Liar

Chapter 35

Well, I said I wouldn't drink anymore but that wasn't the case. It really wasn't.

He drove us home, but I'd rather say he drove me home. I didn't remember much of last night after we left. The light hurt my eyes so I ran to close the curtains. I was naked and kind of dizzy but I was- not okay. My stomach lurched and I ran into the bathroom. My first hangover, I guess. I brushed my teeth and rinsed with mouthwash. Thoughtlessly running downstairs, I found Keith making bowls of Muesli for us both, with an extra cup nearby. His eyes dropped and looked back at me.
" Baby what happened last night?" I asked, unsure. He pulled me into a hug and kissed my forehead.
" I brought you home last night. We ended up making out in the kitchen and we ended up screwing on the couch. Are you feeling off?" Nodding, I held his hand because I felt weak and wobbly. He took me back upstairs and helped me through it. I bathed and put on clothes. I tied my hair back and sighed. He took me back downstairs so we could eat and I could hydrate, because that was my first time with alcohol. Well, a lot of it really. " Eat and have some water, okay?"

All I could confidently do was nod. I felt so dead. I had 3 glasses and I was decent but by the time I got back to the car my vision began swimming. It only went downhill from there.

I slowly chewed and drank as I held Keith's hand. It looked childish, but I felt safe, like I would be okay. His hands were much bigger than mine, warm and protecting.

Pushing my empty bowl away, I moved into Keith's arms. His hand wrapped around my hip and pulled me closer.

" I want to go out and drink with you as many times as possible if it means this." His laugh rang off of the walls and I felt his laugh, I was in his arms after all.

His hands slid across my hair, smoothing the frizz as it started to dry. " You told me to carry you home. You said a lot of crazy things." I looked up at him, fearful. What did I say? He cracked a smile and stayed silent but what he failed to realize is that the quieter he was, the more horrified I became.

He rolled his eyes " You were perfect. I mean, you were amazing before but you seemed like yourself just... a lot less tense and a lot less hesitant."

Hesitant. Maybe, yeah. I admit I wasn't a great partner in any sense of the word. Squeezing my eyes shut, I only wished that I was n't such a mess.

He finished his bowl and I washed our dishes, placing them to dry in the rack. I underperformed. By a lot.
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My home was available to me again after that shit show six months later. My diploma hung on the wall and graduation pictures. Also a picture of my husband and I and a photo of drink that I bought. A vanilla cream seltzer water that was refreshing as it was delicious.

An expert suggested it was pretty enough to put in a frame and hang on my wall and here it is.

I got Keith to lock the door shut from the inside and I never turned back. I couldn't turn back. Keith and I also threw the key down into some river a county over, so I wouldn't be able to open it again. That was a chapter of my life that was shut; that had no choice but to stay closed.

Janine never questioned it. She and a few of my other cousins reached out with their condolences and offered to stay here with me. My cousins Derek, Keyana, Caleb and Janine were now my immediate family.

I ran downstairs as quickly as possible. Keith was coming over for breakfast to meet my cousins for the first time and we wereu planning something special. Caleb had a plain white shirt on with some gray shorts and a regular black bathrobe. He heavily resembled my aunt, who had freckles around her cheeks and light brown hair. He skipped glasses and wore contacts today, which happened sometimes. He had dark brown eyes and a naturally mischievous smile. I walked up to him very closely.