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“It’s okay,” Hunter assures me, “I got her.”
My hands hover above her, uncertain of what to do. Hunter picks her up easily, positioning her in his arms as if she’s a bride. Her head hangs. Her tongue strokes her chapped lips. She needs water. I hear something thump above me and glancing over my shoulder, my heart leaps into my throat as my gaze meets Josh’s scowl. He watches us. My feet nearly trip on the next step. In Josh’s dark glare, he knows it’s only a matter of time before he’s alone again with Lauren.
We’ve won this time, but I don’t know how long our win will last.
“Someone drank too much,” I hear a girl giggle.
“Party foul!” someone shouts as Hunter nudges his way through the crowd.
Mike pops his head out of the kitchen, his eyes widening on Lauren in Hunter’s arms. “Bro, is she alright?” he asks while stepping forward, frowning down at Lauren. He pokes her cheek and she winces, groaning for a brief moment before going back to sleep.
“She’ll be fine,” says Hunter, yet his tone is dark as if he’s trying very hard not to shout and yell at the party goers swarming around us. Their stares make me even more irritated. It’s like they’ve never seen someone have too much to drink. They’re looking at Lauren as if she’s a monkey in the zoo.
“What happened?” Mike asks, his gaze shifting to the staircase.
Hunter scowls at Mike and leans close. “Don’t invite Josh to anymore of these,” he says darkly, his body looming above Mike’s.
Mike winces, his body visually shriveling in front of me as he takes a step back. “Did he do anything?”
Hunter shakes his head, not bothering to answer. He holds Lauren closer to his chest and stalks through the crowd, not caring who gets into his way.
“Hey!” a girl shouts as Lauren’s foot accidentally kicks her in the shoulder.
I go to follow Hunter, but I’m stopped by Mike’s hand on my shoulder. He touches me gently, his eyes widening on my cheek. “Did he do anything?” Mike asks. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so serious. He hasn’t said ‘bro’ in the last five minutes and whatever drunken stupor he was in ten minutes ago has completely evaporated. “Did he do that?” Mike nods at my cheek.
I nod slowly. Mike clenches his jaw, his hands fisting. He looks around the room, glaring at the crowd around us. “Party over!” he shouts, grabbing the red cups from a couple’s hand.
“Ah, come on, man,” someone says.
“Party over!” Mike shouts, louder and angrier this time. “Everyone out! Everyone go home!”
“Ah! This sucks!”
Mike gives me a curt nod, and I find my feet taking me toward the door, where I find Hunter helping Lauren onto the ground. Alex is with Seth near the curb. Seth is singing some song I don’t know while dancing; Alex is trying to shush him.
“Keep your voice down,” Alex whispers to Seth as I approach them.
“I think I’m gonna puke,” Lauren croaks while stumbling toward a bush near the sidewalk.
“Wait,” I say while running toward her. “I’ll help you.”
Lauren swats her hair away from her face before lurching forward. I make it just in time to grab her hair, holding it back as she pukes into the bush. I grimace, turning away as the acidic smell reaches my nose. I feel the bile rising in me, but I quickly swallow it down.
“That’s right, girl!” Seth shouts while stumbling toward us. “Puke it all out!”
Alex rolls his eyes. “Seth, will you please keep it down.”
“Where to next?” Seth kicks forward, throwing one hand into the air as if he’s holding a torch and leading the way. “Let’s go to the next party.”
“We,” Hunter says while grabbing Seth’s shoulders and keeping him in place, “are going home.”
Seth sticks out his bottom lip. “I don’t want to go home. I want to drink more.”
“But we will,” Alex says, earning a very dark scowl from Hunter. “Tomorrow,” Alex adds, giving Hunter and me a knowing wink, meaning there will be no drinking. He is only telling Seth what he wants to hear so we can get going.
“Do you know where she lives?” Hunter asks while grabbing Lauren’s waist to keep her from toppling over.
Lauren groans, her eyes shutting while she nuzzles Hunter’s shoulder. I sigh. “No.” I want to ask Lauren, but she’s going back to sleep, and she’s probably too drunk right now to give us directions. There’s some vomit in her hair and I quickly pick it out, biting back the urge to gag.
