Generosity looks good on you."

Cel winks. "Wristband Barbie funding our night yet again."

Motherfuckers.

I whirl back to Neil, who looks far too pleased with himself.

I grit my teeth. "You scamming little—"

He yanks me toward the exit before I can finish.

I could fight. I could protest.

But I don't.

Because, really—

It's not like I wanted to stay, anyway.

---

TO BE CONTINUED...