The Color Line

Alexander Grayson

These past few days have been somewhat lonely since I've been avoiding Alex.

Even though I've been talking to Tim, Riley, and Rosy almost everyday, it was nice to have someone to hang out with instead of talking on the phone. I find myself missing him slightly, but I know that I should stay away. I feel this odd pull for him. It gets stronger and stronger each day.

It's the weekend now, so I don't have to go to that damn school for two days. Right now Eve is on the floor in front of my bed, playing with her dolls, while Jessie is at work and mom is downstairs cooking.

I end up drifting off to sleep, but my phone vibrating beside my head scares me out of my midday nap.

Alex's name flashes across the screen and my heart skips a beat. I tap the small envelope on the screen to open the text message.

*I know you've been avoiding me... meet me in the forest behind the school...plzzzzz...*

I check the time. It's only 4:00. My stomach does summersaults at the thought of what Alex may have in store.

I rush to my closet and grab a pair of skinny jeans and a skin tight pink T-shirt and put them on as fast as I can. I slip into my black flats and walk downstairs.

"Mom! I'm going out!" I yell as I near the front door. She scurries out of the kitchen with her apron wrapped securely around her waist.

"You're not going to see that Alex boy are you?" she raises a brow.

"I uhm...I," she gives me an amused grin, but her expression quickly changes to serious.

"Just promise me that you'll be safe. I'm not just talking about with that boy, but in general. Don't talk to anyone you don't know, and Alex better protect you. I'm trusting you."

"I will mom. I'll be safe," I say before kissing her cheek swiftly and walking out of the door.

Alex told me to go to the forest behind the school. It's a weird place to meet, but I don't question it. I need someone to hang out with and I miss him, so I really don't care where we meet, as long as I get to see him.

I have to climb a fence and cross a creek to get to the place where Alex wanted to meet me. I see him perched on top of a medium sized rock playing with a stick. His hair is a perfect mess on top of his head. He's wearing black jeans with a short sleeved black shirt. This is the first time I've seen him without a jacket, and I've never noticed how big his biceps are. He gives me a wide smile and pulls his lip ring between his teeth as soon as he sees me.

"Hey," he speaks first and pulls me into a hug.

"Hi," I say back when he pulls away. I look behind him. There's chips, candy, and alcohol peeking from a backpack behind him.

"You drink?" I ask.

He nods. "Yeah. I'm eighteen," he chuckles. "You should try some."

I shake my head. "No. I'm only sixteen. I'm underage."

"So?" He shrugs. "Just try some. It's good. I've been doing this since I was thirteen."

I raise a brow to him and take the bottle from his hand slowly. The bottle of vodka is cold, but from what I've seen on TV, it won't go down that way.

Alex watches in anticipation as I bring the bottle to my lips to take a sip. The first sip burns like crazy and I end up in a coughing fit, but the next couple sips burn less and are actually good. I hear Alex chuckle while watching me before he bends down to grab a bag of cheetos.

One bottle of vodka and two bags of cheetos later, I'm laughing like an idiot and Alex has to hold me up to keep me from falling.

"I think you're a lightweight," he says into my ear, making me shiver.

"What's that?" I ask, slurring my words.

"It means that the smallest amount of alcohol can have you wasted." He pulls me to his lap to keep me from falling over. I start to giggle like a school girl before he puts his hand over my mouth.

"You're crazy," he laughs.

"Yeah, crazy for you," I slur my words.

His eyes widen at my words and I start giggling again at the shock on his face.

His now bloodshot eyes are pouring into mine. I stop laughing to stare back at him. I feel his hand on my arm and I assume he's trying to steady me, or himself since he's equally as drunk now, until his lips crash into mine and he swallows my gasp.

My eyes automatically close and I let him pull my body further onto his lap. He tastes like vodka and cheetos and I'm sure that my mouth has the same flavor.

His fingers trail up the inside of my shirt, leaving goosebumps behind them. As our kiss gets deeper, he lifts me up by my thighs and places me on the grass gently, while hovering over me.

This feels good and I can feel my body temperature rising. I've only done this once before, and I'm starting to think twice about where this may be going. Warning signs are going off in my head, but I ignore them.

My mind clouds and my hormones take over as I pull Alex's shirt over his head and throw it somewhere behind me.

I bite down on his bottom lip, earning an impatient groan from Alex that vibrates throughout my body.

Alex stops the kiss and reaches down to unbutton my pants.

And that's when everything goes black.

. . .

I wake up with my head pounding and Alex's half naked body draped over me.

"Alex?" I croak and attempt to push him off of me.

He mumbles something before waking up and smiling at me. "Good morning beautiful," he says. His voice is thick from sleep and I feel my body heat up again.

"Wait, it's not morning," I say, looking at the bright moon above our heads. I check my phone to see ten missed calls from my mom and Jessie.

I'm so dead.

"I need to get home," I tell Alex. He nods. I throw him his shirt and watch him slip it over his messy hair that is now draped over his forehead.

Seeing all those missed calls seemed to instantly sober me, while Alex is lingering behind me.

I'm literally running now as I see the headlights of Jessie's car. Alex is screaming my name and I'm pretty sure he saw it before I did.

I hear Eve crying and my mom screaming. Jessie's car is surrounded by people with baseball bats, sticks and various sharp objects.

The windshield is broken now and that only makes me run faster.

I see a flash of white light before I feel Alex grab me and slam me to the ground.