My friends know about the hell I’ve been through with that boy, but I try to leave them out of the vast majority of his ridicule. I don’t want them to be miserable in the way he wants me to be. I prefer we just push this away and move on, but he won’t allow that to happen. He will never let go of our past. Our friends do not deserve to be dragged into the middle of our mess all the time, though, so I keep a lot of it to myself.
“Best friend,” Taya singsongs, as she stumbles over to my side. She’s holding a cup of whatever fruity stuff Kip is mixing up in that trash can that everyone is hovering around. “Try this.” She pushes the cup into my chest, not giving me a chance to refuse it.
I give it a smell, and my nose twitches. “This smells like straight alcohol.” I try to hand it back, but she shakes her head.
“Just taste it.”
She may be a good friend, but she also invented peer pressure. Taya never used to be this wild, but after graduation, she let loose. She seems so much happier and more carefree lately. Wanting a bit of that happiness, I take a sip of the drink and smack my lips together. “Not bad.” I’m a firm believer that drinking does not bring happiness. What’s fun about waking up with a hangover and regrets? I’ve seen firsthand what a mess it can make of things. However, one drink won’t hurt. Maybe it’ll help me relax a little bit.
I hand it back to her, but she refuses. “Finish it, Girl. I’ll get another.”
I take another drink and feel the burn make its way down my esophagus, settling in my stomach. I begin swaying my hips to the music that is blasting through every room of the house.
I can do this. I can have fun.
The cup goes back, and I let all of the punch slide down until there isn’t a drop left. Just as I swallow it down, I lift my eyes and see Axel standing in the doorway of the kitchen. His arms over his chest, his ankles crossed, as he leans against the frame, his eyes glued to me.
I pull my eyes away, as my heartrate excels.
Just play it cool. If you react, he will react.
I walk over to the crowd around the trash can and hand my cup to Kip. “Fill me up.”
His eyes bug out. “Seriously?”
“Did I stutter?” I press my lips into a firm line.
“Hell yes, Harper’s partying tonight.” He hoots and hollers.
I let out a laugh. “It’s just one drink.”
“Make that two,” Taya says, reminding me that I already had the first.
“You’ll only need one, this is some potent shit right here,” Kips says, as he hands me the red cup.
I turn around, and my face crashes right into the chest of a guy in a white t-shirt. Not just any guy. I’d recognize that cologne anywhere.
“What ya got there, Adara?” He looks down at me, his big black eyes entrancing me. He sticks his hands in his pants pockets and keeps his feet planted firmly.
I turn my head away. “Excuse me,” I say calmly, as I try to step around him, but he shadows every move I make.
I take a deep breath. “I need to use the bathroom. Move, please.”
“You’ll have better luck if you walk home and use your own. Line is long as hell.” The corners of his lips curl up, as he shrugs his shoulders.
“Good idea. I’ll do that.” I push past him, causing him to take a step back, but he remains in place with his hands in his pockets.
I look back, before walking out of the kitchen, and catch him looking at me over his shoulder, with a blank stare. I step out of his sight and lean my back against the wall in the living room, catching my breath.
Why does he keep seeking me out just to torture me?
I didn’t really have to go to the bathroom; I was looking for an escape before I turned into a puddle at his feet. He has this unexplainable effect on me. I don’t like him at all; he’s the biggest jerk I’ve ever met, and he hates me, but he does something to my insides. It’s this can’t think, can’t speak, can’t breathe feeling that I can’t seem to escape. He has a hold on me, and I just wish he’d let go.
Three drinks in and I’m still standing, barely. I haven’t seen Axel in a while, and I’m not complaining. Surprisingly, I’ve actually been having a really good time. Nate has been calling nonstop, but I finally shut my phone off. I look down at my wrist and realize that I must have set my wristlet down somewhere.
Crap.
I begin walking frantically through the house, pushing through drunken bodies that all ignore my shoves. I go into the kitchen and skim my eyes across the counter. Suddenly, my mouth begins filling with this bitter watery taste. It just keeps coming, no matter how much I swallow it down. A sudden twist in my stomach has me fleeing out the screen door to the backyard. As soon as it slams shut, I begin vomiting profusely.
Bent over, it all comes out on the old-cracked ceramic patio. I hear the door slam closed again and look over to see April, my new roommate.
“Oh, Girl. You don’t look so hot.” She comes to my side, taking my hair in her hands and holding it up, while I continue to spit until I feel well enough to stand up.
“I don’t feel so hot.” I stumble to the side a little bit, as she lets go of my hair. Suddenly, everything begins spinning. “I need to lie down.” I start dropping to my knees, but she pulls me back up.
“Not out here. Come on, let’s get you inside.” Her arm hooks around mine, and I brace myself on her as we walk back inside.
The commotion inside and the smell of alcohol in the kitchen, coming from that nasty trash can, make me want to hurl again. I point to it. “I’m never drinking that stuff again.”
“You say that now.” She laughs.
April and I haven’t really gotten to know each other yet, but she seems like a nice girl. “Where are we going?” She continues to walk me through the living room, past all the blurred and doubled faces, and over to the couch.
“Let’s just sit you down here.” She looks at the couch where a couple are making out on one end, and a guy is sleeping on the other.
“Uh uh.” I shake my head. “Knox’s room. He’s staying at his girlfriend’s house. I can lay down in there for a minute.”
“Knox’s room, it is,” she says.
We walk down the hall, and the bathroom line has finally shortened a bit. I have no idea which room is Knox’s. She turns the handle of the first door, and we both poke our heads in. “Nope, that’s not it. Hi Taya.” I chuckle, before pulling the door shut.
We try the next one. It’s dark, but April feels around at the wall until she finds a light switch. “This must be it.” I shrug, looking at Knox’s grey Kappa hoodie on the floor that he wears to bonfires all the time. There’s a bunch of boxes tipped over with the contents scattered all over, a dresser, a large flat screen on the floor, and a bed that hasn’t been made yet. Typical guy.
I make my way over to the bed and drop down on it. Grabbing a pillow and pulling it under my head, I look over to Knox’s dresser and something catches my eye. “My phone!” I shoot up, “and my keys. How did those get in here?”
“Someone must have found them. Sleep tight.” She hits the lights.
“Hey April, come get me before you and Taya leave. Would ya?”