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Please, give me another chance.
I pulled the bedside table drawer open, reached in, and felt for a small bottle of pills. It was almost past its use-by-date. I took two and downed it with a mouthful of water.
They were called Joy-Kills, a brand of medicine that removed all side effects from drinking too much alcohol. It took about five minutes to pass through the entire system.
Then, I would be sober.
“Are you going to do it?” Ettana said. “Are you going to chase after her and declare your love?”
“I can give it a try.”
I lowered my hand to Ettana, who took it. I raised her onto her feet.
“Listen to me,” I said. “I love you as a friend, and that isn’t the kind of love you should ever settle for. You have to forget about me, move on, and find someone else, someone who will love you the same in return. You’re beautiful and smart. You can have any guy you want. Just make sure he loves you back.”
Ettana had tears in her eyes.
“You really think I’m smart?” she said.
“And cunning,” I said. “I would never have suspected it was you that informed my mom.”
Ettana hugged me and then leaned forward to kiss me on the lips.
I pulled back.
“Friends, remember?” I said.
“Oh, right,” she said. “Sorry. Old habits and all that.”
She kissed me on the cheek instead.
I approached the door. My legs were no longer wobbly and the world no longer tilted on its axis. I was sober as a high priest on Sundays.
For the first time in my life, it felt wonderful.
I hit the queue of traffic. At this time of night, it was dead quiet. The only trouble was, city driving speeds were always uniform. It didn’t matter if it was day or night, the traffic always moved the same.
They said it was done for safety reasons but it never made much sense to me. If the roads were empty, surely we should be able to go faster?
I placed my hand over the button that would activate the chip buried deep inside the engine cavity. It meant I could override the system and drive as fast as I wanted.
If there was ever a time when I needed to take advantage of that technology, it was now.
I prepared to mash the button beneath my hand but hesitated. It had to be my final option. Once I pressed that button, there was no going back.
I took a deep breath and took stock of my situation.
I was heading to the spaceport.
Was she still there?
Had she even boarded the ship?
Had she even purchased a ticket?
Was there even a pod available to take her home?
I scooped up my communicator and searched for my most recent purchases. I slammed my fist on the steering wheel and groaned at the sight of the payment that’d already been made.
