Minefield of Mirrors

-18-

The moment Iris stepped out of the hallway and had a little bit of sight at Thomas, she already started swearing internally. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that he would be drunk after seeing her, but somehow it still did. He was the one who put her on the path that made her distance herself from him. If he could make that mistake back then, then he should be able to live with his decisions by now. They both matured over the years, both went through different experiences, so why did he still stick to his habit of getting drunk when he was mentally going through some stuff?

She felt a hand on top of her shoulders that stopped her from walking.

'Are you okay, Iris?' Mick asked her.

All she could do was nod. She didn't even ask Mick to join her downstairs. He just did. Maybe her face gave away that something serious was going on.

He gave her shoulder a little squeeze, which made her look up at him. A warm and encouraging smile was on his lips. 'Alright, then let's take that guy upstairs and have a quiet night in afterwards.'

Again, Iris moved her head up and down. She wasn't even listening properly to what Mick was telling her. Her eyes were already fixated on Thomas again, who was telling some drunk stories to Max. Apparently, Max decided to stay with him, even though Iris could tell from his phone call that he wasn't happy at all about this situation. It was harsh, cold and distant. It made her actually question why he was still sitting there and listening to all the weird stories of Thomas.

With Mick behind her, Iris walked over to the bar where Max was the first one to notice them. The shade of his eye darkened a little bit as soon as he saw that Mick was accompanying her. Thomas followed his gaze and noticed them not much later.

'Irissssh!' He said happily as he got up from his bar stool to give her a welcome hug.

Yet the alcohol in his veins made it difficult for him to keep his balance once he was on his feet. Max grabbed one of his arms and made sure he wouldn't fall over.

A bit annoyed, Thomas looked over his shoulder towards Max. 'I can stjand alone, thanks. It's not the first time I djrank alcohol'

'That's well noticeable.' Max mumbled softly. Loud enough for Iris and Mick to hear, but too soft for the drunk guy.

Thomas closed the last few steps and embraced Iris. A shock went through her when his body touched hers. She didn't want his arms around her. She didn't want him any damn near her. For God's sake, she wanted privacy. She wanted him far, far away.

Mick noticed her being uncomfortable and slowly grabbed one of Thomas' arms to lift it and disconnect it from Iris. 'Alright buddy, I think that's a very warm welcome.'

The sober and strong body of Mick was nothing up against the drunk one of Thomas. The little opening allowed Iris to step back, out of the embrace. If it was up to her, she would run from this whole situation immediately. She would run and run, and make sure that this would never happen again. That she could escape from him once and for all. Wasn't that what she deserved after all the misery? But she knew she couldn't. She had to do this for her brother, as Thomas was a close friend of his. And all the friends of her brothers were a part of the family after all. It was her duty to take care of this douchebag...

'Aah it isss Mick Sjhumakker! How's your dad?' Thomas asked immediately once he laid eyes on Mick.

This time it was Mick's turn to get uncomfortable. Yes, Iris had heard about the legend of Michael Schumacher and how he got into an accident not many years ago, but she had never heard about what he was like in the present. Was he even still alive? Deep inside she started to feel guilty. Should she have googled something about this?