Introspective Strangers [h.s.]

Chapter 14

I crossed my arms over my chest, but part of my anger faltered. As angry as I was, I was pretty drunk. I couldn't argue with him on that one. "That's no valid reason. I am an adult. I can make my own choices."

"God, enough with that shit, May. I already told you that coke isn't a decision, it's a life fucking sentence," he growled.

"You're being dramatic," I said with a roll of my eyes. "I would've been fine. Isaac and Ben were there to- Oh my God! Harry! We have to turn back. I was there with Isaac. He's going to explode if he finds out that-"

"Isaac seemed pretty occupied when I went back in," Harry said with a clenched jaw. "I told him I was taking you home."

"What?" I asked in a small voice. "You let him know?"

"Obviously," Harry said with a shrug. "I'd be absolutely livid if you'd gone there with me and left without saying anything. That goes to say, I probably wouldn't have let you leave with some man you barely knew in the first place."

My heart sunk at his words. Isaac and Ben had come solely to make sure that I was okay around Harry, yet the two of them had obviously seemed fine enough to just let me leave with him. Neither of them had even spoken or seen me before I left. Even though I trusted Harry, they didn't. And they just let me leave with him?

Isaac seemed pretty occupied when I went back in.

A girl, probably. So why did that make me so upset? I didn't care that Isaac was with a girl, in fact, I had been the one to push him towards it. But he left me alone for that girl. A girl that he barely knew.

I would never have done that to one of my friends. No matter how drunk or boy-clouded my brain was.

"Oh," I replied, my voice meek.

Despite the retaliation from my head, I turned and looked at the moving scenery outside, resting my head against the window. This came to be something I instantly regretted, nausea starting to churn over in my stomach. I saw Harry glance over at me in my peripheral vision.

"He knew you were okay," Harry said in a soft voice. "I know you're upset that he just let you leave."

"I'm not," I lied, the words feeling like bricks on my tongue.

Harry didn't reply.

I urged my drunk self to suppress any troubling feelings, distressed at the fact that Harry had so easily been able to read my face.

We rode along silently for a few more minutes. Whenever the car turned a corner, I had to swallow the vomit threatening to crawl its way up. I refused to let Harry see me throw up a second time.

Unfortunately, this refusal was extremely short lived.

The minute Harry parked his car on the side of the road in front of the apartment, I barely had time to get my seatbelt off before I threw myself from the passenger seat and was emptying the contents of my stomach onto the pavement.

I was vaguely aware of a door behind me opening and shutting, along with a string of curses, before a figure appeared at my side. This time, I didn't turn around and punch him when he approached.

Harry gathered all of my hair in one of his hands as he crouched at my side, the other hand being placed on my back where he rubbed soothing circles. I shivered, unsure if it was from my lack of a jacket or his touch.

That being said, as I continued to puke, I took every opportunity that I could to try and shrug him off.

"I'm fine," I breathed, fighting back another retch. "This is so embarrassing. Please go away. I'm fine, Harry. Please go home," I whined.