stutter » a. irwin

chapter 22. drunk

❀ J U L I A ❀

I was laughing and I didn't really know why, but I did know that the room was starting to spin and it looked pretty. My hair was stuck to the back of my neck with sweat and my cheeks were probably flushed from the alcohol, but the best thing about it was that I didn't even care.

Through my blurry vision I saw Calum sloppily dancing a few feet away, and I tried my best to stop myself from spilling my drink on people as I made my way over to him.

"It's getting hot, so I'm going to get some air!" I tried to yell over the music.

"You're going to eat a pear?" Calum shouted confusedly.

"No, air!"

"You're going to eat some air?"

Even through my drunken haze, I still found myself able to roll my eyes.

"Get some air! Outside!" I motioned with my hands and pointed to the entrance of the club, sighing when his eyes lit up in realization.

"Oh! I'll come with you just to be safe." He said, taking a swig of his beer before following me outside.

The fresh air was such a stark contrast to the stuffy club that it immediately began to clear up my mind. Inside, the music and alcohol and lights provided a decent distraction, but outside where only the bass could be heard, all my problems were beginning to come back to me.

"Ashton is a two-timing dickhole." I blurted to Calum, downing the rest of my drink in one gulp shortly after the words came out of my mouth.

My mind began to turn fuzzy again and a laugh burst out of my lips when I registered the insult that I had just said.

"God, I sound like Rachel." I leaned myself against the wall to try and stop myself from falling over and registered Calum doing the same next to me.

"Your model friend?"

My head felt heavy and I slowly turned to look at Calum. "That's the one. You remind me of her sometimes. I'll introduce you two one day, but she's always travelling and stuff."

He ducked his head down, mumbling his next words like he was reciting something from memory.

"I want to travel the world and finally be able to breathe for once."

I stared at Calum, wondering if he was a little more far gone than I'd thought.

"What the hell are you on about?"

The boy took another swig of the bottle in his hand before shaking his head, staring distantly at his scuffed up Vans on the cracked pavement.

"It's just- you reminded me of something Rachel once said."

My head snapped up and I looked at his blurry form in a daze. "Wait- you know Rachel?"

"No, no, my Rachel; a different Rachel. Except she's not really mine anymore." His voice was rough and resentful, but my confusion only escalated as I tried to wrap my drunken mind around what he was saying.

Noting the puzzled look on my face, Calum chuckled bitterly. I noticed his knuckles turn white as he clutched the bottle in his hand tighter. "You probably know her better as my Amnesia girl."

The inebriated state I was in made it a little easier to deal with the shock that came from his statement, but I still tried to soak it all in.

"So, there's two Rachel's... my best friend, and your-" I cut myself off, not quite sure what Calum's Amnesia girl exactly was to him just yet. "Uh- how do we know they aren't the same person? I mean, the Rachel I know is 5'3 with raven hair and an attitude that's going to get her in trouble one day."