The Silver Lining

Chapter 2: Drink

The music sent vibrations through the bathroom floor. I pressed my hand againsy the wall for balance as I stood over the toilet. Something in body was telling me I needed to puke, but nothing was coming out.

I looked up and my cousin's family photo was staring right at me. Ningning was my best friend growing up, my favourite cousin. I chuckled at the memory of us convincing strangers that we were siblings. We might as well have been. In the photo were her, her brother, mom, stepdad, and stepbrother. The vomit rushed up from my stomach the moment I made out her stepbrother's face. I pushed the picture frame face-down and immediately lurched over to let it out.

I shook my head and tried to blink away the blur as I stumbled to the sink and took a travel-size mouthwash from below the sink.

When I stepped into the hallway, multicoloured starbursts flashed on my face as I staggered into the kitchen and poured myself a cup of water. I tossed my phone onto the marble counter. Cleo still hadn't read any of my messages. I gulped down every last drop of water and made the poor decision to grab another beer. Everything was getting fuzzier by the second, and the bong I hit with my cousins was starting to kick in, but I was still drinking and bobbing to the music like there was no tomorrow. Tonight, I didn't want to think.

I joined the chant as Ningning's boyfriend, Sawyer, popped open a full bottle of rose wine and chugged it.

"CHUG CHUG CHUG-" I roared from the sea of pumping fists.

The wine drained down the neck of the bottle until I could see Ning through the glass and the room erupted with ear-splitting whoops and cheers. Sawyer expelled a growling burp and shouted "LET'S GOOO!!!" as the rest of the first floor followed suit and screamed to their hearts' desire.

I could feel my body swaying to find balance as if an invisible force was trying to push me over. Then a warm hand wrapped around my wrist.

"Kylo!" Ningning appeared in my peripheral vision, a giddy smile on her face. Her voice was barely audible over the blaring music.

"Where the fuck did you come from?" I laughed as she eagerly dragged me to the spiral staircase to the second floor. "And where are we going?"

Ning smiled back at me and I could see her lips move but I couldn't make out the words.

Some of our cousins and family friends were hanging out up on the second floor, vibing to the music in private while everyone else was dancing and singing to the music under the colour-changing lights downstairs. We stopped by the balcony overlooking the living room where a dozen of our cousins and friends were dancing the night away.

A knot formed in my stomach. I asked her, "Hey, where's your brother?"

"What?" she shouted over the music.

"Your brother!"

"Oh, Zoren!"

"No, your stepbrother!" I said loudly. My voice was still barely audible.

"Oh! Hunter, yeah! Both of them are unsocial brats! They're not coming home for a party! Haha! Why?"

Ningning didn't know what Hunter did to me when we were kids and I wasn't going to tell her now anyway. I cringed at myself for bringing him up. "Nevermind!" I said. Maybe it was just because I saw his face in that family photo and I needed to make sure I didn't see his face in real life. It was stupid. Stupid. I didn't want to think about it. Suddenly I was downing half my beer in one go.

"Okay! Well just stay here!" Ning said giddily.

I smiled and let the alcohol wash away my thoughts like a river. "Not going anywhere!"