02: Problem Solved
The club was absolutely packed when I entered. I could hardly breathe, but it was fine because my dancing was less than decent and I would have an excuse for sitting it out.
As I made my way around, I noticed there were several girls from my grade dancing around. Of course, it was a Friday night. I just figured most people would be after something a little more "age appropriate" to do.
The bar had a few men, most attractive and all with girls hanging off them. This really was the place to find a hookup, I guessed.
I sat down as well and ordered the first thing I saw on the menu, being as unfamiliar with alcohol as I was. The whole concept scared me.
But I was willing to forget about my crappy life for one night and have some fun. I had thirty more dollars; why not blow it on something useless?
When it came, I gave it a wary look. It was dark colored, gold with a brownish tint. "Um, the rum with a shot of cherry," the man said distastefully.
I nodded and downed the small shot quickly. It burned it's way down my throat and I gasped, my eyes widening.
"Never had rum before?" someone asked next to me. I looked over to see a handsome boy sitting to my right, the same exact shot in his hand.
A blush flooded my cheeks and I looked away to hide it. "Not really, no."
He easily drank it and smirked at my baffled expression. "You get used to it. Some people like it, some people don't."
"Noticed," I replied. "You look familiar. I'm assuming you also go to the same school as me, along with all the other people in this club."
"Yep," he said with a grin. "This is an easy one to get into." I nodded as the man refilled the shot glass sitting in front of me. "Here, I'll drink at the same time as you. Cool?"
I nodded and he counted up to three. The liquid burned just as much as the first time and I winced. "Ouch," I rasped.
He laughed and someone called up behind him. "Jones! Who knew you'd be here?" The voice was familiar and my eyes widened as I realized who it was.
Quickly, before he could see my face, I slipped into the crowd and let out a breath of relief. He wasn't someone who should see me at a place like this.
Why do you care what Emmett thinks of you?
I didn't.
Snorting at the thought, I looked around and was met only with sweaty armpits and breath that smelled of alcohol. The place was crazy.
"Louise?" Emmett asked behind me in confusion. "What are you doing here?"
I bit my lip and turned around. "Obviously hunting," I said sarcastically to cover up my annoyance.
"I didn't peg you as the type of girl to show up at clubs on Friday nights," he said slowly.
"Me, either," I shrugged before walking to the bar to escape the sweat. He followed me.
"So how'd you get in?" he asked suspiciously.
"Probably the same way you got in," I said in a "duh" tone. "A fake ID."
"You have one?" he asked. I gave him a flat look and he grinned. "Saw you were talking to my boy Garrett," he said conversationally.
"Is that his name?" I asked with a grin. Emmett laughed and ordered two beers. "Beer?" I asked, wrinkling my nose. His eyes widened.
"You don't like beer?" he asked in disbelief. "How? What even do you drink, then?"
"I don't really know. Last time I drank was a long time ago," I admitted. "I just ordered the first thing I saw, which happened to be rum. Do you know how gross rum is?"
"It doesn't taste bad. It just stings a little," he shrugged as the bottles came. "Well, I guess I'll have to drink both of these."
Biting my lip nervously, I grabbed a bottle and ignored his triumphant grin. At my first drink, I cringed at the taste. "This," I began, glaring at the bottle, "is nasty."
"You'll warm up to it." He took another swig and I followed suit. "You must be more of a margarita type girl."
"Never had one." He laughed and I continued on the bottle, holding my breath to dull the taste a little.
"Slow down," he chuckled. "You'll be wasted before the night's over."
"That was the idea," I muttered before emptying the bottle of it's contents and setting it down. Things were already a little blurry, but that wasn't enough.
"You okay?" he asked in concern. I nodded just as the bartender brought me another bottle. "Are you sure?" he asked again as I gulped the stuff down.
Believe it or not, the drink was actually getting less nasty. It was an acquired taste, I guess. "I'm good," I said slowly. "Although I think I need something else. This is a little..."
"Aftertaste-ish?" I nodded and he grinned. "I'll ask them for water, if you want."
"No," I said, frowning and looking at the drink menu. "Um, what's a Shirley Temple?"
"It has, like, tequila and stuff." I nodded and he sighed and ordered the drink.
This one tasted much better. I usually made them with Sprite and cherry syrup, but I'd figured this one was alcoholic. They tasted way different, but it was good.
After a few more drinks, Emmett stopped me with a frown. "Geez, Louise," he said. "You should really stop."
I shook my head and looked at both of him. "I'm good. I don't think it's kicked in."
"It's been about twenty or thirty minutes..." My eyes widened and I ran a hand through my wavy hair. "I'll call you a taxi if you want."
"I didn't drive," I murmured. "I can walk the distance. It's only a few blocks." He shook his head and stood up.
"You should really call a taxi," he repeated.
"No money," I said, shaking my head. "I'll walk."
With that, I ambled out of the club within a few minutes—give or take another few—and soon found out I was followed.
"Leave me alone. I'm fine," I slurred to Emmett. He shook his head. "You were drinking, too."
"I hardly finished a bottle of beer," he stated. "I'm fine."
I continued walking, stumbling every so often and, finally, I grew irritated and shoved the heels off.
"Won't your folks be mad if you come in drunk?" he asked suddenly.
I frowned at him. "No."
"Wow. Mine would kill me."
"Well, where exactly did you plan on going?" I asked with a smirk.
"I'm not drunk," he reminded me. "Even if I had been, I'd have stayed at a friends house or something."
Glaring at the ground, I made my way down the street with my bare feet. "I can do whatever I please," I murmured. A small thought crossed my mind about how much freedom I had compared to the people in my class.
But that freedom was put to a stop when I became broke after paying for everything that month.
"Must be nice," he said.
I hadn't realized he'd heard me until he said that. "It's not, really." My brows knit together and he shook his head.
"Well, your parents really don't seem to be all that strict. It actually sounds amazing," he pressed.
"I actually haven't got any of those," I shrugged. "Besides, after paying the bills and groceries and stuff, it's not worth it to have the freedom because I don't have the money to use my freedom."
"Wait, where are your parents?" he asked with his eyes wide.
"In a cemetery in..." I strained for the thought, but it refused to come to me. "Some state far away from here."
He went silent and I looked over to make sure he wasn't asleep. Finally, he said, "I'm sorry." I nodded and looked down at my toes when I remembered I wasn't wearing my shoes.
"I forgot my shoes," I said irritably.
"I got them," he said, holding his hand up with my shoes in them. I nodded and continued on my path. "So who do you live with?"
"Myself."
He gasped. "You live alone? How?"
"Well, I just don't live with anyone else," I said slowly. He was seriously slow. "Here's my building," I finally said.
He handed me my shoes and I sighed and walked inside. "I'll walk you to your door," he offered.
"No thanks," I said with a frown. "I'm fine."
"No, really. I don't mind." Knowing I'd lose this fight, I nodded and began on the flight of stairs. The door wasn't even locked. I was feeling reckless when I left.
When I went inside, he stopped at the doorway and looked around. It wasn't until his eyes zeroed in on the counter that I realized I'd left the note from earlier out.
"If you need a place to stay," he began.
"No. I'm fine. That's from a long time ago," I lied hurriedly. He obviously saw right through the lie, but didn't say anything. "Are you just going to stand there or..?"
"Oh. Right. Night, Louise," he said, as if he remembered what he'd been doing.
I nodded a night and, before closing the door, he said, "Drink water. You'll be thankful tomorrow morning."
Smiling, I watched as he closed the door before stumbling over to the sink and filling a glass with tap water as he'd said.
After a few minutes, I peeled the dress off and collapsed on the springy bed. All it had was a blue quilt that had been my mother's, but I didn't bother getting under it before I drifted off to sleep.
#
On Monday, I quickly took a shower and got ready before dragging myself to school. I wasn't ready to face Emmett after drinking so much.
The morning was significantly lighter than the Friday I'd gone to school. All weekend, I'd packed my few things and wondered what I would do about my living situation. I was not going to social services, especially with less than a year until I was legally an adult.
All of my things fit into one suitcase, a toiletry bag—which I stuffed into my suitcase—and a duffle bag.
At school, I dragged through the day and sighed in relief when I made it to lunch. Going to my locker, I put things in it and went to the EAST room to use the computers. I needed to search for something.
"Miss Louise," the teacher said with a smile. "Can I help you?"
"I just needed to use the computer," I said softly. He nodded and I got on and began furiously typing away.
"Louise?" Emmett asked. My eyes widened and I turned to see him coming towards me. "What are you doing in here?"
"Nothing," I said, quickly minimizing the screen and turning to face him. "Why are you following me?"
He shrugged. "I saw you and you weren't headed for the cafeteria," he explained. "Just wanted to see where you were going."
"Just go eat with your friends," I said with a frown. Why did he care where I went?
"I don't like any of them anyway," he shrugged. "What are you up to?"
"Just looking at some stuff," I said. He sighed.
"I saw the page before you minimized it, Louise," he announced.
"Cool," I said in annoyance before turning back to my search. If he'd already seen it, there was no sense in hiding it.
"I saw the eviction note the other night. I know it's not from a long time ago," he sighed. I hesitated before scrolling a little more. "What are you going to do?"
"It doesn't matter," I snapped. "Not to you, anyway. I'll figure something out."
He nodded and watched my search. "Are you waiting for something?" I asked. He'd really annoyed me, butting into my problems. I didn't want to deal with it and I was in a sour mood.
He let out a breath and left the room and I ran a hand through my hair. This was a real problem.
If I couldn't afford the apartment I was living at, I couldn't afford another one or a hotel. I was absolutely broke.
When I left the classroom, I began wandering the halls until I passed the teachers' lounge. They laughed loud and I cringed from the sound before continuing down the hallway.
The bell rang when I arrived to the cafeteria and I groaned and went to fifth period.
After whizzing through the rest of my day—Emmett being sour for the rest of the time he saw me—I retreated to the apartment building and curled up on the couch.
There was nowhere to go.
Tears began falling over my cheeks and I sucked in a sharp breath. I was homeless. I had until tomorrow, and I was homeless.
I spent the rest of the night feeling sorry for myself. The next day, I didn't go to school.
My things were easy to carry as I left the building and I went down the street with them in search of something. There were a few houses that weren't used, but I didn't figure people who would buy them or took care of them would appreciate it being lived in without being paid for.
After a while, I looked at a clock in a shop window and saw it was about five. I hadn't woken up until about lunchtime.
Suddenly, an idea came to mind. The teachers' lounge. It had couches and a fridge full of snack foods. There were showers in the locker rooms and we had vending machines.
Grinning, I grabbed my stuff and went to the school. The doors were locked, but they didn't usually lock the gym door. I could get in through there and go into the school.
There was no one there, since it was five. My bags were annoying, and I realized I didn't know what to do with them. Quickly, I shoved them into a vent in the wall close to the lounge and walked in.
Our school was so creepy at night. I laid down on the couch and grinned when I saw a large TV. Some teachers they were, watching TV in the teachers' lounge.
There were chips in a cabinet and a few things in the fridge. I grabbed some and began eating as I watched TV.
I fell asleep to that after setting the alarm clock I'd brought for four thirty. I'd have to be out by the time people got there.
Looks like your living problem is solved.