A Coalition Story

This Just In: Drinking At All Is a Bad Idea

Cal hadn't heard from his girlfriend for days, and he was happy about it. That was probably a bad sign, but she really was a drag. What he wasn't happy about was the loneliness that had begun to creep in. He didn't have Ravyn anymore, he'd ensured that that relationship wouldn't be repaired anytime soon, and he definitely didn't have Torin. So without Ksenia, well, Cal was alone. Sure, he could turn to Meg or to Avalon or to Erek, but his siblings had never been close to him, despite the loyalty he felt he owed them. And it wasn't like he had other friends. No, Cal was alone.

At least that explained his current state. He'd started drinking at five, and now, six and a half hours later, he hadn't stopped. Ravyn had trained him to drink water while he downed his alcohol, so he wasn't quite as wasted as he could have been, but he was still far from sober.

Cal was also completely not in control of his desires and urges. Which explained why he had dialed Torin and was now impatiently waiting for his ex to pick up.

"Uh, hello? Are you sober?" Torin asked immediately.

"I miss you, Tor."

"You're definitely drunk. Excalibur, where are you?"

"Are you saying I can't miss you?"

"No, but I am saying you're absolutely wasted," Torin objected. Cal grumbled incoherently.

"Do I need to get Ravyn to track your phone? Just tell me where you are," he pleaded. Since Cal really didn't want to get Ravyn and her inevitable screaming fit involved, he relented.

"I'm in my dorm," he muttered.

"I'll be there in five."

True to his word, as he always was, Torin walked through Cal's door five minutes after the phone call ended. He didn't say anything to the blonde, only grabbing his backpack, emptying the contents, and stuffing clothes and toiletries into it.

"What's that for?" Cal asked, words slurring together. He reached for his bottle of whiskey to pour himself more, but it was empty.

"You're staying in my dorm tonight, away from your alcohol stash. You need to sober up and get your act together." Torin's gruff voice shocked Cal. Usually, his ex was kind yet firm. No, the kindness was all but gone now.

"Get up, Excalibur. I'm not gonna carry you, but I'm not afraid to drag you." Sighing, Cal stood and followed his ex out the door.

The short walk to Torin's dorm took much longer than usual. Cal couldn't walk very well, and all this movement was making him nauseous. He almost threw up at one point, but that would require having food in him to throw up. Finally, they reached Torin's dorm, where Cal noticed Lev was not present. Which was weird. Usually, at least in the past, when Lev was hooking up with someone, Torin was the one who crashed somewhere else.

Torin helped Cal over to his bed, forcing him to lay down.

"Are you gonna sleep next to me?" Cal asked, hope in his voice. He'd called Torin because he missed him. And Torin had come and brought him to his room. This was a good sign.

Torin's flat look was not a good sign.

"This is the drunkest I've ever seen you. So based on that alone, no. Combined with the fact that you currently hate me when you're sober, and the fact that you have a girlfriend, no. It pains me to say this, Excalibur, believe me, but no, I'm not going to sleep next to you." He didn't look at Cal as he spoke, busying himself with grabbing an extra pillow and blankets so he could sleep on the floor. After that, he grabbed water and ibuprofen and set it on his nightstand.

"Go to sleep, Cal," Torin directed solemnly.

"I miss you," Cal countered, reluctantly pulling a blanket over himself and getting comfortable.

"Maybe you do, but you're not doing anything tonight. We'll both regret it in the morning." He sounded so dejected and sad. It was a wonder why he had even taken care of Cal at all. But he had, and that made Cal think that Torin didn't hate him completely. And that was very much a good thing. But he fell asleep before he could say anything else.

////

Cal awoke the next morning with what was probably the worst hangover he'd had yet. His head throbbed and ached, and he didn't want to open his eyes and subject them to any light.

"Morning, drunkard," a familiar voice greeted, causing Cal to groan. Seriously? What was Torin doing here? Then again, the pillow he'd pulled over his face smelled like Torin's laundry detergent. What was Cal doing in Torin's room?

"What's going on? What am I doing here?" he groaned in frustration (and pain).

"You called me and said you missed me last night. Which is something you'd only do if you were beyond drunk. So I took you here so you wouldn't die of alcohol poisoning." Cal's brows furrowed but quickly went back to normal. Moving his face like that hurt.

"Why'd I call you?" Why hadn't he called Ksenia? Or even Ravyn? Sure, they weren't talking, but that would have made more sense than his ex-boyfriend.

"You said you missed me. Which showed how drunk you really were." Okay, as much as Cal hated to admit it, his drunken self was right. But Torin was correct, too. Only wasted Cal would ever admit that to anyone, especially Torin.

"What else did I do?" he asked. He would have tried to remember, but the idea of thinking that much made his head hurt more.

"Tried to get me to sleep beside you. Which, as disappointed as you were last night, I'm sure you'll be glad to hear I slept on the floor." Before Cal could agree, even though he disagreed, a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in," Torin called distractedly. Cal was pretty sure they both expected Ravyn, which definitely made him nervous. His cousin would never let him hear the end of this. But no, it was her annoying best friend that walked in instead.

"Huh, Ravyn will be glad to see the two of you together again," Atticus remarked.

"Don't make me knife you, Blackbourne," Cal growled. Both of the other men chuckled.

"Oh, no no no no no. There's somebody else we need to knife. Again."

"We?" Torin asked curiously. The three men never worked together, even when trying to convince Ravyn that Lev was bad news. Cal and Torin worked together, but Atticus never got involved. Somebody must have seriously messed up.

"Yes, we."

"And why should I care? I'm too hungover to get involved in anything, Blackbourne."

"Somebody hurt Ravyn. Still too hungover?" he challenged dryly. Cal removed the pillow from over his face, glaring at Atticus, but he didn't disagree. Ravyn hated him, and he was pissed at her meddling, but she was still the only person he truly cared about in the world. Except maybe Torin. Sometimes.

"What happened?" Torin, as scarily calm as ever, inquired. Atticus leaned against the wall, his face straight. Despite the vitriol in his tone, he looked perfectly calm.

"Your roommate, Lev, tried to rape my sister. She only got away because she stabbed him repeatedly." Torin bristled at the explanation, clearly getting upset. He must have been furious to actually be showing it.

Cal was angry at Lev, sure, but he didn't know why he was involved yet. Alice was his little sister's best friend, and he saw her as an annoying little sister's best friend, so of course, he was upset with Lev, but why was Cal needed?

"Did Lev do anything else?" he asked slowly. There had to be something more going on.

"He grabbed Ravyn so tight that there are some serious bruises around her waist. He also threatened her safety, as well as ours." Atticus, despite the horrors he was explaining, remained even calmer than Torin. How had he not become an assassin instead of a spy?

But Cal understood why he was involved now. Nobody ever messed with Ravyn. Not if they wanted to remain unscathed. She could take care of herself completely until it came to Lev. She was too obsessed with him for that. So Cal would have to do something about this and judging by Atticus and Torin's expressions, he wouldn't be alone.

"So when are we taking Lev out?" Torin asked. Atticus smirked.

"Exactly what I was about to ask."