I started getting ready for the party, deciding to actually do my hair and make up for the first time in ages. I curled my hair into loose beachy waves, and kept my makeup simple, but it was still more than I had worn in at least a month. I walked over to my closet and took off my dressing gown, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror. The bruises that were once so black you couldn't see my tattoos were almost entirely gone, faint, but still a reminder of who had put them there. The scars were fading too, but still noticeable. I had gained a little weight back, but not much. Pulling on a pair of straight leg jeans, they still sagged on my frame and wouldn't stay up without a belt. I threw on a vintage budweiser t-shirt and called it good.
I made my way down the stairs, where Tony, Vic, Mike and Jaime were sitting around the island sipping on beers and whiskeys. I was a little nervous to be in a party setting. My anxiety was still quite bad and social situations never seemed to make it better.
Mike slammed a glass of whiskey down on the counter in front of me, snapping me out of my thoughts. "For the pretty lady," he sang.
The guys had clearly already had a few, resulting in laughter and a whistle from Jaime. I held the glass up to cheers them, touched the counter with it and slammed it back. It burned my throat slightly, but made my insides feel warm and fuzzy. Man, I love whiskey.
The boys stared back in awe. "You didn't even make a face!" Jaime slurred.
I smiled and shrugged, grabbing a beer and popping the tab open.
"So," I said in between sips. "Who all is coming tonight?"
"The guys from All Time Low, Sleeping with Sirens, and a few of their friends I think," Vic answered. "So you'll be the only girl."
I chuckled and rolled my eyes when my gaze met Tony's. He hadn't said a word to me since I came down, and was more quiet and reserved than usual. After he broke our eye contact, he filled his glass and slammed it back silently. He winced a little at the burn, then did it again.
"Looks like we got a Tony-whiskey-hands here tonight!" Mike joked, and started flipping through his phone to play some music.
About an hour later, the party was in full swing. The house was big enough that it wasn't over crowded, but there was still a lot of people there. I poured myself another whiskey to sip on to calm my nerves. "Man, I can't believe you got to see Mike in his liberty spikes phase," Jack Barham wheezed between laughs. Vic had introduced me to Sleeping with Sirens, and after finding out I knew Pierce the Veil in high school, they couldn't stop asking questions about them as teenagers.
I laughed along with them, when I saw Tony out of the corner of my eye. He was sitting on the kitchen counter, in the back corner, alone. He had seemingly been avoiding me all night, so I walked over to him, resting my elbows on his lap. "What's wrong, Turtle?"
He took a gulp of his drink and looked away from me. "Nothing, I'm fine," he slurred.
"Tony," I started. "I know you. You're not fine."
He groaned and finished his drink, setting the glass down beside him on the counter. He hopped down, picking up a fresh bottle of Jack and took the cap off. He pushed past me, chugging the whiskey as he walked. By the time he had reached the dining table, it was almost half gone. Picking up Mikes phone from the table, he clumsily climbed up, standing on top of the table and paused the music. Fuck, was he ever drunk.
"VIC!" he yelled. "THIS ONE'S FOR YOU!"
And with that, Whitney Houston's 'I wanna dance with somebody' started blaring through the speakers at full volume.
Vic cheered and everyone started dancing. Jack and Gabe climbed up to join Tony. Vic and Mike pulled me towards them. Everyone was dancing and having the time of their lives, but I couldn't keep my mind off of Tony. I looked up at him as he finished the bottle, swaying his hips side to side to match the others on the table. He never drank like this and it worried me.
When the song was over, the music returned to a more reasonable volume, and everyone at the party continued to mingle. I leaned on the edge of the island, staring into space, subconsciously running my finger around the rim of my glass.
"You okay?" Alex from All Time Low came up to me, snapping out of my thoughts.
"Yeah," I nodded, standing up straight. "No actually," I said, wrinkling my forehead. "Have you talked to Tony at all tonight? Like, does he usually drink like this?"
Alex took a swig of his drink. "Not typically that I've seen, no. But we did have some wild nights when we all toured together. He's just letting loose."
I sighed in agreement, even though I didn't believe him. Something was going on with Tony. I scanned the room for him, and he finally caught my eye when he reached for another bottle. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed a bottle of water and stomped over to him.
"Hey, what the—" he stammered as I yanked the whiskey from his hands and replaced it with the water.
"Outside. Now." I demanded. "Let's talk."
Before he could answer, I grabbed him by the arm and led him outside to the patio. I didn't want anyone in the house to see what was going on, so I brought him to the smoking spot for some privacy.
"You're not being very fun," he slurred, trying to figure out how to open the water bottle.
I snatched it from his hands and ripped the cap off. "How would you know, Tony? You've been ignoring me all night."
Tony abruptly sat himself down on the edge of the deck, surprisingly not falling over. "You'll never love me the way I love you," he groaned.
I sighed and sat down next to him. "What do you mean?"
He looked down at his feet. "You're flirting with every guy at this party," he whined.
"I'm not flirting! I'm talking and getting to know your friends, Tony!" I snapped. "It's not my fault i'm the only girl here, it's also not my fault you got too loaded to actually see what was going on. You and your fucking assumptions!" my head was reeling now. Did I really just say that?
I looked over to him to see the saddest, emptiest look on his face. Sighing, I put my hand on his knee and gave him a squeeze. "Tone," I started, him finally looking back to me. "I wouldn't give a shit if any other guy at this party was acting the way you've been acting tonight. I would've left them to get piss drunk, or ignored the fact that they were ignoring me. Not you. But this isn't you."
Tony looked like he could cry. "I'm the one that's supposed to be taking care of you..." he whispered.
I gave him a soft smile and leaned my head into the crook of his neck. "And it's high time I returned the favour."
We sat there for a while, not talking, just holding each other. The noise in the house grew quieter. I finally stood up, offering a hand. "Let's get you to bed."
Tony reluctantly agreed, and we made our way inside and up the stairs. He stumbled through his bedroom, stripping his clothes off before plopping on the bed. I giggled, and set a bottle of water on his nightstand. He was almost instantly asleep.
I returned down stairs, where the party was winding down. Almost every one was still there, but it was much quieter. I walked back out to the patio, deciding to have a cigarette before I started cleaning up the mess we had made.
I lit the end of my cigarette, inhaling smoke. I heard the door open and watched Mike appear, joining me.
"Put Tony-whiskey-hands to bed?" he questioned.
I nodded as an answer.
We sat and smoked, talking about the party, joking about how terrible Tony was going to feel in the morning. The conversation came to a dead halt when we heard ratting in the bushes. We froze.
"What was that?" I whispered.
Mike stood up and walked a few steps closer, getting a better look. When he turned around, his eyes were wide with fear.
"Get in the house," he ordered. "Now."
We both started running inside, locking the door behind us.
