Page 20 of Final Temptation (Alpine Peak #2)

Work was an absolute shit show today. For the life of me, I couldn’t get my mind right. Even after the crazy, wild, orgasm I had last night, I still slept like garbage and woke up groggy from it—therefore, my day dragged.

“Dude, what’s up with you?” Declan bumped my shoulder. “You’ve been out of it all day.”

“No, I haven’t.” I shrugged him off, taking a bite of my sandwich.

Normally, Declan and I didn’t work too closely together.

I’d be out on the construction site while he was in the office most of the time.

But today, he happened to be on site looking over the project we were working on.

Typically, I’d sit in my Jeep and eat alone.

I enjoyed having a moment to myself—a moment that was now interrupted by my big brother, who was doing his best to pry into my life.

He'd always been this way. Even though deep down, I knew it came from a place of love, and he only acted this way because he cared. But sometimes, I just didn’t want to talk about it. Today was one of those days.

“Dude, I had to have Eric take over the dozer. You were riding that thing like it was your first day on the job, and someone could have gotten seriously hurt.”

My eyes rolled. “Cool. It’s always nice to hear that your shit mood is a liability,” I grumbled under my breath.

“I hate to press, man. I just want to make sure you’re good.” Declan pushed one more time.

“My mind is a little scattered, okay? The second I clock out, I’m headed for a meeting. I’ll feel better once I get some things off my chest.” I sighed.

My mind wasn’t just scattered; it was fucking chaotic up there. In the moment with Sophie last night, everything felt amazing—it felt right. But the second my head hit the pillow and my eyes began to shut, the night terrors were back, wreaking havoc on my life.

Little by little, I was losing every bit of patience I learned to have over the last few months.

After I watched Sophie completely unravel, I begged my body to listen to how good it felt.

To focus only on the good. I pleaded with my mind to dream of her round, perky tits, or the way her lips parted open as she orgasmed.

Instead, my body betrayed me. I dreamt of blood and scattered glass.

I visualized an old version of myself, the old me who used to make terrible fucking decisions.

Sophie and I went our separate ways last night.

After we caught our breath, I left her to rinse off in the shower.

The instant I closed the door behind me, I regretted not asking her to join me in bed.

Selfishly, I desired her next to me, in hopes the nightmares would fade away.

Unfortunately, the words never came out of my mouth.

I didn’t want to act greedy, asking more of her after I’d just blown my load all over her perfect tits.

What would have happened if she had stayed, and I hadn’t had a nightmare?

Would I have slept like a rock, just like the last time?

If that were the case, I’d attach myself to her.

I’d become dependent on her company. I needed to get through this by myself.

But as each day passed, the urge to drink away the pain grew.

I watched the old me in my nightmares every night. I hated who he was. But fuck, if I wasn’t reminded how easy it was to drink and forget.

Declan and I sat in my Jeep, eating in silence. After I mentioned going to a meeting after work, he nodded his head, silently agreeing not to push the conversation any further.

I couldn’t remember a time when work dragged on as long as it had today. It didn’t help that it was a warm day, and the sun was shining bright, radiating heat through my whole body.

Nothing I could do today would make me feel the slightest bit productive. It was the type of day that just needed to be over.

My steering wheel had been completely exposed to the hot summer day, the feeling of it stinging my palms when I gripped the leather, ready to drive off the construction site and straight to a meeting.

The only problem was that it should have been natural for me to leave work and take a right toward the old church where my meetings were held.

So, why am I taking a left toward the outskirts of town?

I needed to go to a meeting, but the voices inside my head were screaming louder, overpowering me from doing what I knew was right. I should be driving to the church right now, but the devil on my shoulder took me to a liquor store instead.

I parked in front of the old, run-down store.

LIQUOR in bright neon red, flashed back at me.

The fluorescent lights had me in a daze, bringing me back to the last dream I had.

I may not have woken up Sophie with my screams, but the images that flashed through my mind were the worst ones I’d seen so far.

With every day that my mind got straighter—the more sober I became—the brighter the images were. They were so clear, it almost felt like I was living through it again in real life.

I stood outside the car; my drunken gaze focused on the vehicle smashed against the trees. The glass. The blood. It was scattered everywhere. I dug inside my pockets, each one of them feeling six feet deep.

Finally.

My phone.

I can call for help.

The briefest feeling of relief washed over me, only for it to disappear when I tapped relentlessly on the screen, waiting for the bright light to shine back at me—nothing.

FUCK. Dead battery.

“Logan! Help! We need to call for help!” I continued screaming. “Logan! My phone is dead. I need you to use yours and call the cops! They need help,” I pleaded.

“I can’t find my phone! Fuck, Myles, we need to get the hell out of here!” What did he mean he couldn’t find his phone?

“Look again!” My throat burned from each scream. I ran back to his car, helping search for his phone anywhere it could have landed.

The floors. The cupholders. The backseat.

It wasn’t here.

“I must have left it at the party! Shit! We are going to get in so much goddamn trouble if we don’t get the fuck out of here.” Why was he so hellbent on leaving when someone in that car could be fighting for their life?

“If we don’t have a phone to call for help, then maybe there’s one in that truck we can use.” I pointed toward the crash, noticing each crinkle in the metal that wouldn’t have been there if we just stayed at the fucking party.

I ran back toward the truck, inching closer to the blood, shards of glass crunching under each step I took. There had to be a phone somewhere; the longer we took to call the cops, the more time that would pass without help.

We needed help.

Whoever was in that car needed help.

The desperation kicked in as I followed the trail of blood, leading me straight to the bright red truck. I could reach out and touch the rusted metal; it was so close—I had finally made it. Logan calling out my name was just a whisper in the wind behind me.

I rounded the corner, getting closer to the driver’s side of the vehicle.

“Hey! Hey!” I yelled through the broken window.

No response.

The driver was slumped over the steering wheel. His hair full of blood and debris. I couldn’t see his eyes; I couldn’t see who it was. But I could see that he was alone.

He had to have a phone in here somewhere.

I wanted to shake the guy awake, face him in my direction. Shivers ran up my spine—I didn’t want to hurt him any more than he was.

“Wake up, man! I’m going to get you help!” It was so dark out, making my search for his phone almost impossible.

Heavy footsteps approached behind me.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Crunch.

I quickly turned on my heels, and dark, evil eyes stared back at me.

I blinked away the haze the neon lights had me in. Everything I saw was red: the truck, the blood, and the liquor store sign flashing, persuading me to come inside.

Every night when I shut my eyes, I saw Paige’s father. I saw him alive because that’s exactly how he looked the last time I saw him.

The thought of my repeated nightmares eventually revealing his bloody face scared the shit out of me. It scared me so much; I didn’t think I’d ever come back from it.

I turned my car keys, shutting off the engine. Each step I took out of my jeep, and closer to the liquor store entrance, felt like every step I tried to take toward the smashed-up vehicle in my dreams.

Slow and heavy.

The bell rang over my head as I walked through the glass door.

“Welcome in,” the guy called out from behind the front counter.

It was an out-of-body experience. The angel on my shoulder, the one who had been attending meetings almost every day, knew this wasn’t where I belonged. But the devil was steering, taking full control of my body.

I’d been to this store plenty of times; it was my muscle memory taking over, leading me down the aisle that carried what I craved almost every day.

I stared at the wall full of tequila. It didn’t matter which one I drank; any of them would get the job done.

They all had the ability to help me forget.

I grabbed the cheapest one off the lower shelf—I didn’t deserve the good stuff.

Top-shelf liquor was meant for celebrating, and the thought of relapsing wasn’t something to applaud over.

I set the bottle of clear liquid on the counter. “Is this going to be all for you today?” the employee asked.

I nodded my head in response.

He wrapped the bottle in a brown paper bag and sent me on my way. There hadn’t been any other time since last October that I felt this low. Holding my greatest temptation in my hands was ground zero for me.

I passed the bottle back and forth in my palms, feeling the weight of the cheap plastic container, contemplating whether I should open it—smell it. My mind drifted to Sophie. The way she tasted, with alcohol on her tongue.

I craved the taste of it again.

But I craved her company more. Company I’d never be able to grant myself full-time, if I couldn’t get my shit together. Before I could think twice, I rolled down the window, tossing the full bottle of liquor out.

I twisted my key, igniting the rumble of the engine. I sped off, back toward home before I had time to regret my decision. The feeling of guilt overwhelmed me, knowing damn well what had just happened was a massive step backward for me.

The time flashed on my dash: nine o’clock.

Two hours since I’d gotten off work.

Two hours driving out of town to a run-down liquor store.

Two hours idle in the parking lot, stuck inside my own head.

I missed my meeting, and there wouldn’t be another one I could attend until tomorrow. To make matters worse, the gym was closed. I needed more than anything to work off this energy. I needed the distraction.

Coming to a stop, I parked my Jeep in its dedicated spot. Before heading inside, I released a deep breath—one I felt like I’d been holding in all day long.

Once I walked inside, I needed to put my mask on—pretend I hadn’t just sat in a parking lot considering whether or not I was going to down an entire bottle of tequila.

“Hey, Rebel.” Sophie smiled at me from the couch. She was on her laptop, most likely getting her homework done right before its midnight deadline.

The ease I felt smiling back at her didn’t feel forced at all. She had a way of taking away all the pain when I was around her.

Even though she was a breath of fresh air, an easy conversation, and everything I’d want to see before I fell asleep at night, it didn’t mean I wasn’t filled with guilt inside for almost relapsing.

“Hey. Getting some homework done?” I nodded at her computer.

“Actually, I was putting all the finishing details on our itinerary for Vegas.” Her eyes lit up. Every time the wedding party trip came up, she had a look in her eyes, one that told me she was more eager to plan it than anything.

“I can’t wait to see what you’ve come up with. It’s going to be a great time,” I forced out. After how my evening went, I couldn’t be happier that she planned to stick by my side in Vegas—I was going to need it.

“Hey, uh, I got stuck at work late, then I had a meeting and didn’t have time to get a workout in.

Would you be bothered if I did a quick at-home workout?

” My gym routine was all part of my sobriety plan.

If I skipped my meeting and workout, I’d feel like a piece of shit—an even bigger piece of shit because I already felt terrible lying to Sophie when I told her I went to a meeting after work.

“Only if I can watch.” She winked.

Sophie’s eyes on me made for the perfect distraction, and I planned to give her one hell of a show.