Swallowed in the Sea

when the party's over

"Absolutely not," I narrowed my eyes, "That's stupid."

"You gotta drink then," Trent sang loudly and I clenched my jaw.

Somehow, I was looped into this game of Truth or Dare where you drank every time you refused to either tell or do.

The worst part was that I could leave at any moment but I wasn't going to because I didn't want to go back to being alone in the corner.

I was pathetic.

Sighing, I lifted the cup to my mouth and took a tiny sip. I knew it was wrong, everything in me was telling me it was wrong.

But I did it anyway.

Terrifyingly, I was actually beginning to enjoy the buzz it gave me. It wasn't like the nervous buzzing that my ears did whenever I was anxious. It wasn't like the angry buzz I felt when I thought about my mother.

It was a numbingly happy buzz which I gladly accepted.

The moment I set the cup back down, the boys gave a round of applause and cheer, which added fuel to the fire.

I didn't mind this too much.

"Summer..." A frantic yet familiar voice came creeping into my ears, "Summer!"

I drowsily turned my head around, scanning for who could be the owner of the voice.

"Summer we have to go."

My eyes landed on Ila and I furrowed my eyes in confusion.

"What? Why?"

Without an explanation, Ila grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of the seat against my protests.

"What's going on?" I asked as I stumbled up the stairs, Ila's grip still tight around my wrist.

"He texted me a while ago but I didn't hear it," Ila bit her lip, "So he called Maddie's parents and...well, he knows we're not there."

My eyes widened, "Where does he think we are?"

Ila grimaced, "I'm not sure but that doesn't matter...we're in serious trouble."

Great.

My stomach twisting in knots, I began to realize the severity of our situation. This was a bad idea, to begin with, but I really thought that we were going to pull it off.

Clearly not.

"Where are we going now then?" I asked and Ila stopped in her tracks.

"Back to my house..." Ila looked at me with a confused expression, "It's over Summer...we've been caught."

I knew what Ila was saying was right. It was over. It was over and it was going to suck but what else were we going to do?

"I know," I whispered, "I just don't want to see their disappointment."

Ila visibly gulped, "Neither do I...man I am so grounded."

I felt like I was going to puke but kept it together while I followed Ila out of the house. The moment the cool breeze reached my skin, I relaxed and took in gulps of the air, trying to settle my stomach.

"It'll be okay...right?" Ila asked as we started walking back to her house, "I mean we're definitely in serious trouble but they can only ground us for so long right? It'll be over soon."

It was hopeful thinking, we both knew that. It did little to make me feel any better but I nodded in agreement.

"It'll be over soon," I echoed Ila's earlier statement.