I wake up in a dark room with only the faintest trace of daylight peeking in through the window. I'm lying on a bed and have trouble focusing my eyes. I'm not alone. Someone's lying next to me. I reach out and gently touch the soft skin of the person's neck. It's warm, but I can't tell whose it is.
I try to sit up, but the room spins and I vomit as soon as I do. I reach out for the wall and steady myself before falling back onto the bed. I feel weak and drained. This isn't good. If I'm going to survive this hangover, I need to rest for a while.
I sit up and use the wall to support myself. I look around the room and notice that the curtains are drawn and the lights are turned off. It's quiet except for the sound of my breathing and that of the person who's still in bed. I'm suddenly overcome by a strong desire to go outside and get a breath of fresh air. I stand up and walk unsteadily towards the window. I look out at the night sky and wonder how I even got here.
My hands tremble as I grasp the edges of the window frame. I stare at the ground below and feel a sudden rush of relief. The world around me has become very small and familiar. I feel safe here.
Someone stirs on the bed and turns towards me. I look up and see Julie staring at me with concern in her eyes.
"Are you okay?" she asks.
I nod my head. "Yeah," I reply. "Just need some fresh air."
I step up to the window and carefully lower myself down. When I'm standing on the windowsill, I push it open further and step outside. I take a deep breath and revel in the cool breeze blowing in from the nearby trees. I look down and see the grass beneath my feet and I remember not feeling well before passing out in front of everyone. The memory makes my face heat up in embarrassment. I close my eyes and lean my head against the window pane.
I hear footsteps approaching me and I open my eyes to see Julie standing beside me. She takes hold of my shoulders and steadies me as I sway in the wind. I wrap my arms around her and bury my face in her neck and sniffle. I can't stop crying. What's wrong with me? Did I overdo it just that much?
"Are you sure you're alright?" Julie asks. "I mean, you don't look good."
"I'm sorry," I say between tears. "I'm just so embarrassed. I shouldn't have gotten drunk like that."
"It's okay," she says, patting my back. "You just had one too many drinks. We've all been there. No one's judging you."
"How about you?" I ask. "You don't look too good yourself."
"Me?" she laughs. "Don't worry about me. I'm okay. I have a high alcohol tolerance."
"Really?" I ask. "Wow."
"Come on," she says after a moment. "Let's get back inside."
I shake my head and laugh a little. "Okay," I say, wiping my nose on my sleeve. "I'm coming."
We both climb back into the house and Julie leads me downstairs to the kitchen. There's no one else around at the moment. The party must've ended a little while back, but the floor is still littered with plastic cups and empty cans and the faint stench of alcohol still hangs in the air. I walk past the living room and see Noah sitting on the sofa with Dom and Maddy. They look exhausted and barely conscious. I cringe. I can imagine what they've probably been doing. Noah stands up when he sees us and walks over to the kitchen.
"Hey," he says as he pulls Julie in for a quick hug.
"Hey," Julie replies with a smile, her face a light shade of pink under the lights.
He follows us into the kitchen and he looks surprised to see me still standing there. "Good to know you're still alive and back on your feet."
I give him a weak smile and open the fridge door. I reach inside and grab a bottle of ginger ale and pour myself a tall glass. I take a sip and savor the tart taste of the carbonated beverage before handing it to Julie.
"You look sick," she says. "You should probably drink it all."
I take a seat at the table and watch Julie and Noah talk excitedly. I decide to listen in on their conversation because I have nothing better to do, and I sure as hell do not want to go out to the living room where Dom and Maddy are. They're probably already starting to make out or something. The last thing I want to see is an eyeful of them groping each other. No, thank you.
"So, uh..." Julie begins hesitantly. "I guess we don't really know anything about each other."
Noah nods his head. "That's true."
"Well, you were always just kind of this guy who showed up at school every day."
"And I was the one who bullied you," he replies with a grin.
Julie giggles softly. "That's not entirely true."
"But mostly true."
"Yes," she agrees. "Mostly."
I look up at her and she smiles at me, but then her expression changes and she looks away. Her cheeks flush with color and her forehead furrows. I frown in confusion.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
She shakes her head and stares down at her hands. "Nothing's wrong," she says with a nervous laugh. "Hey, you might want to get your phone from Dom. I think someone was calling you last night and left a bunch of messages."
My eyes widen when I realize she was indirectly giving me a signal to leave so they could have privacy to talk. "Uh... sure, okay," I say and quickly get up and leave, but not before holding both their gaze and giving them a funny look.
When I reach the living room, I find Dom sitting next to Maddy on the sofa. Both of them look half-asleep and neither of them acknowledges my presence. I let out a sigh of relief and sit down on the armchair across from them.
"So, uh..." I begin and wait for either of them to respond. Finally, Maddy opens her eyes and gives me a tired smile. "So, um... are you guys going to make out or something now?" I snort but she doesn't seem offended. "It's not like I care if you do, but I just thought you'd want to know beforehand."
Dom puts his hand on the back of the sofa to help himself stand up. "Your boyfriend called and I told him to fuck off." He says in a bored tone and throws me my phone. I catch it before it falls to the floor and look at the caller ID screen. It reads: "Mason". I tap on it to bring up the voicemail menu and listen to the message.
"Avery? Where are you? Call me, man. We need to talk."
I put the phone on speakerphone and turn towards Dom. "Did you call Mason?" I ask him.
"What? Oh, yeah." He nods his head and grins at me. "We had ourselves a little chat after you passed out. You know, just the two of us. He showed up looking for a fight but I'm too mature for that shit. Although, I can take him down in the blink of an eye. Turns out he knows you pretty well too. I told him to stay away from you, but I guess he didn't listen."
He steps up to the sofa and sits down beside Maddy. He places his hand on her shoulder and leans over to kiss her cheek.
"Mason's my friend," I start to say, my voice coming out louder than I intended. " My God, what is wrong with you? If there's anyone that should stay away from me, it's you."
Dom sneers at me and gets up. "Look at you, getting all worked up over some guy. Innocent little Avery is too naive and stupid to know better. Or both."
"Whatever," I say with a bitter laugh and bring my attention back to the television. I pick up my phone again and check the time. It's almost dawn. I take another drink of my ginger ale and stand up to head to the front door.
"Where are you going?" Dom asks.
"Away from here, that's where I'm going," I reply without bothering to look back.
Dom laughs and rolls his eyes. "You're such a fucking child. Maybe you should stop acting like one."
I shrug nonchalantly and reach for the door handle.
Dom stands up and approaches me slowly, a malicious smile spread across his lips. His hand shoots out towards me and grabs hold of my shirt. I release the doorknob and pull myself backward, pulling his arm down. He lets go of me and I spin around and punch him in the jaw. Before he can retaliate, I sprint out of the house and run towards my car which is parked out on the curb. I unlock the doors and jump inside, slamming the door shut behind me.
"Fuck!" I shout as I start the engine and peel out of the driveway. I hit the accelerator hard and speed through the streets in the direction of home. I can't believe that asshole! How dare he accuse me of being naïve? Just because he suspects I have feelings for a certain person? I'm not naive, I'm just careful. I refuse to be manipulated like that.
I look at my phone and see that it's still early in the morning. The sun hasn't even risen yet, but I feel like I've been awake for hours already. My body feels stiff and sore and I feel the strain of having drunk too much. Regrets of my actions start setting in as I drive home in silence.