•120•Comforting

Alex entered his penthouse and slowly made his way towards the small bar built-in along the wall leading to the kitchen. It contained booze of various brands and flavors he hadn't touched in a long while. But today, the drive to do so was irresistible.

Opening the cabinet door, he pulled out a large bottle of untouched scotch along with a shot glass. Without bothering to wipe the shot glass, he uncapped the bottle, poured himself a shot of the scotch, and downed it in one gulp.

The stiff alcohol burned his throat, causing his eyes to water, but that didn't stop him from pouring another one and downing it just as quickly.

“Alex, you're back.” A soft, feminine voice came from behind him.

Nodding, he turned to face the owner of the voice. It was Nicole. He tried to smile at her, but the awkward stretch of his lips told him that what he had on his face was nothing close to a smile.

“How's my sister? I suppose she's back from the business trip?” Nicole asked.

The mention of Skylar caused t