apartment 23 // mitchel cave

37

*one week later*

angeline's p.o.v.

i stepped outside of the small hotel, glancing around at the people walking down the sidewalk. i tried mentally checking off everything i needed to bring with me. phone? check. wallet? check. xanax? wouldn't forget them. after mentally assessing my belongings i stepped out closer to the curb, trying to flag down a taxi. the air in washington seemed so much cleaner than los angeles. no second-hand smoke and pollution in good ol' washington.

i managed to get a taxi to stop for me after jumping around and waving my arms like a madman for a solid ten minutes. great, i was going to be late. i quickly stepped in and told the driver the address. a group of girls who had been sent out here by the manager of the exhibit had invited me out as a way to "become closer friends". i didn't care about the friendships to be completely honest; i just wanted the booze.

the driver seemed like a complete wreck. he didn't know the basic concept of instructions even though i had told him several times to make a right turn, not a left turn. luckily, i made it to the club alive. i quickly handed the driver the cash and hurried out of the car and into the club.

where are u?

liz 📷
table in the back. i have someone u need to meet ;)

got it, i'm heading back

i hadn't told them about mitchel, so who knows who she was going to introduce to me. all liz had told me was that she was going to be here with another girl named elise. they were both photographers and rented their own small studio in downtown los angeles. she never informed me that there would be other people joining us, but the more the merrier i guess.

after shoving through people, i managed to spot liz at a small table with elise and a few other people. they saw me and began waving me over.

"hey angeline!" liz said, bringing me in for a hug. she already reeked of alcohol.

"hey liz, hey elise." i said, smiling over at elise.

"wait, i have to introduce you to someone..." liz said loudly. she winked at me slightly before turning her direction to a guy who had been sitting in the booth. he looked up at both of us and smiled. he had tan skin and light brown hair around shoulder length. if i'm being completely honest with you, it looked like he hadn't properly washed his hair in about seven months, but who am i to judge?

"angeline, this is derek." liz said. derek flashed me a smile and i awkwardly smiled back.

"i'm going to go get some more drinks. you too get acquainted." liz said, gently pushing me towards derek. he patted the seat next to him and i carefully sat down, careful not to get to close. i may have been going against mitchel by doing drugs and drinking, but i definitely was not the type of person to cheat.

"hey." derek said once liz left.

"hi." i said, trying to avoid conversation.

"i'm not going to bite you, don't act so scared." he laughed.

"sorry, just a little bit on edge." i told him. i wasn't being completely dishonest; i was feeling a bit nervous because of the white pills in my clutch. what if someone saw? i'd be ruined.