I walk outside and see Conrad, Jeremiah, and Steven walking away from Belly. I overhear them say that they're going to a beach bonfire. Lame. I was going to go to the beach alone to stare at the stars and the ocean. I guess I can still go to the beach though.
I go inside and see Laura. "Hey, Aunt Laura, I'm headed down to the beach." I say.
"Okay. Be safe." She says. "Do you want me to drive you?"
"No, I got it." I say. I grab a blanket and head out to the beach. I walk past the bonfire and go closer to the ocean. I feel the chilly breeze and I wrap the blanket around myself.
I sit and stare at the ocean. So peaceful and quiet. The sound of the ocean waves. The lighting of the stars. I sit there and stare at the waves as they crash. My mom and I would sit here at night when we were here three months ago. But now it's just me. I look behind me and see someone pull drinks out of a cooler. Perfect, beer.
I wrap the blanket over my shoulders and I go grab a beer. I stand in the crowd and drink my beer. Then I look to my right and see Belly walking over in a short, tight, dress. What the hell is she thinking? I'm not about to go over and confront her though. Then I see Conrad kissing some girl and I feel like my heart is crushed. Already?
Then Belly falls over by Conrad and the girl. She's wearing a Red Sox hat. "I thought you hated the Red Sox." Belly says.
"Who are you?" The girl asks.
"Who are you?" Belly asks.
"Nicole. Conrad and I went to the deb ball together last summer." The girl says.
"It was after you guys left to take Steven to go look at colleges." Conrad says.
"I thought that you said that deb balls are bullshit. And that all debs are sheep." Belly says.
"You're such a brat." Conrad says. I just stand by, drink my beer, and listen to the conversation.
"Well you're an asshole." Belly says. Then Jeremiah runs over.
"Belly. You came! We can all hang out." Jeremiah says. He looks over and sees me. "Wow! Even Mack is here!" He says. I nod and Conrad looks at me. I see Belly and Steven fight and I finish my beer. I go and grab another one. I see Belly standing there alone, awkwardly.
I grab a knife from my pocket. You can probably guess why I have a knife. It was my dad's. I stab the beer can and shotgun it. Then I close the knife and put it back in my pocket. I see Conrad looking at the knife suspiciously but I just keep chugging the beer. When I finish, I go and grab another beer. I sit down by the fire with my blanket and I drink my third beer. I need a night to get shit-faced and forget. I can't stop looking at Conrad and Nicole. I see them kiss again and I grab some more beer. I chug more and more cans of beer. Then I see Conrad stand up against the gas station guy. They're fighting over a beer and they're both drunk. Then they start pushing each other and I stand up.
"Really?" I ask. I walk closer and the gas station guy elbows me in the face and I fall down.
"Mackie." I hear Conrad say. Then I get up and hear sirens.
"Fuck." I say. I help Conrad off of the ground and we both run to the car. I sit in the back with Conrad. My right cheek hurts because I got elbowed but I really don't care.
Conrad lays down and his head is on my lap. "Hey." He says. He giggles. I laugh.
"Hey." I say. Then he sits back up and we wait for Belly to stop flirting with the random dude.
"Belly, get in the damn car." I say. Then she gets in the car and we start driving. Jeremiah slams on the brakes and my face hit the seat in front of me. "Ow." I say.
"Steven." Jeremiah says. He rushes out of the car and my head starts to hurt.
"Ugh, I shouldn't of dranken those 5 beers." I say. I groan in pain. I lay down in the back seat with my head on Conrad's lap. He touches my hair and twirls it around his finger.
"Your hair's like a little kids, the way it's always so messy." Conrad says. I smile at him. Then there's a knock on the window.
"Have you kids been drinking?" The officer asks.
"Drinking? Uhh, nooooo." I say. Belly puts her face in her hands and Conrad laughs a little.