Destroy Me Gently:Ex-Enemy Becomes My Lover!-Chapter 141: He got away

**KIERAN MORRISON**

Sol eyed me discontently as I forced him to bring out his fanciest looking drinks without alcohol, he placed the glasses on the counter. "This is a bar, not a candy shop," He grumbled.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want Ollie to have fun, or drink whatever he likes, after all what could possibly happen when I was right here?

He couldn’t have alcohol with his medication, "Make it a double glass," I told Sol, maybe fo make Ollie feel more inclusive, I shouldn’t drink as well.

Sol raised an eyebrow. "You know most people come to bars for the alcohol, right? That’s kind of the whole point."

"Most people aren’t dating someone who just got out of the hospital."

"Fair enough," He muttered.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and the number on the screen made my stomach tighten.

I stared at it for a moment, my thumb hovering over the accept and decline button.

"You gonna answer that?" Sol asked.

The phone kept buzzing. I’d visited my father just once, I went alone. He’s been unconscious and a part of me had felt relieved that I didn’t need to talk to him. I’d watched him from a glass and it still felt surreal to me. The surgery had been performed, and the doctor said he was recovering just fine, there was no need to force any communication between us.

I swiped to decline, but at the last moment, my thumb flicked at the answer button.

My eyes searched for Oliver as I walked outside of the bar, that friend of his was nowhere to be found either, what were they up to?

The night air hit my face just as the familiar voice greeted my ear.

"Hello, Kieran."

I didn’t respond, because my heart was pounding too fast, and perspiration made my skin feel clammy.

"Kieran?"

He called out again, my father’s voice sounded different. Weaker. The strong, commanding tone I remembered was gone, replaced by something thin and tired.

"Yeah?" Inhaled deeply and leaned against the brick wall, my free hand shoving into my pocket.

"How are you?" he asked.

The question was so normal, so mundane after years of barely speaking. "I’m fine. How are you?"

"The doctors says I’m recovering just fine, your mother told me you came the other day?"

"Hmm." I didn’t know what else to say.

A few seconds of silence ticked past and he spoke again.

"Kieran, I—" He stopped, cleared his throat. "I need to apologize to you... About Ginny, I’m sorry about how..."

My jaw clenched. "Dad, we don’t need to talk about this now, we’ll talk after you recover."

Something hot pressed behind my eyes. I blinked hard, staring up at the dark sky. I wanted to end the call, I despised feeling this vulnerable.

"Let me say it, after what happened to me, I don’t know how many tomorrows I may have left, I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness," His voice cracked. "But I needed you to know. I regretted what happened back then, I didn’t come home often because I couldn’t stand seeing you look at me like you really hated me. Now, I’ve also realized that staying away might have also been the wrong decision, I’m sorry for ruining our family son, and... I ... I love you, son,"

The call ended and I stood there in the same spot, my phone still pressed to my ear.

I felt strange. Not happy exactly, but not sad either, just something in between, like a weight had been lifted off my chest and yet it felt heavier all at once.

I turned to go back inside and that’s when I saw Vince outside the bar entrance, a lit cigarette dangling between his lips as he stared at nothing.

He didn’t look up as I approached, something about his tight expression instantly told me that something was wrong. Vince was rarely anything but calm, but now he looked like a ticking bomb about to explode.

"What’s wrong with you?" I asked, borrowing a cigarette from his pack, even though I had told Ollie that I quitted, after the call I just took with my father, my insides felt like they’d been rearranged, I need something to burn the heaviness away.

Vince shook his head, but his jaw worked like he was chewing on words he didn’t want to say.

"Vince." I blew out a puff, already feeling the nicotine kicking in.

"It’s nothing."

"Is it about William?" It was a random guess, and I chuckled when his shoulders went tensed. How was it possible that Vince of all people was stressed over that blondie who was always fucking too loud and energetic for no reason?

"I don’t get it," I said, watching him. "Just a few days ago, you told me you were just messing around with him. You literally called him a nuisance last week. So why are you out here looking like someone died? Do you care about him now or what?"

"Fuck, I don’t know, okay? I don’t think I care about him, It’s just that..."

Footsteps sounded behind us and we both turned.

My eyes widened a fraction, wasn’t Ollie and William supposed to be inside?

I tossed the cigarette to the ground and snuffed it out with my boot.

"Ollie, why are you outside?" I took a step towards him.

William’s face looked flushed. His hands curled into fists at his sides, his eyes striking daggers towards Vince. . . And me?

"You bastards!" He gritted, now I didn’t understand what I did wrong.

The look Oliver was giving me made my stomach turn. Like I’d been caught doing something I shouldn’t have. It was just one cigarette, I didn’t mean to break my promise to him.

"It’s not—" Vince started moving toward him. "William, it’s not what it sounds like. What happened to your hand?"

I followed Vince’s gaze to see William’s scraped knuckles, my eyes flew to Oliver and I grabbed his wrists without thinking. His hands were fine.

"Did you get into a fight? What happened to you two?" I couldn’t keep the strained worry from my voice, but to my utter dismay, Oliver flinched away from me as though the mere touch of my hands burned.