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"Fine, I guess we are all riding with you then." Delaney doesn't fight me and when she stands, her legs wobble enough to tell me that there's no way she could have walked that far in those shoes on her drunk legs.
"Let's go get her from the bathroom. Meet us out front with your car."
Bryn bursts into the bathroom, making her way quickly to the stall at the end of the row. This is a surprising time when the ladies room isn't packed wall to wall and I am thankful for Carina's sake. The door isn't locked, and I can see Carina's legs through the space at the bottom.
"Oh honey." My friend moves to her side, pulling back the golden hair to reveal vomit down her chin. Wow, this is worse than I thought. Part of me feels guilty for not taking the double drink as soon as I knew she had it. I grab more paper towels than we should need to clean her up, the cheap paper crinkling in my hand as I stuff it full.
"Hey, check in her purse. She always has those mini wipes and stuff."
I hand the sheets to Bryn and grab the tiny clutch from the floor. When I open it, my jaw practically hits the dirty tile floor. There's no way this much stuff can fit in a bag this small. I ruffle inside, finally landing on a miniature package of what look like baby wipes.
"Found them!"
The two of us worktogether cleaning her up enough to be presentable. I run a wet wipe through the hair that was a casualty of her vomit cannon, doing my best to get the chunks out with my fingernail. I am transported back to when we realized my mother wouldn't win her fight and the illness got worse and worse. I would run a cold cloth along her forehead and face to keep her fever down. The sight of puke no longer turns my stomach. I have no clue what she ate earlier, but if I were to smell it in its regular form, I'm sure the memory of this moment would ruin it for me.
Bryn undoes the straps on her shoes and I know this is a bad idea. I'm not sure how the two of us will balance a half-comatose body with the added challenge of heels. I take the shoes from her, securing the straps around the handle of Carina's purse and drape it over my other arm.
"Ready?"
"As I'll ever be," I reply and Carina groans as we lift her off the floor, and I make a silent plea that her stomach is empty.
The air outside hits like a cooler, blasting against my bare skin and I shiver, being careful to not jolt too much while I balance Carina. I am wearing the least of all three of us and I am paying for it now. I thought Iwould have more alcohol in my system for the walk home and I wouldn't care about the cold.
My eyes find Colton parked across the street and he comes jogging over to us. I am jealous of his pants for more than one reason.
"I got her. You guys get in." He makes quick work of scooping Carina into his arms bride-style and the sight fills my stomach with lead. This hurts worse than seeing them dance together. At least with the dancing, it was meant to be fun. Borderline foreplay, but ultimately that was where it ended. Seeing him carry her makes my brain project images of him with a bride someday and carrying her over the threshold into their life together. My mind is drowning in the alcohol in my bloodstream, counteracting the censors it used to put up around thinking of Colton.
I hold the door open to the backseat of his dark colored SUV, letting Bryn jump in before Colton places Carina next to her. Carina instantly flops over, her head resting on Bryn's lap. Crap. With Carina laying down, there's not enough room for me in the back with them. Guess I am riding shotgun with the love of my life turned heartbreak victim turned thing I can't have. We aren't going very far, but I already know this will be the longest car ride of my life.
"I have a charger in the front seat. You can plug in your phone and get her address." Colton says to me as he closes the door gently, recognizing that I will need to join him up there.
Maybe I should trade places with Bryn. Let her be his guide. I would rather chance getting puked on by my friend, a payback Carina doesn't even know she owes me yet. I can blame the alcohol for some of the things I said, but Colton is stone cold sober and there's no way he will let me forget our conversation.
The car sits idle on the side ofthe road while we wait for my phone to gather enough energy to power on. We are all quiet except for the rushing of the heat pouring from the vents. The leather seat is freezing against my skin, my body working overtime to bring it up to body temperature.
Another shiver racks my body, catching Colt's attention. He reaches his hand behind my head, unhooking a hood from the headrest. Holding it out to me, his eyes bore into me, pleading with me to take it without a fight. I do, looking back to where Carina is tucked into herself, Bryn's hand brushing through the hair I was picking vomit from only a few minutes ago. I'm thankful that Bryn doesn't seem to notice the gesture from Colton. Fooling myself into thinking there's nothing between us is one thing, but Bryn will be able to pick up on it instantly. She knew us when we became an 'us' and I know she can sense that something is going on. I'm still keeping from her what that entails.
My phone casts light into the SUV, my eyes squinting at the brightness while I try and type in the passcode. I have had it set to that for so long I would fail to remember any other number at this point. The date I got my first boyfriend.
"Let me fix your tie," my mother prunes over my brother, Darren.
"Mom, you won't evensee it under the stupid gown they make us wear."
"I will know if you look ridiculous under that blue sheet," she shoots him a smile as she continues fussing with the knot around his neck.
"Just let her do it, son. It's a mom thing and you're her bouncing baby boy, this is the only chance she will get until you get hitched." In comes Dad with the bonus advice.
The Thorne family might as well be the picture next to 'the American family' in the dictionary. Our parents have been happily married for twenty years, they have a son and a daughter, a house in the suburbs, two cars and two jobs. Growing up has been simple, basic, uncomplicated. My older brother has paved the way for me, getting out all of his chaotic behavior and teaching our parents how to cope with a hooligan son. Now, there isn't much that I can do worse than him. I don't get great grades in school, but Darren surprisingly does considering how much trouble he gets into.
"I'm so proud of you, Darren." Here goes Mom again, gushing over him, her hands cupping his face, her eyes damp with tears that haven't overflowed yet.
My phone dings in my pocket and I already know who it is. My cheeks turn up in a smile and I can feel my heart starting to beat faster.
Morning. Having to get up this early in the summer is so dumb, but I can't wait to see you at graduation. Think we can convince our families to sit together?
Colton's olderbrother, Lucas, is graduating today, too. Since school ended last week, I have missed my daily dose of Colton Reeve. There is a lot of flirting and playful banter, but we haven't taken things further than that. I have been crushing on him since the first day of Freshman year and though I have never had a boyfriend, I feel like he could be the first.
Summer and the weekend, whose idea was this? We will be sitting on the edge of the main bleachers, Mom already mapped out the best place to sit and be able to see Dare. Excited to see you too :)
