48. The Locked Room

Time doesn't heal, you just start to live with the pain and it becomes a part of you. ~ A. Gupta

COLE

“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked as I stepped out of the bedroom and found Alex lounging in one of the sofas in the drawing room.

“Is this how you tell me that you missed me?” He said, “Explains all this empty bottles.”

I looked at the mentioned bottles. Since that night when everything went to shît, I had barely eaten but chose to drink my sorrows. It didn't help but at least it lessened the frequency of my nightmares. “What do you want, Alex? I thought you all didn't care anymore.”

“Don’t be sad, Cole. We didn't abandon you but we couldn’t let Vi think that we were taking your side.” His dark brows lowered and he pointed at my hands that were bruised and swollen from the fight I got into last night. “You could've called me or better yet Maddox if you wanted to use your fists. He is the one who is too furious with you.”

“Not you?” I asked.

He shrugged one shoulder. “I don'