Jahseh
Striking my blunt against the ashtray, I feel the euphoric sensation kick into my bloodstream again. Ski was right — I needed to get myself out there and be myself again. But the second I laid my eyes on the girl from the kitchen, the sinking feeling of being a complete fuck up returned to mind.
I knew I had seen her before, but where? It took me a few minutes for the realisation to sink in — she was the girl I saw on my Tinder a few hours ago. For a few seconds, I thought I could have had a chance at her, but as soon as her friend walked in with their drinks, that spark of hope was gone.
What was that asshole's name? Elijah?
Shaking my head at the mere thought of him, I tune into the conversation Ski and the others are having, sinking deeper into the couch. I've known Hiram and Jayson for a year now, but had only hung out with them while Ski was there. Technically, I don't know them well at all.
The party's been going on for a few hours now, but I got bored of dancing. I've been looking for Ski's friend everywhere, but no luck. What's the fucking point, anyway? She got a man.
"X, vro! Come join the convo, or are you too high for that shit?" Ski asks, passing the blunt to Hiram. I chuckle, eyeing a girl that walks past us in a tight leather dress.
"Vro, you could have invited women that weren't goth," I joke, earning a laugh from the three of them.
"Since when you not into goths?" Ski asks. He's got a point — Arya was into some weird goth shit. Suddenly, a petite short-haired girl walks over to us, her revealing outfit catching our attention.
"Hey, um... You're Ski, right?" she asks in a high-pitched tone.
"Yeah, wassup?" Ski asks, sitting upright.
"There's a girl that passed out on the lawn. She seems unconscious," the girl explains. Ski and I exchange a glance, doing our iconic 'pursing lips' face.
"Who?" Ski asks.
"I don't know," the girl answers, shrugging.
"Come on, man. It's your duty to look after people like that," Hiram says, elbowing Ski.
"Ight, fine. X?" Ski asks, getting up sluggishly from the couch. He turns over to look at me.
"Yeah?" I ask, unsure what this has to do with me.
"You comin'?"
"Ight," I answer, rising from the couch. Everything seems to be in slow motion as I follow Ski towards the front door. Women grab my arm as I walk by, some of them asking if I'm okay, but the second the cold air hits me, my head clears up.
I notice a few people standing in a circle, my eyes widening when I recognise the girl on the lawn.
"Holy shit, it's Nora," Ski whispers. "Y'all, step away now!" he yells, ushering a couple of people away from the scene. I try my hardest to not scowl at that asshat Elijah when I realise he's kneeled down beside Nora.
"What happened?" I ask. Elijah's saying some shit to her, but I can't make out what. The second he notices us standing next to him, he grimaces at us. The girl from before gives us a worried look, shaking her head.
"I don't know. She was sitting down and then she just blacked out," the girl says, kneeling beside Nora. She says something to her before pulling her messy hair from her face.
"Shit. She wasted?" I ask, eyeing her unconscious state.
"She went to get a drink and I went looking for her. Found her like this," Elijah answers, but we didn't fucking ask for his opinion.
"Shit, y'all. What we gonna fucking do?" Ski asks rhetorically, but I can tell he's freaking out.
"Should we call an ambulance or some shit?" Elijah dares to fucking ask.
"No," Ski says, giving Elijah a hard look. This motherfucker is gonna get us in prison again.
"I'll look after her," I offer.
"You?" the Elijah dude scoffs.
"Look, I don't fuckin' know what your deal is but-"
"Y'all!" Ski yells, silencing both of us. "This shit don't matter. Only thing that matters is making sure Nora gets home safe."
"I'll take her home," Elijah says.
"I already offered, lil bitch," I snap.
"You're a fucking stranger," Elijah fires back, lowering her.
"Yo! Both of y'all gonna take her home, understood? That way there's no arguing," Ski yells. I sigh, rolling my eyes at Elijah. Who the fuck does he think he is?
"Thank you for letting us know," Ski says to the girl, who gives him a smile.
"I hope she's okay," the girl says.
"We just gotta get her home," I say, kneeling down next to Nora. Her eyes are closed, her lips slightly parted. But the moment only lasts for a few seconds, because before I know it, Elijah has picked her up in his arms.
He's just bragging about his muscles.
"I'll text you when I get home," I say to Ski as Elijah begins to cross the road. "Don't trust this guy," I add.
Ski shrugs, looking back at the party. "Neither," he says.
I give Ski a wave before crossing the road, meeting up with the others at the front door of what seems to be Nora's house. The Taylor-Lautner-wannabe glares at me before unlocking the door.
I almost gape when I see her house. There's marble flooring everywhere, with a big spacious living room filled with modern furniture. She must be fucking rich.
Elijah takes her upstairs before entering her room. I help him put Nora on her bed, struggling to keep my eyes off her. She groans under her breath, gripping the pillow next to her.
"We should put her to the side in case she throws up," I suggest, earning a scowl from Taylor Laut.
"You should go. I still don't understand what you're doing here," Elijah says, crossing his arms as Nora sleeps.
"I don't trust you with her," I fire back, trying to keep my temper in check. The thing is, there's nothing I want to do more right now than to kick his ass.
"You're a stranger to her. I've known her for five months."
"How about we both leave her be?" I snap. I really don't fucking like this guy. The Elijah dude nods and I let out an exhale.
Following him downstairs, I'm still in disbelief by how nice Nora's house is. Elijah unlocks the front door before we both step into the dark night.
"You going back to the party?" he asks, making me shake my head.
"I think Imma go back home," I answer. We stand outside the house in silence for a minute before Elijah walks away, not saying another word.
My gaze sets on the party across the street, but for the first time, I feel reluctant to go back. I take out my phone, sitting down on the porch steps before opening my chat with Ski.
me: Just put her in bed. She should be okay.
Ski 🙏: cool. you coming back?
me: maybe, im drunk as fuck
Ski 🙏: oh could you bring the car keys too?
me: shit i left them in Nora's room.
Ski 🙏: do you have her house keys?
me: nah. Taylor Lautner took em
Ski 🙏: shit fr this guy took the keys n dipped?
me: yep
Ski 🙏: could u sneak in
Ski 🙏: my mom is coming tomorrow n she needs the car
me: i'll find a way
Slipping the phone into my pocket, I look around for any open windows in the house. I gotta think about this long and hard because if the alarms are on...
No, they shouldn't be on.
I walk around the house until I find an open window towards the back. I can make out a shower from outside, which means there shouldn't be an alarm. Walking up to the window, I grip the windowsill before thrusting my body inside the bathroom. My feet land on the closed ceramic toilet seat, the sound making me gasp.
"Shit," I mumble under my breath. Planting both feet on the ground, I scan the luxurious bathroom with my gaze, letting out a sigh of relief when I notice the stairwell in front of me.
I use the flashlight on my phone to guide myself towards Nora's room, a smile forming on my face when I realise she's lightly snoring. Trying to be as silent as possible, I tread towards the study table, my head still hazy from weed and alcohol.
I grab Ski's car keys from where I left them on her desk, giving Nora one last glance before turning for the door.
"Don't leave," Nora mumbles, making me jump.
"You want me to stay?" I whisper in disbelief.
"Please don't leave," she repeats, her tone somewhat sad. I walk up to her bed, moving a few strands of hair from her face. She must be sleep-talking. I turn back around to leave, but she murmurs again; "I don't want to be alone."
Glancing at her, I realise her eyes are open and she's looking at me.
"Nora, are you awake?" I whisper, crouching beside her.
"You have lots of tattoos," she drunkenly slurs. She's fucking wasted — even more than me. I almost jump out of my skin when she reaches her hand and brushes her finger against one of my arm tattoos, her eyes fluttering.
"You sure you okay?" I ask, unsure if this girl is for real hitting on me now. Nora smiles, hugging her pillow with her free arm.
"Stay for a while," she pouts, her eyes still closed.
"Only for ten minutes, okay?"
"Fine," she mumbles, nuzzling into her pillow. I take a seat on her study chair, letting out a deep sigh as Nora continues to mumble nonsense in her sleep. Tonight has been too intense for me and the alcohol is making my head hazier by the minute. Before I know it, my eyes have closed.
xxx
Nora
"Nothing happened, I promise!" X shouts, his hands in the air as if he were innocent. We've been bickering for the past five minutes about why the hell he was in my room.
"Wh-Why are you here!" I yell back at him.
"Let me explain and stop yelling at me," X says, trying to keep his tone collected.
"That's not how this works," I fire back, my nostrils flared with rage.
"Nora, for fuck's sake. You were wasted and you passed out," X answers, but he doesn't seem to convince me.
"Then why don't I remember anything?"
"I don't know. How much did you drink?"
"I wasn't drunk! I had three drinks," I protest. I've had my fair share of wasted nights and painful hangovers, but this isn't it.
"Did you take some pills or some sh-"
"No! I don't do that shit," I cut him off. I may be a party animal, but I stay away from shit like that. Always.
"Did anybody offer you a drink?" X asks. I suddenly realise I hardly know this guy. All I know is he's been in prison with Ski and that they've been friends for a long time.
"Get. Out. Now," I snap, my fists curled. My patience is wearing thin.
"Okay, fine!" X shrugs, crossing his arms over his chest angrily. "I'll tell Ski you alright," he adds.
"Where's Eliyah?" I ask, recalling dancing with him at the party.
"He dipped as soon as you passed out," X answers with furrowed brows. Shit, now I remember they had some minor beef last night. For some reason, I feel crushed that Yah left just like that.
"You gotta leave now," I insist, my heart thumping in my chest.
"I already said I was, sheesh..." X groans, rolling his eyes at me. An awkward silence lingers between us before X leaves my room and a few minutes later, I hear my front door slam shut. I let out a deep exhale before sinking back into bed. Rubbing my temples, I try to remember the events from last night, but the images remain foggy.
At around midday, my phone begins to vibrate on my nightstand table. Groaning, I roll over in bed before picking up a call.
"Hello?" I mumble, still half asleep.
"Hey," Eliyah says, his voice sounding somewhat deeper on the line. "Just wondering how you were doing," he adds.
"I'm okay. I have no fucking clue what happened last night," I answer, rubbing my forehead.
"Were you drunk?"
"No, I wasn't."
"Did you get a drink from somebody else?" Yah asks.
In that instant, the memories begin to recollect in my mind. The guy who poured me a drink last night bounces back into my memory. Shit. Was there a certain point where I looked away from the cup? Probably.
I groan, wanting to punch myself for being so careless. I'm usually very cautious with this kind of stuff, which frustrates me.
"I did," I answer, sighing. There's a pause before Eliyah clears his throat.
"I told you to be careful," he says.
"I know. I'm sorry."
"I'll see you in college, yeah?"
"Sounds good," I reply with a nod. After saying goodbye, I toss my phone on the other side of the bed. I purposefully left out the part where I woke up with X sitting in my chair, because frankly, that could have started some more shit.
My phone buzzes again, making me raise my brows when I read the first notification on my screen.