After that night, I vowed to never touch alcohol for the rest of my existence. The next day, my eyes were permanently closed shut and my head felt as if a sludge hammer was deciding to pound my skull.
I woke up shirtless – and that’s what scared me the most. I was in my bra and jeans, but my tank top was missing. I was positive that I hadn’t gone off with anyone at the party, especially with the guidance of James. It was still confusing whether or not both of us were fighting still, but I would be shocked if he let me get whisked away by some high school boy.
Instead of risking any further brain damage, I merely wrapped my blankets around my body and drifted back off to sleep. Though I was thoroughly curious why my shirt was not on my body. Where had it gone?
~ * *~
Later that night, I yawned and got out of bed. My headache had subsided and I was only left with the dull throb. My body and mind were still exhausted, but I decided to do something productive like brushing my teeth. When I had finished that task, I checked my cell phone.
Seventeen missed calls.
My heartbeat began pounding and I stared at the screen with more concentration. Every single phone call was from Ruth.
Before I called her back, I checked my text messages. There were eight in total.
Ruth: Rachel, its 1 A.M. Any idea where William is?
Ruth: 2 A.M. now. Any sign?
Ruth: He hasn’t come home yet.
Ruth: Please respond.
Ruth: Is Will with you?!
Ruth: I’m going to call you again.
Ruth: Wait, I think he’s home now.
Ruth: Oh, you’re both here. Drunk as ever, but alive.
After reading the messages and listening to my voicemails, I let out a frustrated scream. I’d gotten drunk last night, became totally irresponsible, and drove home with William. We’d broken the law, I realized.
My breathed in short and fast gulps. “Calm down,” a foggy hand touched my shoulder comfortingly. “Wait – Rachel, where’s your shirt?”
I recognized the voice and touch as James’s. “I don’t know!” I wailed, covering my face in embarrassment. I used my arms to cover my chest, feeling extremely exposed.
James had the decency to turn around and grab me a shirt from the broken remnants of my dresser. I remembered yesterday it had snapped in half out of nowhere. This caused me to growl in frustration and snatch the material out of James’s gentle grasp.
“Thanks,” I smiled slightly at James’s embarrassed face. I slid the shirt on quickly and that’s when a thought hit me. “You’ve seen me naked before, haven’t you?”
James’s expression went from slightly embarrassed to mortified in seconds. The blood rushed to his face and colored his cheeks brightly. My eyes widened in surprise. That was a ‘yes’.
“James!” My jaw practically hit the floor.
“I didn’t mean to!” he stammered, turning brighter by the second. “It was an accident!”
I could feel my own cheeks burning in embarrassment. “When?”
“A couple of times,” he bit his lip and looked me dead in the eye. I knew he wasn’t lying.
“James!”
“Well, when I’m not here, I kind of have a live video log of you in the back of my mind. I don’t know how else to describe it. I can tap into the ‘live footage’ and see what you’re up to and know if you need my help,” he replied hurriedly, using hand mannerisms to explain what he meant.
I made an attempt to reply something snippy, but he cut me off and said, “No questions – I’ve already said way too much.”
“If you can tell me all this stuff, why can’t you explain to me why I’m the only one that can see you and why you dislike William so much?”
“Because I am literally unable to tell you. If I even tried, I would choke on my own words,” he said slowly, pressing his lips together in a strained manner.
I sighed, shaking my head. “This is too much to try and understand.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Can you get me a dust pan and broom? I’ve got to clean up this mess,” I asked, gesturing to the splinters of wood I used to call my dresser sat. I knew he’d jump on the opportunity to pick something up. He’d been getting better and better at it as time progressed.
James nodded, walking out of the room. As he glided down the stairs, every picture frame hanging on my wall flung onto the ground. It was simultaneous; they all hit the ground at the same time, shattering into thousands of angry pieces.
“For the love of…” I hissed to myself. “Get the entire box of trash bags while you’re at it!” I shouted to James.
~* *~
“Ruth, I am so sorry.” I said pathetically into the phone.
“I know, honey,” she replied with a laugh, “But let’s just put last night past us and we will start fresh.”
“You mean I’m not fired?” I asked incredulously.
“Of course not! Like I said, William needs someone like you to keep him in line. And I told you to have fun, drink, and party. So if it’s anyones fault, it’s mine.”
I didn’t completely understand her logic, but I wasn’t about to dig my own grave and request to be fired.
“Thanks so much, Ruth,” I smiled to myself. “Hey, um, how did I get home this morning?” I asked her.
“Oh, I drove you home last night. William passed out on the couch and I figured I could help you out rather than listen to his snoring.” I could imagine her rolling her eyes.
“Was it really bad?” I winced as I asked this.
“You mean your guys’ drunken stupor?” Ruth clarified.
I couldn’t help but laugh at her nonchalance. “Yes.”
“Well,” she started, “Your reaction was expected. I’m assuming that this is the first time you’ve gotten drunk?”
A noise that was meant to state ‘yes’ escaped my mouth.
“Aha! I knew it,” Ruth sounded proud of her correct assessment.
“Oh, I’ll talk to you soon. William is waking up and he’s not in the best mood,” Ruth sighed.
“Alright, good-bye.”
“Bye.”
After I hung up, I let myself think about William and Ruth. William lived with her, but I was almost sure that she wasn’t his mother. William called her ‘Ruth’ as well. What happened to his parents? Were they unsupportive, away for awhile, or even dead? And how had he ended up living with Ruth in the first place? She was, after all, his manager. Though she acted like more of a mother to him.
James appeared in my line of sight and smiled hesitantly. “Can we try something?”
Instantly, my guard rose. Though, a small smile graced my lips. “It depends.”
“I want to see if I can make myself visible to others.”
His excitement was catchy. I nodded eagerly and hopped up from my position in bed. “How?” I asked in awe.
“It’s something I’ve been working on,” he answered vaguely.
“How does it work?” I inquire.
“I can’t really explain it… It’s one of those things where you actually have to be…dead… to understand,” James laughed dryly, “It will use up a lot of my energy, though. So I’ll most likely disappear moments afterwards.”
“Okay, so what’s your plan?”
“Let’s go to the mall and I can –“
“The mall? Its seven o’clock and I don’t feel like driving that far,” I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest defiantly.
“Okay, what about the gas station? That’s only seven or so minutes away,” James reasoned.
“Fine,” I relented, stretching out my legs as I stood up. “Are you going to magically appear there or make me drive your carcass there with me?”
“I’m going to tag along with you. My ‘appearing’ skills use up some energy as well. I can use all the strength I have.”
James looked far too excited for his own good. His eyes were bright and cheery and his fingers were bobbing in anticipation.
“Gosh, calm down!” I laughed.
“I just really think this is going to work,” he admitted with a grin.
“Why do you want this so bad?” I asked curiously.
“I want to know what it feels like to be human again,” he answered, avoiding eye contact at all costs. Usually when he did that, it meant that he was lying. This time, I knew it was because he was feeling melancholy.