“Callum?” I noticed an almost empty vodka bottle hanging loosely from his hand. Holy shit. He said he hardly ever drank alcohol, but I guessed whenever he did he went full out. “Are you okay?” I asked, stepping closer.
His eyebrows furrowed, and the liquid swashed around the bottle as he tilted it to down the last few drops. He was absolutely wasted.
“I didn’t think you were a big drinker?” I couldn’t think of anything else to say, and the silence was becoming more than uncomfortable.
His unfocused eyes wandered to my face. “mm not,” he slurred.
I nodded while tugging at my red tie slightly. “Shouldn’t you be at James’s party?”
“Didn’ wanna stay. I just… grabbed a bottle. Walked… clear my head.” He slumped forward to stand, and the light from the moon lit the side of his face as he almost stumbled over.
“Where’re you going?” I asked when he’d straightened himself enough to walk.
He stopped to shrug and tossed the empty bottle away. “Somewhere… else.”
I followed behind him silently until we made it out the park. He attempted to pull a set of keys from his pocket a few times, before dropping them and having to get onto his knees to pick them up again.
“Oh, no.” I snatched the keys from his grip. “There is no way you’re driving tonight.”
He tried to grab them back and almost tripped over his own feet. “mm fine.”
“Yeah, sure.” I put the keys in my pocket. “You’re not getting them back, so there’s no point giving me that look. Wait. Now where are you going?”
“Home,” Callum mumbled as he stumbled in the opposite direction.
“Callum.”
“What?”
“You live that way.” I pointed behind myself with a thumb. “Listen, come back to my place, and I’ll give you some water or something. I live closer.” He looked as if he were trying to decipher a hidden agenda in my words -- which probably wasn’t an easy task after all the alcohol he’d consumed. “Really.” I held my hands up. “If you end up getting hit by a car or something then it’d be my fault for letting you walk off in this state.”
He shook his head.
“Callum, you don’t have to worry.” I looked away into a dark corner between two trees. “I’m not going to do anything.”
“You’re not the one… mm worried ‘bout.” Blond locks swept his eyes as he looked down.
My head tilted to the side, and I let out a breath through my nose. “Callum, I’m here to listen if you ever need someone to talk to.”
A fake smile graced his turned-down features.
“Come on.”
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I thought this was well-written. I wanna know what's going on here :))
ReplyDeleteReading this teaser reminded me of the days when I was reading ONE OF MY FAVOURITE BETA READ!
ReplyDeleteGreat emotion from the scene, and boy do I miss Callum <3
Fabulous writing in this! Nice snip :D
ReplyDeleteWelcome to Teaser Tuesday! This is a great way to start off a new tradition : ))
ReplyDeleteI like how responsible the protagonist is: not letting Callum drive, walking him home, etc. I do wonder if people really say lines like "I’m here to listen if you ever need someone to talk to" - it seems like therapy-speak, not real conversation, if that makes any sense. I wonder what Callum is trying to get away from by getting smashed! :)
ReplyDeleteI love the MC for watching out for him. It makes me want to keep going (And I love the name Callum).
ReplyDeleteLovely dialogue and description. Loved reading your tease.
ReplyDelete@ Parametric, yeah people do talk like that. I've certainly said that to my ex before. But I'm a Brit, so I dont know, maybe it's different in America
Thanks everyone.
ReplyDeleteI can see why that piece of dialogue would seem unrealistic with just knowing this tease, I guess you'd have had to read the chapter before this one to understand.