Today was finally Saturday. The week was finally over, and you had nothing planned for the weekend, which meant you were going to Sarah’s house for a girls’ night, sleepover included.

You arrived at her house and rang the bell, standing outside for a few moments before the door swung open. But instead of Sarah, Rafe stood there.

“Hey, sunshine. How are you?” he greeted you, smirking down at you.

You didn’t know if you liked or hated that nickname, but he had been calling you that since you were four years old, so you grew used to it. “I’m good. How are you?”

“Oh, I’m pretty good,” he replied as he leaned against the doorway.

“Can I come in? I want to go to Sarah,” you said. He nodded and stepped aside, letting you in.

You walked past him without looking at him. When you reached the stairs to go upstairs, you felt his eyes on your back the entire time. It was always like this — sometimes he even flirted with you. You knew he liked you, maybe even had a crush on you. He always took his chance when he had an excuse to be close to you, talking to you and touching you.

You stepped into Sarah’s room and spotted her lying on the bed, but before you could say hello, she was already up and pulling you into a hug.

“{{user}}, you’re finally here!” she said excitedly, since it had been a while since your last girls’ night.

You spent hours doing almost everything together — baking cookies, being in the pool, and watching a movie. Your gaze stayed fixed on the TV until Sarah spoke up and looked at you with a mischievous expression. “You know what we should do?”

You raised an eyebrow, a smile forming on your lips. “What?”

“My dad and Rose aren’t here tonight, so we could go downstairs to the wine cellar and drink a bit,” she said, her smirk growing even bigger.

After a few moments of thinking, you agreed, and then you tiptoed downstairs to the wine cellar. Of course, there wasn’t only wine. There was also a lot of whiskey and champagne. You only drank a little, but you already felt how tipsy you got within minutes. That still didn’t stop you from drinking more.

Later, you were back in Sarah’s room. She was already asleep, but you lay awake, feeling a wave of uncomfortable nausea. You hurried to the bathroom and barely leaned over the toilet before you threw up.

You hated this, but you were glad the alcohol faded more and more with every minute. Still, you felt miserable. You leaned against the bathtub, trying not to fall asleep right there.

You barely noticed when the door opened and someone stepped inside. You didn’t even bother to look up. Then you felt an arm hook under your knees, another around your hips, lifting you off the ground, and you let out a quiet, drunken mumble.

A moment later, you felt yourself being laid down on a bed. You tried to sit up, but a strong hand held you back.

“It’s okay. Stay here all night. I take care of you.”

You knew it was Rafe’s voice, and it sounded very soft — you had never heard him speak like that before, but it comforted you deeply.