Confessions of a Teenage Alcoholic

Chapter 17

But there's a slight knowing feeling sitting on my chest as I walk along the street with Faye. I was anxious because what if he had had a slip up, but instead of getting a handle back on things like his friends thought he had, he had been spiralling ever since.

He was definitely not ok, in that he was stressed and sad. And although I could see it was a big sad, I wondered how he was numbing it if he wasn't turning to alcohol.

He has never seemed drunk, or out of it. But alcoholics, a lot of the time they don't need alcohol to get drunk, they don't even want it, they drink so they're not shaking, so nobody notices.

I let thoughts of Jackson fall from my brain and smile at Faye. I was stressed, because I hadn't seen him. But that may just be because he didn't want to see me after what happened. But it also may be because he's really not ok and-

"So what type of dress are you thinking about for your thing?" She asks.

I had asked Faye to come with me when I went shopping for the charity gala gown, I had been with my mum yesterday but I couldn't find anything I liked. I hadn't seen much of Faye since I returned, and she always had the best sense of style.

"I don't really know." I pull up a picture of the dress I wore to the one in St Patricks back in January. "Something like this I guess, my dad said it was perfect."

"So basically, a sophisticated, classy prom dress?"

I laugh at her generalisation and I just shrug. "I guess so."

"So, who's going? From our group? So many of our parents work in the education system." She laughs and I just shrug.

"I only know that Max is taking Lucy." I explain and she nods in understanding.

"Oh do you have to bring a date then?" She asks as we pull open the door of a little boutique.

"I don't think you have to."

"Are you taking Jayden? Or maybe Jackson?" She asks jokily and wiggles her eyebrows at me.

"I'm taking Cole." I say and laugh at her confused face.

"Who the hell is Cole?"

"A friend from back home." I muse and she just shakes her head at me.

"Girl you have way too many suiters."

"Oh shh." I say and move my hands through the racks of dresses. Faye separates from me and as I look around this one rack, she wizzes around the shop pulling out various dresses and quickly coming back to meet me.

"Come on, you need to try all these on."

I look at the, at least nine, gowns in her hand and sigh. This was going to be effort.

"Ok." I groan and she hurries me into the dressing rooms.

The lady smiles at us and asks us "Prom?".

"Nope, charity gala." I explain and she smiles widely at me, counting the dresses as Faye hands them to her. She takes us to a room and hands up the dresses for us.

"The pink champagne one will be perfect against your skin tone. Definitely classy enough for an event like that as well." She smiles and leaves us be.

"That's what I thought!" Faye says and looks at me excitedly. "Try every other one before that one though." She laughs and I just roll my eyes at her.

So, it starts, the tedious project of putting dress after dress over my body and shaking my head at my reflection, none of them were what I wanted.