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HUNTER
My eyes open and I groan as light sprouts dots in my eyes. I roll over, wrinkling my nose when I find someone lying, clothed at my side. Lifting my body up, I swallow bile while looking around, finding several people sleeping around me. Mostly men, but there are a few women curling up with their pillows. I have no clue what time it is, but given the bright light it must be around noon or a little after.
I have no clue what happened.
I don’t even know where I am.
Memories come back to me like a blur and I recall stumbling from place to place, some laughter, lots of drinking, taking drugs in a bathroom. I think I passed out somewhere along the way, only to reawaken drunkenly and continue on to the next party. Looking around at the people lying around me, I realize I have never met them before. They are probably some of Jerry and Drew’s friends.
I cringe when the man next to me scratches at his arms. The black sleeve of his sweater rises and I see track marks all over his arms. I grab the arm of the sofa next to me and push myself up, wobbling on my feet for a moment while I try to control the dizziness in my air. I stare down at my barefoot feet, wondering where my shoes are. Feeling around in my jean pockets, I frown. My heart slams in my chest as panic begins to rise as I realize I don’t have my wallet on me. Nor do I have my keys are cell phone. I shiver and rub my hands up and down my arms, nearly vomiting when I notice the green bile staining the front of my white t-shirt.
My stomach twists as I walk through the room, trying to ignore the soles of my feet sticking to the disgusting floor. I try not to look down. A faint memory on last semester and semesters before of living in a dump before Rachel came along comes drifting back, making me recall her sweet green eyes and the way she touched me gently.
I shake those thoughts away. I need to focus on finding my things. Or maybe, just figuring out where I am right now. I push the curtains to the side and groan as light suffocates me. I squint my eyes and try to look at the houses, not recognizing anything. There’s not even a street sign, but I see some students walking on the sidewalk with their backpacks so I can’t be that far away.
Turning away, I pad further through the house, walking down a hall into a kitchen where I find some people sitting in chairs with empty whiskey bottles surrounding them. I grab one, near gone but still several swigs left, and take a sip. It slides down my throat, burning through me, but settles the panic and settles my churning stomach.
All I want to do is find my shit and get out of this dump.
I just need to retrace my steps.
I take another swig of whiskey and try to think, which only makes my head pound harder. My hands tremble as I continue drinking. I remember holding my phone, frowning when I saw my dad’s number lighting up on the screen. I cringe as I recall tossing it in the snow while walking alongside Jerry and Drew. We had been going to another party and Drew had laughed when I threw it away.
Fuck.
I don’t think I can afford another phone.
But that doesn’t explain what happened to my keys and wallet. I stride out of the kitchen, bottle still in hand. Maybe I put them in my coat. If I find my coat, I’ll probably find the rest of my things. There’s no way I can walk out in the snow without any shoes on.
I stop at the bathroom, taking a moment to relieve myself. I press my hand on the wall to steady myself. My head is still swimming and I don’t know if it’s from lack of sleep or from the whiskey. My whole body won’t stop trembling. I feel so weak, as if at any moment I will pass out. I widen my eyes, trying to keep them open. I should at least make an attempt to go home today.
I have no clue what day it is. The students walking outside the house is the only hint I have. So I assume it’s either Monday or Tuesday. Hopefully not any later.
God, coach is really going to kill me for missing so much practice.
I chuckle and push my greasy hair away, knowing deep in my heart that at this rate I’m probably off the team. I’ll lose my scholarship, and then what? Become a dead beat living off my parents? I don’t know why, but I find the whole thing hilarious. Big star quarterback Hunter, falling from grace.
I stop laughing when I turn and see my reflection on the mirror. I want to look away, but my eyes remain glued to the image staring me back. I don’t recognize the man in front of me. The blonde locks framing my face hang limply and look brown at the roots from the grease coating my scalp. My right eye is blackened, and I have no clue what from. Maybe I got into a fight last night? My cheekbones stick out and my arms look scrawny at my side.
I don’t look like me anymore. I have no clue what happened to ‘Hunter’. I feel like I’m an alien residing in someone else’s body. Jerking away from the mirror I step out in the hall. My hands clench and unclench while I try to regain my composure, but my heart is pounding again and images from the following night keep flooding back in.
Jerry grabbing me by the scruff of my hair, jerking me towards him and shouting something I don’t understand in my face.
Drew pacing around my body, holding out a hand. “Where’s my money?” I remembered him asking.
I recalled giggling and Jerry kicked me in the gut.
A girl screaming at me in the bathroom. “What the fuck?” I remembered her smacking my shoulder and not caring. “You took it all and saved none for me!”
A shudder ripples down my spine and I don’t care if I’m barely wearing anything, I walk as fast as possible towards the door, throwing it open and walking outside. I don’t stop; even when the ice bites into the soles of my feet, I keep going, knowing that I can’t step.
I need to go home.
I need to call my mom. Whatever it is that I’m doing, it has to stop. Now.
The wind gusts pass and I rub my hands up and down my arms, trying to ignore the burning in my feet as I continue walking down the sidewalk. There are hardly anyone on the streets, but the few I pass stare at me as if I have sprouted spikes and a tail. I ignore them while I stop at a stop sign and look both ways, wondering where the hell is home. I think I see the economic school in the distance so I should be about fifteen minutes away from home. Maybe. Although I have no clue if I can last fifteen minutes in the cold. My feet are already going numb.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”
