Chapter Thirty-One
Noraes stumbled forward, his vision blurred. He tried to navigate the alley but lost his footing. Charlotte held his hand tight on his right, but he fell to his left, into the alley wall. The night was dark, and very little torchlight brightened the back alleys. Noraes tried to straighten himself, shaking his head to gain clarity. It didn’t work. Everything was still blurry. He reared the bottle in his paper bag backward and took another gulp. The whiskey tasted good but burned as it went down his throat. Charlotte clung to him tight, glancing suspiciously from side to side.
“Father … we will be home soon, please, just a little further.”
Noraes glanced to her, scrunched his eyes, hiccupped, then crashed back into the wall. He fought to keep his balance as he continued
