The Unknown Road

16 - Tessa

"HEY, LET'S GO OUTSIDE. I need some air," Millie shouts over the noise, pulling me towards the patio doors before I can protest.

Callum's house is ridiculous. He has a huge pool, and the four umbrellas that adorn the poolside all have heaters on them. So, despite me in a thin jumper and Millie in her sleeveless dress we do keep warm under them. And on top of that, I can feel the heat from an actual campfire, across the other side of the pool, where some boys are roasting marshmallows.

"The sky is so clear tonight,"Millie slurs as she looks up at the night sky. "Means it'll be freezing tomorrow."

Checking my watch, it's midnight and I'm beginning to feel a queasy from the mixture of the cold air and from drinking too much. That coupled with not being one-hundred percent anyway isn't really a good combination. I'd broken my promise to Dad, but he'll forgive me as soon as he sees Matt hungover tomorrow morning.

"Great," I respond, sarcastically. I didn't particularly mind the cold, but I was starting to feel it. "Millie, is it alright if we go soon?" A shiver runs through me.

I look at her when I don't get a reply. She's away with the fairies, her attention focussed elsewhere. "Millie?"

She's looking at something behind her, and she's laughing. I turn and try to focus on what she's looking at, and I start laughing too. However that laughter catches in my throat when I see who it is.

I'm not sure if Millie has seen what I'd seen, otherwise she wouldn't have been laughing. I now couldn't unsee it.

It's Dee.

After what Matt and I spoke about earlier, I couldn't believe it. She's doing it out in the open and it's making my stomach roll. But that wasn't the only reason I felt sick. I could only see her, and my heart was breaking into thousands of tiny pieces as I knew there was a distinct possibility the person she was with could be Archie.

But part of me knows it's not. Archie definitely wouldn't do that. I know he was saving himself for somewhere other than up against a wall.

"Gross," I say, the queasiness easing off as I look away.

"Some people have no shame," Millie laughs as she turns back to face me. She definitely can't have seen who it was. She'd be fuming, and probably marching over there.

After a few moments of silence, I can't help having one more peek round. This time my heart lifts. Dee's with Callum, not Archie, and I sigh with relief. But my relief is washed away, as she is now openly cheating on him, laughing in his face.

"Ugh, God," I snap involuntarily as I turn my head back around. Callum just put his hand down Dee's trousers, and I think I will actually be sick if I see any more. "Can we go inside? I'm cold," I get up sharply so she doesn't have a choice.

As we make our way through the house, she grabs an unopened bottle of Prosecco on our way from the kitchen to Callum's movie room. The room isn't exactly off-limits, but for the moment we have it to ourselves.

"Shall we finish this then go home? I'm actually really tired," Millie slurs as she takes another long chug from the bottle. We were supposed to be taking turns but I'd only had three mouthfuls, and definitely didn't need any more.

"Sure," I feign indifference, but the truth is that I'd never been more excited to go home. "We should tell the boys we're going," I note with a yawn. "Jesus, I am so tired." I look at my phone and it's just before one, and I'd been falling asleep by nine most days because I'd been so sick.

We each have two more mouthfuls of Prosecco before we abandon it in favour of finding our stuff in the kitchen. I shrug on my coat, grateful for its warmth, whilst Millie searches for her bag amongst a sea of others.