One Hundred Sleepless Nights

Chapter 19.
***Austin's POV***
"Fuck man," I quietly groan as I roll over onto my stomach, sighing frustratedly. The hotel couch is surprisingly comfortable, but that's not what's keeping me awake. The past few hours replay in my head, and tears threaten to fall from my eyes for the third time since I've thrown up. Essence... She's so misunderstood, so good at faking happiness. I've never seen such a broken girl be able to appear so happy and carefree. I would have never expected to see scars and cuts on such a strong, free-spirited girl. But even strong people hurt, and are broken. She's been hurt badly, and she may think that she's broken beyond repair. But that's far from true; The right person could heal her, and be the reason for a genuine smile upon her gorgeous face. I sigh sadly, my face buried into the soft couch pillow. I wish I could be that person.
"Stop!" I tell myself out loud. She's with Vic. Vic is the one who's going to make her happy, not me. I sigh once more, before blocking out all of my thoughts and falling asleep.

~The next morning.~

I rub my eyes and yawn, tiredly getting up off of the couch. Bright sunshine pours in through the white sheer hotel curtains. I uncomfortably shuffle to the bathroom, completely aware of my very noticeable morning-wood. That's one thing I hate about crashing at someone's place. It's not awkward unless there's girls... Like Essence, for example. A wave of sadness hits me just thinking of her. I shake my head and think of something else as I leave the bathroom, in search of some food.

*** Vic's POV ***
I wake up, blinking slowly and running my hands through my hair. I smile, looking at Essence sleeping calmly against my chest, a peaceful look on her beautiful face. Last night was rough, but at least she slept long and happily. I stretch, being extra careful to not disturb Essence. I shift closer to her, wrapping my arm around her waist. She sighs contently and snuggles into my chest, smiling in her sleep.
"Good morning, gorgeous," I whisper softly in her ear, my lips brushing against her ear gently. I pull my face back a few inches just as her eyelids flutter, and she opens her eyes.
She looks at me and smiles before sleepily saying, "Perfect thing to wake up to. Good morning Vic."
I smile widely before carefully brushing her hair out of her face and pecking her delicately on the lips. She blushes, and kisses me on the cheek before rolling over. She sexily climbs out of bed, her hair ruffled. One shoulder peeks out of her shirt, revealing the strap of her bra. The skinny jeans I lent her hang loosely in the legs, and hug tightly around the butt and waist. A small amount of black lace shows above the waistline, and her lace black bra shows through my Anthem Made white shirt. I grin, and she blushes, crossing her arms in attempt to cover herself better. I walk over and wrap my arms around her waist, kissing her deeply.
"You're gorgeous. You don't need to cover your beautiful body," I say, after pulling away, looking deep into her eyes.
She smiles, and kisses me on the cheek again. "Thank you, babe. But uhm, do you maybe have a more solid colored shirt I could borrow?" she asks, blushing again. "The guys..." She trails off, but I know what she means. I reluctantly unwrap my arms from around her, and walk over to where my suitcase is. I shuffle the clothes around until I find a black IWrestledABearOnce tank that's pretty long, so it will cover the skinny jean issue too. I hand it to her, and she thanks me while entering the room's bathroom. I look down and realize I fell asleep
in my shirt and jeans too, so I pull out a new pair of black skinny's and a Confide tank. I quickly pull off my pants and shirt, and throw them across the room onto a pile of clothes from the past few days. Just as I'm about to put my jeans on, Essence walks out and makes a noise best described as a quiet squeak. "Oh, oops, I'm sorry!" she says, turning around, blushing and embarrassed. I chuckle, quickly yanking my clothes on.
"It's okay, I'm clothed now," I say, laughing. She turns around to face me, her face blushed deep red and biting her lip nervously. Damn, she's adorable when she's embarrassed. Well, she's adorable all the time.
"Ready to go out there and see if anyone's awake?" I ask, wrapping my arm around her waist. She nods, smiling widely.
Mike and Austin are in the kitchen, standing by the oven. Austin's sitting on the countertop, kicking his long, slim legs back and forth. Mike's standing at the stove, making something.
Austin looks away from Mike for a second and sees Essence and I walk into the kitchen. His eyes immediately light up and he excitedly hops off the counter. "Hey!" he says happily, giggling slightly afterwards.
Essence smiles warmly, and replies, "Hey Austin," giving a small wave.
I chuckle, and let go of Essence long enough to give Austin a bro hug.
"Hey man," I say, putting my arm around Essence's waist once more.
"Mike's making whiskey pancakes, again," Austin says, chuckling and looking towards my tatted brother.
Mike turns towards us, grabbing the Jack Daniels bottle and tossing it at Essence. She swiftly catches it, and shyly asks, "What do you want me to do with this?"
Mike laughs, and flips the pancakes that are in the pan onto a plate. "Drink it!" he replies, "Duhhhh."
She laughs and takes a small sip of it. Mike snatches it from her, and takes a huge gulp.
"That, lovely, is how it's done," he says pointedly. He hands the bottle back to her, and she smiles mischievously. She puts the bottle to her mouth, and takes an even bigger drink than Mike, then passes it to Austin. Mike looks at her with a look of shock.
"I think that's how it's done, sweetheart," she says, sarcastically blowing a kiss at Mike. I laugh, clearly amused by the playful banter between my brother and girlfriend. Mike smiles happily, and catches the kiss to put it in his pocket. Austin laughs, and takes a few swigs of the whiskey before passing the bottle to me. I grab it and take two big drinks before setting it on the table.
"Gotta save some for Jaime! And more pancakes," I say, already somewhat buzzed.
Mike laughs, and does a weird little dance as he walks back over to the pancakes, pouring more mix into the pan. The smell of whiskey and pancake batter cooking makes my stomach gurgle, and I tell Mike to hurry up with the food.