Sorry that it's been a few days, but here's chapter twenty-four! Please vote and comment! :D
**
“Are you still pissed off, Midgey?”
I diverted my gaze from where I was staring at the television and glanced at Charlotte, merely shrugging. I’d been spending the afternoon with Linds and Charlotte at Linds’ house, but it was fair to say that I hadn’t been the most exciting company.
It’d been three days since everything went down with my dad about his parents, and I was still annoyed. I could usually let things go pretty easily, but for some reason, this was still bugging me. My dad had been giving me space, and that had also annoyed me. I guess I just wanted him to say something. I wanted him to resolve our argument, not me.
It was now evening time, about six o’clock. Brian and Michelle were just casually talking in the kitchen, leaving Charles, Linds and I to hang out in the living room. I wasn’t exactly sure what our plans were for tonight, but the urge to go out and do something was making itself obvious to me.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Charlotte then sighed. She picked up the couch pillow next to her from the sofa opposite me that she was sat on, and chucked it my way, at which Linds laughed.
“Hey!” I said, trying to fight a smile myself. “What was that for?”
“Because you’re moping.” Linds answered, laughing again. “And moping is no fun.”
“I’m sorry, you guys.” I groaned, tipping my head back. “I’m just...really pissed off.”
They glanced at each other, smiling slightly, before looking back at me.
“We know.” They simultaneously replied.
“Sorry.” I apologised again. “Have I said that a lot?”
“No...” Charlotte said, vigorously shaking her head. “Only...fifty times, or so...”
As Linds once again laughed, I let out another groan. I was aware that I’d ranted about the situation quite a few times throughout the day, but apart from that, I thought I’d been pretty quiet.
“You need some fun.” Linds said, nudging me in the side. “Do you want to go out?”
“And do what?” I raised my eyebrows.
“Get drunk, of course.” Charlotte stood up, stretching her arms as she did so. “Being able to go out and get drunk on any day of the week is the main reason why I love summer break. If we were back in school now, I’d be doing homework and preparing for my Tuesday lessons...ugh.”
“Where will we get the drink from?” I then questioned, liking the sound of the idea.
“We’ll wait until my mom and dad go out into the garden, then we’ll take it from the basement.” Linds said. “There’s so much of it out there, my dad will never notice it’s gone.”
That plan sounded very appealing to me, and I found myself quickly agreeing. I was hoping we wouldn’t have to wait too long, because I just wanted to take my mind off everything.
Every time either Brian or Michelle walked past the living room, we all snapped our heads up in their direction, waiting to see where they were going. To be honest, we were being pretty stupid and making it kind of obvious that we were up to something.
After a while, Brian came properly into the living room and sat down on the armchair, saying nothing and just staring directly at me. We all stared back, but he wouldn’t divert his gaze from my face.
At first, I did nothing but look back at him, but it soon became irritating.
“Stop it!” I whined, throwing a couch pillow at him. “Why are you just staring at me?”
“I’m under strict instruction to keep an eye on you.” He smirked.
“From who?” A scowl escaped my lips, probably because I already knew the answer.
“Your dad.” He grinned.
Scowling again, I turned away from Brian’s gaze, muttering to myself about how “my dad could fuck off”. Brian heard every word, though.
“Aw, Midge, come on!” He said. “Don’t be like that.”
“No!” I narrowed my eyes. “He’s being a prick!”
“Well I’m a prick sometimes and Linds doesn’t tell me to fuck off.” He said.
“Um...yes I do...” Linds pitched in.
“Be quiet, Lindsey.” He looked at her with a smirk.
“You be quiet, old man.” She playfully narrowed her eyes back at him.
I shook my head and zoned out as their playful argument continued. My thoughts became louder as I stared down at my hands. Was I being unfair to my dad? Sure, he had a reason to not to speak to his parents, but he could’ve told me. I just felt like he was acting like my mother by keeping something from me.
“Actually, Uncle Brian,” Charlotte’s voice spoke as I zoned back in, answering to whatever Brian had said. “Linds, Midge and I are going out.”
Obviously, he knew us too well, as he looked at the three of us with blatant suspicion.
“To do what?” He asked.
“Just to...hang out.” Linds shrugged. “We’ll probably go down to the beach or something. Is that okay, dad?”
I knew exactly what Linds was doing. By asking for Brian’s permission, she sounded somewhat innocent. It made it sound like we really were planning on just hanging out on the beach for a while. But it seemed to be working.
“Sure.” Brian grinned, and then turned around in his seat, facing the direction of the kitchen. “Hey, Chelle, did you hear that?”
“What was that?” Michelle asked, coming into the room with a smile on her face.
“The girls are going out. Meaning we have the house all to ourselves.” He grinned.
Michelle just laughed and shook her head, as Linds’ face curled into a disgusted expression.
“Oh, okay! That is enough!” She yelled, jumping up. “This is the part where I cover my ears and run out the room. Come on, you two. We’re going to get ready.”
And as Michelle and Brian both laughed harder, Charlotte and I also got up and followed Linds, out of the room and up the stairs.
**
“Put some music on!” Charlotte drunkenly yelled, her voice loudly echoing through the park.
“I am, I am!” Linds shouted back, stumbling slightly as she stood on the spot, going through the music on her phone.
It seemed to take her ages, but soon enough, Paramore’s “Riot!” album was playing while we sat on the grass, consuming even more alcohol.
Being out had certainly taken my mind off of everything. I’d managed to have a good time and not worry about what drama was waiting for me back at my house. But as more and more alcohol was entering my body, it was taking a bad affect on me. “Emotional Midge” was making a show.
I sniffled as I looked down at my Jägermeister, my thoughts whirring inside of my head. Charlotte and Linds were both talking and singing along to the music, but they soon noticed how quiet I was.
“Midgey?” Linds said, looking up from the screen of her phone. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I replied, trying to convince myself as well as her. It only triggered my emotions more though, and tears began to prick in my eyes. “I hate everything.”
“Awh, Midge, no you don’t!” Charlotte pitched in, practically crawling over to me and pulling me into a hug. “Things are just shit right now, that’s all.”
“Everything’s shit.” I sobbed. “People just lie to me all the time. It’s not fair!”
“Hey, come on.” Linds said. “Your dad didn’t exactly lie to you, he just thought he was doing the right thing at the time. He would never intentionally hurt you, Midge. He loves you to death.”
I knew they were both right, and their words were somewhat reassuring me, but I still needed something to take my mind off of things.
“Why don’t we walk to the beach?” Charles suggested.
Wiping at my tears, I nodded and began to stand up, stumbling slightly. Every time I stood up, I came to the realisation of just how much I’d actually had to drink.
We began slowly walking and talking. It was more me staying quiet and listening to their conversation, but it was certainly cheering me up as they joked about the guys.
Just as we began making our way to the back exit of the park, another two voices had us stopping in our tracks. I guess the three of us were just intrigued to know who it was, but panic set in the three of us when two police officers wandered casually down the path, probably looking for underage drinkers like us.
Suddenly, the park exit seemed ages away. With a few bottles of alcohol in our hands, we glanced at each other and began practically sprinting towards the exit, stumbling over and ending up back on the grass.
Of course, just to our luck, the police officers had noticed us by this point and had quickened their pace. The nearest way to get out immediately was by climbing over the fence, but there was no way the three of us could possibly get over it in time.
While Linds and Charlotte had both stood up, I came to the realisation that I’d twisted my foot from my fall.
“Midge, come on!” Linds frantically said, holding her hand out to me.
“No, you guys go!” I replied, looking over at the police officers that were even nearer now. The girls glanced at each other worriedly. “Seriously, go! I’ll be fine!”
Neither of them looked sure, but if they were going to escape, they had to go now.
“Go!” I repeated.
Sighing, they carried on running and got to the fence, hoisting themselves up and jumping over. I just sat there, holding onto my foot with the bottles dropped around me.
And as the girls disappeared, the officers stopped in front of me.
I heaved a sigh of defeat as the male officer held his hand out to me, an unimpressed look on his face.
“You’d better come with us, miss.”