Without You

Chapter Fifteen

     Just as I expected, it's dark out already. I get a text from my mom asking when I'll get home. I tell her that I'm staying at Laurie's for a bit, and I'll probably be home late.

Max keeps his distance, walking a few paces behind me. I hate making Max upset, but I have no idea how to even forgive him. This reminds me to text Oscar.

Hey, I write. Do you want to hang out sometime?

Oscar writes back almost instantly. Yeah, do you want to go to the bonfire party?

Yeah, that sounds great.

Laurie, and Pat are sitting on the sand, throwing rocks into the water. And Margaret is dipping her feet in the water.

Pat throws the soccer ball at us, and I intercept it, stopping it with my foot. "Ready to be beat, Wilson?" I ask Max, a mischievous glimmer in my eyes.

Max's lips curl into a confident smirk as he steps forward. "Never."

I run with the ball, and Max speeds toward me, attempting to take the ball from me. I evade him easily, faking him out, and kick the ball strongly. It rolls right into the imaginary net.

"Jane 1. Max 0," Pat yells.

"I bet you $20 that Jane is going to win," Laurie says to Pat.

"I can't even disagree. She's a beast," Pat says, shrugging.

I laugh at that. Soccer is like the one sport I'm actually good at. I'm completely unathletic, except when it comes to soccer. I've just got golden feet.

"I don't know," Margaret objects. "I think Max is going to win." She turns toward Max. "Go Max!"

I place the ball in the center.

"Three, two, one. Go!" Pat yells, commencing the game.

I've never been confrontational ever, but in soccer it's like I'm completely different. I'm so much more confident in myself. It's kind of my way to escape my shy, and unstable self.

We play a few more rounds, before it gets so dark that we can barely see the ball anymore.

All of us join into a circle in the sand.

That's when Margaret pulls out a massive water bottle. She passes it to Laurie.

"What—"

"Vodka," Margaret giggles.

Laurie squeals, and her eyes widen in excitement. She takes a long sip of the vodka. "Ugh, I needed that. You should've gave me some earlier," Laurie says, slapping Margaret lightly on the arm.

Margaret laughs. "No, way. When you're drunk, you're way too crazy."

Laurie hands the bottle to Pat, and then it gets passed around the circle all the way to me. "I don't know," I trail off. "It's kind of late. What if we get caught?" I say, my worries getting the best of me.

It seems like the vodka has run straight through Laurie, because she seems so much more carefree. She stands up, and runs around to me, shaking me. "Jane, just have some fun. It'll be another thing to cross off your bucket list."

I look back at her with an unsure look.

"Let's carpe diem this shit."

"Yeah, come on, Jane. Have fun for once in your life," Margaret says. She pauses. "You know what? It's fine. If it's too much for you, you don't have to."