Olivia then reached her arm out to tug on Eugene’s arm when she saw that he still seemed rather down. ‘Stop putting on that glum look! This whole issue is dealt with now, and it’s so rare for you, Alex, and Hayden to get together. Shouldn’t you guys be partying hard tonight?” Olivia asked..
Eugene finally allowed himself to calm down a little upon hearing Olivia’s gentle tone. He held her hand without saying much. “It’s hard to get me drunk,” he muttered after a while. “I’ll train you from now on!” Olivia offered.
“Sure. I’ll drink a little more each night,” Eugene replied. Olivia nodded in response. Alex wanted to explain himself a little more, but no matter how much he tried to explain himself, he wouldn’t be able to change whatever just happened, so he figured that he would just keep quiet.
Hayden, on the other hand, kept his mouth shut the entire time. He wanted to go to Nicole, but he was worried that the others might think that he was straying away from the group. At the same time, he was concerned since it was getting dark outside. “It’s getting late, so I think. I should go out to look for them. You guys can start drinking first!’ He stood up as he spoke.
“Once you find them, you should get them to stay in a hotel first. They can head home the next day, Alex suggested. Since he was the one who brought them over, it wouldn’t look good if anything happened to them.
“Okay.” Hayden left after that. When Alex met Eugene’s gaze, he tried to explain himself again. “Hayden asked me out to ski one day before the new year, and I told him that I was going to meet you. He asked me where you were, and I told him you were at Promise Island. I asked him if he wanted to join, and he said no.
But after that, he changed his mind for some reason, and the three of them-Penny, Nicole, and Hayden-showed up at my front door the next morning. I didn’t think too much and just brought them over. I thought it’d serve as a surprise for you, but it seems like it was more of a shock.” Before Eugene could say anything else, Ellen spoke up first. “It’s fine. You’re Alex, right?”
“Yeah. How are you doing, Mrs. Nolan?” Alex said. “I’m good. How’s your mother?” Ellen asked. “She’s doing fine too,” Alex replied. “You guys can sit around for a while, and I’ll prepare some food. You can enjoy your drinks later, Ellen uttered as she stood up.
Jewel hurriedly got up before signing a few words to Ellen. ‘Let me help you.”
Ellen told Jewel to take a seat, but Jewel shook her head stubbornly as she followed her over. Alex’s gaze had been following Jewel the whole time-he watched her every movement. Eugene glared at him angrily. “What are your looking at? Someone as dumb as you should stay single forever.”
Alex held his hands up to signal defeat. “I got it, Eugene. I made a mistake, so I’ll stay alone for my whole life. Can you calm down now?” “That’s too little! You should be single in your next life as well!” Eugene cried.
Alex stuck his bottom lip out. “That’s a little too harsh. Will you still be mad at me even if I’m single for this entire lifetime? Are you trying to ruin my next life as well?”
“If you didn’t-” Eugene wanted to put the blame on Alex, but he was worried that Jewel would overhear him, so he kept his mouth shut and shot Alex a glare in the end. Olivia knew that they had reconciled by then. Even though Eugene was furious just now, what he valued more was his relationship with his friend.
Although Eugene had forgiven Alex, Brian was still frustrated over the situation. Eugene shouldn’t have been part of this from the start. He cares too much about everything-he cares about Old Man Nolan, he cares about his wife and children, and now, he even cares about his good friends. If I got my hands on the person, I would have done it the old way-an eye for an eye. I wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of sending them to the detention center!
North widened his eyes and tilted his head up to look at Brian. “Are you bad at drinking alcohol too?” Brian raised his hand to rub his knuckles against North’s head. “What do you know, huh?” North pushed Brian’s hand away before fixing his hair. “You messed my hair up,” he mumbled grumpily.
