Swear || a.i [editing in progress]

Swear

YEAR 2016

"Bailey Quinn?" The intercom blared in the hospital. I got up from my seat and walked over to the doctor's office.

'Dr. Johnson'
Yep, that was it.

My palms were sweaty, and I took a long and deep breath. "This is it." I shut my eyes, readying myself.

I raised my hand and hesitated before giving the door a few soft knocks.

"Come in." Dr Johnson's voice prompted.

I turned the knob and walked in slowly, unsure.

She shot me her usual sweet smile to welcome her patients. I, being one of her more frequently visiting patients, was greeted with my name.

"Bay!" She greeted.

"Hi, Doctor Johnson," I replied, fear evident in my shaky voice.

"So, please take a seat. I have your results." She looked serious for a moment, flipping through her documents with her brow furrowed.

"So, Bay, what would you want the results to be? What did you expect?" She smirked at me.

What did I want? What did I expect? Well, I didn't know. Who would, if they were where I am now?

"I can't say." I shrugged, forcing a smile of sincerity.

"Well," she started. I felt more light-headed as the seconds passed.

"It's positive."

All the blood drained from my face.

A month ago, my friends invited me to a party to be their chauffeur. I didn't like all the loud music and social interaction that came hand in hand with such parties held at some club downtown. To me, clubs were a huge turnoff. People in there were reckless and loud and inconsiderate.

"Wanna hit the dance floor?" My friend, Clem asked, wiggling her eyebrows at Rachel and me.

"Nah, I'm good," I answered. 10 seconds in this place and I already felt uncomfortable.

"Bleh, Rach? " Clem held an arm out to her.

"Oh, of course." Rachel hopped along with Clem onto the dance floor, leaving me alone.

I felt awkward and out of place. I wanted to leave, but I was their drive here. Once they got out of here, there is no way that they would be sober enough to get home alone.

I sat on a chair in the lounge and waited. For something to happen. For something exciting to shout in my face "You can stay here without feeling so numb!"

"Alone too?" I heard a low voice ask as a man lowered himself next to me. He smirked. I've read too many horror stories of weird men coming up to lonely ladies in bars to not have my guard up.

"Yeah," I observed him again, the same way he was observing me.

"Well, my friends kind of left me here." he chuckled. I couldn't find the humor in that, so I just kept a straight face. My friends had left me there too. I didn't find that fun at all. It was pretty sad, honestly.

He noticed my puzzled look and scooted closer to me.

"I'm Ashton." he whispered.

"Bay."

"That's a lovely name, Bay." He smiled. Was he flirting with me? I got slightly annoyed. Flattered, nonetheless but annoyed.

"Hey, you don't have to stay here you know. Your friends? They can handle themselves. We can hit the road and come back an hour later or so." He suggested cheekily.

"Right." I nodded sarcastically. He screamed creepy.

"I'm serious! C'mon lets's go to the park or something." Parks? Dark, scary, lonely playgrounds surrounded by trees and unlit pavements? No. I looked around me. A park with a cute, sober but creepy dude or loud, headache inducing club music and drunk, creepier dudes.

"Let's go."

We hopped into his car and drove around. The nearest park was about fifteen minutes away. At least I won't be in confined space with this guy for more time than that. After approximately an hour in his car, we were at each other's throats. But strangely, I was having some fun.

"You said you knew where park was!" He shouted with a big smile on his face, clearly incapable of containing his laughter. His face was inches away from mine as his arms flailed around dramatically. What a dork.

"No, you did!"

"Okay, we're lost!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Stop shouting!"

The two of us burst out in laughter. I had no idea what I was laughing about but my cheeks were warming up and I felt happy. I was glad that he turned out to be a dork and not a human trafficker planning to sell my kidneys on the black market.

"Okay, let's find our way back." I finally said after I was all burnt out from laughing.

"Wait," Ashton smiled, his voice softened too. "No, no. This is fun"

"We could stay and talk or something. I got some beers in the back." He jerked his finger towards the back of his car.

His suggestion was tempting.

"Pizza or pancakes?" I asked. We were playing a game of 20 questions, and I was asking him questions about food. But all he asked was about my love life and all those shenanigans.

To be honest, I felt dull. My love life has just been filled with rejection or crappy rebounds from those rejections.

"Pizza! What kind of question is that? Okay, would you kiss me if I gave you a chance?" He wiggled his eyebrows at me. Did he just? Oh, he was flirty.

"Well, I don't know, I barely eve-

I was cut off by soft lips pressed against mine.

I was in total shock. But still, I kissed him back. If my friends were having fun, why couldn't I? But just then, it wasn't me; it was the alcohol talking. And oh, does alcohol talk.

The next morning, I woke up with a pounding headache. I was back at the club with my head propped against the same chair I was in the night before.

I couldn't remember what I was doing, but just then, it didn't matter. I felt dirty. My clothes were wrinkly and wrongly buttoned. I didn't know what to do and how I ended up back there.

The last thing I remembered was locking lips with a man. A man with a musky scent and cherry lips. Ashton.