Chapter 13: 11 ♢ Fleeting

I'm sorry for the late update. It's been a weird few weeks. I'm back now and I'm feeling better. Love you all.

Oliver was sick and tired of waking up sick and tired.

He hated that feeling of barely being able to open his eyes or move, not knowing what time of day it was. Did he sleep through the day?

He slowly dragged his hand into his pocket to look at his phone. No missed calls or messages. He would have expected a call or message from Charlie. Charlie used to ask about him every morning whether it was in person or through text. That stopped after Vegas.

Oliver couldn't stop thinking about what happened in Vegas. He could still feel Charlie's lips trailing like lava all around his body. He wanted that. Just one more night with Charlie.

He never actually took the time to process the events with Charlie, starting with their escapade in Vegas. Oliver wasn't really bothered about what it meant for his sexuality. He never realised he could like boys but he also didn't care that he now did. His parents never really gave a shit about him so they wouldn't care if he had a boyfriend. Would people talk? Probably. But they always talked about him, no matter what he did.

Oliver answered his buzzing phone with a grunt.

"Oliver, I need you to come into the office today."

"Who's this?" He slurred in response.

"... Are you drunk? Seriously? It's six in the morning."

Oliver looked at the caller ID and immediately straightened up and cleared his throat when he realised he was talking to his father.

"No! No, I, uh, just woke up."

"Are you able to come to work? I just need you to review some contracts. But if you're not able to-"

"No! No, I'm good! Just... give me an hour."

Oliver could hear Ed Scott sigh before hanging up without as much as a goodbye. He groaned as he sat up, rolling off the marble floor of the bathroom. He had finished the last of his supply the night before and would be forced to go to work, withdrawn and hungover. The thought of going into work with his headache, dry mouth and clammy body made him even more queasier.

Maybe it wouldn't be that bad. Maybe he would get away with bringing the contracts home to review. It was all going to work out. All he had to do was lift himself up, get dressed and go to the office close by. He would be fine.

♢ ♢ ♢

He wasn't fine.

About an hour into working, his symptoms got worse, to the point where it was painful to keep his eyes open.

"OLIVER," Chad boomed, bursting into his office.

Chad's personality was exactly what you would expect from a guy named Chad. He was loud, boisterous and a huge douchebag. But he was the best pick in the lottery of office douchebags.

He threw down a pile of files onto Oliver's desk. "Your dad told me to give you these."

Oliver grunted in response, rubbing his head. Chad raised an eyebrow at him, peering suspiciously at him.

"What's wrong with you?"

Oliver glanced behind him, making sure no one else could hear them. Chad was really into partying and powdered pick-me-ups so maybe Oliver would have luck getting coke from him. When he first started working, him and Chad used to go out all the time and Oliver had seen how wild he was so he was his best bet.

"I... uh... I'm out."

"Out? Like you came out? Oh, are you gay?"

Chad was also a huge airhead.

"What?! No, that's obviously not what I meant! I mean I'm out of coke. I need something to keep me going until my dealer returns to New York next week. You got anything?"

Chad shook his head apologetically. "My boyfriend always checks my pockets so I never keep anything on me. But I can tell my dealer to get something ready for you and all you'll have to do is collect it."

Oliver frowned. "I need something as soon as possible. In the next hour. I won't be able to get through the day feeling how I feel right now. What about those pills in your desk drawer.... the ones that you've kept their since last summer..

"Yeah... I got them at a concert but I never used them because apparently they're quite strong-"

"I'll take them."

"Oliver, they might be laced-"

"I don't care. I only need them to get me through the next few hours, just until I finish reading these damn contracts."

Chad solemnly nodded, his usual smile completely gone from his face. "Oliver, they might kill you. I don't know what's in them..."

Oliver shrugged. "I've tried every drug known to man. Nothing can kill me."

"I don't know what effect they'll have on you....."

"Get them. Now." Oliver shooed him away with his hand.

He sighed and left the room, returning a few moments later with a small bag and a single magenta pill in it. "Be careful. Please."

Oliver nodded at him dismissively before swallowing the pill dry. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Chad nodded at him as if Oliver were a soldier off to war. "Good luck."

Oliver returned his attention to his contracts. "Don't need it."

♢ ♢ ♢

The first hour wasn't too bad. The pill gave him enough energy to read three hours worth of reading in forty minutes, after which he replied to all his emails and scheduled a meeting with his father and shareholders. However, he realised how much he fucked up when his legs began tingle and feel week.

"Oliver, you okay?"

Oliver looked up to the source of the voice and found a double image of Chad staring at him. He opened his mouth but as much as he tried he couldn't speak. His throat felt paralysed, void of any electric impulses.

"Okay, shit, come on. Let's get you to a hospital."

Hospital? No. He couldn't go to a hospital. If his father found out he got high at work he would lose it. Oliver managed to choke out 'home' as Chad looked around nervously.

"Home? Are you sure?"

Oliver gave him a weak and small nod. Chad sighed in reservation and walked over to his side, helping him stand up.

"We have to get to the elevator so try and act sober when we walk past your dad's office."

"Distract....him," Oliver said in a pained whisper.

Chad nodded and held open the door for him. He knocked on Ed's door before going in, subtly giving Oliver a thumbs-up. Oliver took a deep breath before staggering across the office to the elevator. Ignoring everyone's stares, he dragged himself to the elevator, slightly increasing his speed as he made his way past his father's office.

As soon as the elevator doors slid shut, Oliver fell back on the wall and shut his eyes. He had never felt experienced fatigue in his life. His legs felt like they could buckle at any moment. When it dinged open, he trudged outside to the first cab he found. He didn't even have enough energy to call his own chauffeur. Instead he collapsed into the backseat of the cab and shut his eyes tightly.

"Where to?" The driver grunted.

Where to? It was a million-dollar question. What if he went home and something happened to him while he was all alone? But he had no one else to stay with. Everyone hated him.

His hands were trembling and his eyes were drooping. He couldn't stay alone. He needed someone with him.

Oliver mumbled an address to him before shutting his eyes and falling asleep almost immediately.

The driver woke him up as soon as they arrived a short while later. He was shaking Oliver's shoulder anxiously.

"Sir, are you okay?"

Why did everyone keep asking him that? Of course he wasn't okay! But he was past the point of no return. He couldn't be fixed or helped. He was too fucked up and he had to accept it.

"Three hundred dollars..." Oliver rasped.

"Huh?"

"Three hundred dollars for you if you help me get inside."

The driver nodded without hesitation and pulled Oliver's arm around his shoulder. They hobbled into the apartment and into the elevator. As soon as they reached the fourth floor, Oliver dug into his pocket and took a few bills from the wad of cash he was carrying around.

"You can go. Thank you."

The driver stared in excitement at the sum of cash in his hand which was clearly more than three hundred dollars and smiled brightly before leaving Oliver alone.

Oliver nervously stumbled to the door and knocked on it gently. He leaned on the door frame waiting for it to be opened. The door swung open but clearly the apartment's resident wasn't expecting him.

"Oliver?"

"Charlie..." Oliver sighed looking into his deep brown eyes.

His knees defeated him and ended up buckling, making him fall on Charlie. Thankfully, he caught him and dragged him inside to sit down.

"Jesus, Oliver, what happened?"

"I don't feel good..."

Charlie helped him lift his legs so that he was in a lying position on the sofa. "What happened?"

"I  took a pill...."

Charlie cursed and ran his hand through his hair. "Shit. Will I call an ambulance?"

"No..."

Charlie ignored him and reached out to grab his phone. "I have to-"

"No... please don't-"

He dialled nine-one-one and put the phone to his ear. "You can die"

"Charlie... no, don't...."

"I have to-"

Using the last burst of energy he had, Oliver reached up to slap the phone out of his hand. However, he forgot to uncurl his fist and ended up accidentally punching Charlie's cheek. Charlie immediately dropped his phone and cursed.

"What the fuck, Oliver?!" He exclaimed, holding his bloody cheek.

"Sorry... I'm....so....sorry," Oliver whispered, hoping the expression on his face did a better job at communicating his apology.

Charlie sighed in resignation. "It's fine."

Oliver couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. Sleep. He needed to sleep. It was the only thing he still had energy for. He reached up and held Charlie's hand, much to his surprise .

"Stay with me..."

Charlie sat down on the floor beside him, keeping his hand in his. "Of course."

Oliver looked around and found Charlie watching him in concern. He wanted to reassure him, tell him everything was going to be alright. But he really didn't know that for certain.

♢ ♢ ♢

Oliver couldn't remember much. He stirred in and out of consciousness. At one point he could have sworn Spencer had been there but it also could have been a dream. He eventually woke up in the late hours of the night. The sky outside the window was pitch black and void stars. He was still exhausted and his headache was thunderous but he bit his tongue and pushed through it. He wiggled his toes to make sure he could feel them. Then, going up his body, he slightly stretched every muscle and joint until he reached his fingers and found them in someone's hand. He followed the hand and found Charlie lying down on the floor beside him. His entire body was in an awkward position and he clearly wasn't comfortable. He did all that for Oliver? Oliver let out a shaky breath as he stared at his sleeping face as he realised that maybe Charlie cared about him. He wasn't completely alone in the world if he had Charlie.

Oliver untangled his fingers from Charlie's before bringing his hand to his face and stroking his cheek. Charlie's eyes slowly opened at the sudden contact and when he met Oliver's eyes he half-smiled.

"You're awake," He murmured in a sleepy voice.

"You're the only person in the world that cares about me," Oliver blurted, not knowing how to convey his gratitude.

Charlie furrowed his eyebrows ready to object but before he could Oliver dipped down and cut him off with a kiss. Charlie sat up properly to level himself with Oliver who was still on the sofa and gently wrapped his hands around him.

"W-what was that for?" Charlie asked with a goofy smile on his face.

Oliver couldn't bring himself to smile back. He was still too tired. And slightly disoriented but that was a side effect of kissing Charlie.

"I...I don't deserve you Charlie."

"Don't say that..."

Oliver shook his head. "It's the truth."

Charlie scratched the back of his neck. "Can we do that again?"

That made Oliver crack a smile and once more he dipped down to kiss him.

"My back is killing me from this marble floor. Can we go to bed?"

Oliver nodded, placing his hand in Charlie's before kissing the back of his hand. "Let's go."

♢ ♢ ♢

Hi everyone!

Apologies for my hiatus, I just needed to focus on myself for a while. But I'm back now so expect an update before the end of the week.

I posted this following announcement on my notice board but I'll post it here too. So, I'm planning to give the graphics (aesthetics and covers) and cast of my books a complete makeover. I'm looking for inspo for themes/ casting choices/ colour schemes etc that YOU think would suit the Opulence Series. So, feel free to suggest any casting choices just remember that Madeline and Nora are both black, Spencer is biracial and Oliver is white. And if you generally enjoy making covers please DM me because I need help lol.

Take care of yourselves. I hope everyone is happy and healthy. Sending you all lots of love.

Love,

-hexed

xoxo