I crawled out of bed, wanting to punch myself repeatedly in the head until I passed out. “What do you want?”“That’s the greeting I get?” He strolled in, because that’s what Brian did. He strolled. He sauntered. He grinned. He never had a goddamn care in the world. “Give me a hug. It’s been awhile.”“It’s been eighteen months.” I stood there stiffly while he hugged me. I caught a whiff of alcohol on his breath. Rum, most likely. It was nine am and he’d been drinking already. Or maybe he hadn’t been to bed yet. There was no telling.“Has it been that long? Feels like no more than nine months. Maybe six.” He either didn’t notice or didn’t care that I didn’t return his hug. “So who is your friend here, Cat? Must be a good friend since he’s sharing your room.” He winked at me.Brian was three years older than me but he looked even more. He’d gotten too much sun in his childhood and alcohol had broken blood vessels in his nose and cheeks, so he had a ruddy complexion.
