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“Sure, perfect weather for a trip to the beach,” Ayden retorts.
I look at him. I feel bad for accusing him. “Thanks for helping her out,” I say, and our eyes meet. There’s suddenly a sense of that old familiarity between us, which I never want to feel again.
“No problem,” he replies in a soft voice that stirs up my emotions and makes my heart flutter.
“Geez, the way you guys are looking at each other. It’s enough to make me pu–” Max breaks off and somehow manages to prop herself up with her hands on her thighs before she throws up.
I hold her by the shoulders as she sways dangerously. After she’s purged the contents of her stomach, she slumps, but Ayden holds her upright.
“What do we do with her now?” I ask. “Should we call a taxi? It’s too far to walk to school with her in that state, and we can’t take her back to her parents like this.”
“No taxi driver would take someone this drunk,” says Ayden. And he’s probably right. He sighs and jerks his head to the left. “My dad’s apartment’s not far. We can make it there. I still have a room at his place. She can sleep it off there.”
I look at him doubtfully. “You want to take her to the principal’s apartment? What if he sees her?”
“He won’t come into my room. He never does when I have visitors.”
I roll my eyes when I hear this, but Ayden ignores it.
“And he’s hardly ever there. He’s often away attending conferences or meetings with Council members, as you know, and then he usually stays in a hotel nearby.”
I swallow, unsure if this is a good idea. I look at Max again, who’s hanging in Ayden’s arms, unable to support her own weight. What choice do we have?
“I hope I don’t wind up regretting this,” I mutter.
“Like I said, he won’t come into my room. I crash there now and then after I’ve been out partying. So he won’t be concerned.”
I hope Ayden’s right. I help him support Max’s weight. We make slow progress, especially as our friend now seems very tired and keeps complaining about feeling sick.
“I want to sleep. Just let me sleep,” she mumbles.
“Not far to go,” I reassure her, glancing at Ayden for confirmation.
“We’re almost there,” he says.
I’m so relieved when he stops in front of an apartment building. He unlocks the front door, and we climb a flight of stairs that seems to go on forever. It’s a struggle to get Max to lift her feet, so in the end, Ayden carries her. He finally stops in front of a door, carefully puts Max down, takes out a key, and unlocks it.
I’m the first to step into the long hallway. It has a parquet floor and several doors leading off it. At the end, I can see a large room, which I assume is the living area, but we don’t go in there. Ayden opens a door on the left.
He switches on the light, to complaints from Max. There’s a large bed, already made, some largely empty shelves, a couch, a desk, and a wardrobe. It’s obvious that nobody lives here. But it still feels cozy somehow.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Max mumbles.
Ayden grabs a trash can and shoves it in front of her just in time.
When she’s feeling better, Ayden gives her a damp washcloth to clean herself up. Then, he helps me get her into the bed.
“Well, isn’t that courteous,” I remark. “When I spent the night in your room at school, I had to sleep on the couch.”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t worried about you falling off that narrow thing and breaking your neck.”
The memory makes me smile. Max is already fast asleep.
“She’s been having a rough time lately. That’s probably why she went too far tonight. She’s trying to distract herself and avoid going home.”
“Yeah, she told me her parents aren’t getting along too well.”
I nod. “And it’s really getting to her.”
