Chapter 14: 12 ♢ coddled

Zero comments on the last chapter so maybe some more love this time round? And apologies for the late update my beauties.

Even though he had been exhausted, Oliver found that he just couldn't go to sleep.

Charlie was too distracting for him, even when he was deep asleep. How could Oliver snooze when Charlie's arm was right there, wrapped snugly around him. His hand was curled around Oliver's, revealing black nail polish on each finger. He could feel his breath on the back of his neck and with every snore a tiny warm whoosh of carbon dioxide came from his mouth. It made his heart rush.

He slowly turned around and faced him, poking his cheek gently just to make sure he was real. Charlie was a light sleeper so his eyes immediately shot open.

"What time is it?" He groaned.

Oliver peeked at the alarm clock over Charlie's shoulder. "Just after midnight..."

They laid in silence for a few minutes, Oliver's eyes fixed on Charlie's.

"I have work tomorrow so I should probably go home..."

"Oh. Can't you go tomorrow morning?" Charlie sighed, inching closer to Oliver so that their noses were almost touching.

"I... I don't know. I have an early morning meeting with some shareholders... But I can come over after. We can...chill."

Charlie smirked and placed his fingers on the nape of Oliver's neck. Smiling, he brushed his soft lips against his in a kiss that could only be described as delicate as the flap of butterfly wings.

"I'll drive you. Come on."

Oliver tried to lift his head but he still felt worn down. His body suddenly weighed a ton.  He forced himself to sit up and painstakingly slipped on his shoes.

"Help me stand up."

Charlie nodded and pulled him up. "Lean on my shoulder."

Oliver groaned as his weight became too much for him. "This is painful."

"If you're asking me to carry you I won't," Charlie joked.

"I wasn't."

"Well if you were, I wouldn't."

"But I wasn't."

"Sure."

♢ ♢ ♢

Oliver had fallen asleep during the short car ride, finding himself unable to keep his eyes open for long periods of time. When he finally woke up, he found Charlie standing in front of him, calling his name.

"Oliver. We're here."

He nodded and held Charlie's hand as he pulled him. Together they walked into the complex and straight into the elevator. Oliver scanned his key card to be brought to his apartment floor.

"What room do you want to go to?"

Oliver hadn't been in his old room that he shared with Nora for a while. They had guests rooms but they were all upstairs and he knew he was too tired to make it up the steps. The sofa was looking pretty comfortable...

"Living room."

He dragged his feet to the living room where he collapsed onto the sofa.

Charlie leaned down beside him. "Do you want me to stay with you?"

"No, no. It's okay. I'll call you tomorrow and we can do something together."

"Dope. You free for six o'clock?"

Oliver nodded and smiled. "Yeah..."

"Cool... It's a date then."

Oliver looked up and met his eyes just as a he realised what he had said.

"I mean it doesn't have to be a date. I just-"

"It's a date," Oliver affirmed, winking at him.

Charlie sighed in relief and kissed him once more. When Charlie kissed him, Oliver would be transported to another realm, one with heavens melting like gold from the skies and birds and angels singing and gallivanting. It was magical and surreal but too brief.

"I'll call you," Charlie whispered, planting another kiss on his forehead.

As he began to walk away, Oliver held onto his hand.

"Wait."

"Yes?"

He took a deep breath in. All night there had been an elephant in the room that neither of them wanted to address. But, in order to move on, Oliver had to apologise. "I'm sorry..."

"For?"

"Everything that happened with..... with Nora."

Oliver wasn't sorry for sleeping with Nora but he was definitely sorry about all the terrible things he said to Charlie afterwards. He didn't know why or how but whenever he got overwhelmed he would always lose control of his words and suddenly, without even realising it, he would start saying the most horrid things.

Charlie's faint smile disappeared and his voice plummeted a few octaves. "Oh. Uh, it's good. Forget about it."

Oliver wasn't sure Charlie had forgotten about it judging by the touchy tone of his voice.

"I shouldn't have said what I said."

"Yeah..."

"I...I don't want to hurt you again. I promise I won't."

Charlie sighed and curled his lips in a dry smile before letting go of Oliver's hand. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

"It's true!"

Charlie nodded dismissively before making his way to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Oliver collapsed back onto the sofa as Charlie left. Why did he bring that up!?

Oliver stood up shakily. He eyed the stairs, considering going upstairs for a split second before sighing in resignation. He wanted to sleep but the withdrawal was clawing at him from the inside. He had some leftover cocaine in his office but the journey to his office seemed impossible. Taking a deep breath, he staggered towards the office, biting his tongue to ease the pain. When he eventually got there he found a forgotten half bottle of whiskey and a box of cigarettes. Without hesitating, he lit a cigarette and took a great deep puff from it while twisting open the bottle cap of the whiskey.

What a life.

His phone rang and he slowly raised his arm to bring it to his ear.

"Hello?" He slurred. Who would be calling so late at night?

"Hello? Mr Scott? There's someone here to see you... I don't know who it is. You can come down or-

The thought of going down to the lobby in his state was laughable.

"No. No. Just send them up."

Oliver crossed his fingers, hoping it was Charlie and not his father. He should have insisted Charlie stayed the night. He wished he was there with him at that moment.

He took a deep breath in anticipation, praying it was Charlie as the elevator binged open.

"Oliver?" A female voice called out.

He knew that voice.

He tried to call out her name but his throat was too dry and only a low grunt came out. He quickly stumbled outside to find the source of the voice. Could it really be her?

He froze when he saw her. She seemed surprised as well. She looked tired but relieved and a small smile appeared on her face when she spotted him.

"Nora," He gasped.

Was he hallucinating? Was this a delayed effect of the drugs? But before he could think anymore she crashed into him and kissed him. He was slow to react but he knew he couldn't be hallucinating. She was tangible, right there in front of him. It was her. It was really her.

He couldn't believe it. "I thought you didn't love me anymore."

"I will always love you, Oliver Scott." She looked into his eyes. "Always."

"I-I don't understand. What changed?"

Nora kissed him. "I realised that you're the perfect guy for me. We go together. There's no Nora Lawrence without Oliver Scott."

He knew that already. They needed each other. They made each other whole.

"I told you. We're meant to be together,"He replied.

♢ ♢ ♢

"Oli?"

"Hm?" Oliver grunted, feeling a finger poke his back.

"We overslept. You're going to be late for work."

His eyes immediately shot open as he scrambled to sit up. However, he got up to quick and ended up having to sit back down because he got dizzy. If he thought the night before was bad, the sensation he was feeling then was ten times worse. Every nerve ending was ablaze. He felt his stomach swing around uncontrollably with even the smallest move. It wasn't good.

"Oh my god, Oliver. Are you okay?"

He shook his head. "Yeah. I'm still exhausted. I'll be alright though."

They were naïve to think that a night of sobriety and sleep would be enough to reverse everything he did to himself.

Nora stood up in front of him and reached out to hold his hand. "Let's get you into the bath."

That's what she did. That's what she always did. She took care of him. It was her role and she was perfect at it. Even in the bath, she helped him strip and spread soap all over his body. He could barely lift the shower head so she did all the work. She shaved his beard for him, she combed his hair. She was there for him. She wrapped him in a towel when they finished up and led him back to their room where he took over in finding clothes to wear.

"Thank you," He exhaled, pulling her into a hug. "I love you so much. Thank you."

He couldn't thank her enough. He was smothered with nostalgia, remembering all the times she was there for him. He felt almost coddled by Nora, like a child whose every need was tended to. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It was like he would automatically become dependent on her whenever he saw her. She was his rock.

"I love you too," She whispered back. "I'm going to make some coffee. You need it."

Oliver nodded and kissed her before turning around to change. As soon as he heard her feet land on the bottom step downstairs and he was certain the coast was clear he rummaged through his coat pocket for a bag of cocaine. There was no way he could show his face in the office looking the way he did and feeling the way he did. He needed his boost.

As soon as he was done with his 'boost' and with getting dressed he sprinted downstairs and into the kitchen.

"I made you coffee..." Nora said, slowing down as she noticed his good form.

"No need babe. I'll grab some on my way, I'm already late."

Nora could notice anything and he really didn't want a lecture from her about his supposed 'drug problem'.

He rushed to plant a kiss on her cheek but before he could, Nora placed her hand on his chest to stop him.

"What the fuck, Oliver?" She spat.

Shit.

"What?"

She raised her thumb to his nose to wipe off the white powder and waved it in front of his face. "I thought you were done with drugs."

Oh shit shit.

"I am!" He lied

"Don't you dare lie to me Oliver Scott because I will-"

"Nora, I am! But you saw the state I was in. I could hardly go into work like that. I just needed a quick fix. A boost."

"Seriously?! After all that pain, you want to restart the cycle again? It's your 'boosts' that got you into this mess."

He rolled his eyes. It was too early in the morning for an argument. "Don't start. I'm already tired."

"Not anymore you aren't!"

Less than twenty four hours reunited and they were already having a fight. Oliver didn't have the time or patience for their useless bickering.

"I'm not doing this. We'll talk when I get home."

He tuned out everything she shouted at him after that as he marched indignantly out of his apartment. No one understood that he needed the cocaine. He needed his boosts. He wasn't an addict. But... He couldn't live without his fixes.

♢ ♢ ♢

Oliver's father kept glancing at him throughout their meeting and it was beginning to get on his nerves. He threw him a glare but Ed Scott just raised his brow in an unbothered manner. Eventually, after the shareholder left, Ed turned around to face his son and any sign of the smile he had put on mere moment ago for the shareholders quickly vanished, curling into an disappointed scowl.

"Oliver-"

"What now!"

Ed sighed and picked up his files, standing up. "I'm not dumb. You were jittering erratically all through that meeting. Not to mention your fast speech."

"And what about it?"

"You need help, son."

"For what?" Oliver asked, playing dumb.

Ed rolled his eyes and left the conference room, not sparing his son a second glance. Oliver rubbed his head, his vision beginning to blur. Time for another fix?

Before he could, however, his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey! I made us dinner for our date so when you're done with work, come over. I can't wait to see you!"

Oliver's heart sank. Charlie. He had forgotten all about Charlie.

♢ ♢ ♢

Sorry my updates have been taking two weeks instead of the usual one week! My chapters are longer as a result of merging in chapters from Gilded Butterflies to maintain continuity but that just means a lot of extra work to be done. Hope y'all haven't lost interest! The next chapter almost made me cry tbh. It'll be up next week, I promise!!

Love you all.

-hexed

xoxo