The Bookworm

Chapter 7 (edited)

Amara

"The place looks freaking amazing!" Char exclaimed, bouncing up and down with excitement, making her angel wings sway with her movement. "You got it? Freaking... freaky? Hell, yes!"

The place looked beautiful and the right amount of 'freaky'. Charlotte's parents were well off and had a wonderful, spacious house. It was a little too big, considering the lights were low and chaos was going on, but I knew it well, so I didn't worry I'd get lost.

We had done an exceptional job of putting together the decorations, which were mainly picked by Char, and faithfully followed her vision for her dream birthday party. I had to say, I thought the expectations were a bit high, but with determination, and a lot of help from friends, it seemed all the time we dedicated was paying off. Even though Char wasn't known for hosting a lot of parties, she was known for hosting unforgettable parties. Which was fair, considering how much thought and determination she put in them. She wasn't getting restless.

I laughed with her excitement.

"I'm so happy for you, Char. It looks really awesome." I smiled at her, and she gave me a tight hug.

"You're the best friend ever! You, Marcus and Luke, Ian and Jenny, Kathy and-"

"I get it, Char." I interrupted her. Knowing her, the list could go on forever. "How about not having any more drinks? Would you like a cup of coffee? I can make you one."

I didn't think she had many, I saw her having maybe three so far. Usually, that wasn't enough to make her tipsy but she hadn't eaten much today, and drinking on an empty stomach can screw up your whole system.

"Girl, I'm not drunk, just excited! I need to drink a whole bottle of whisky to get tipsy, but it's so sweet you get worried. I'm getting a raincheck on that cup of coffee, though!"

It had been a week and a half since the fight at school, and since Noah Wilson had come over to my house the day after. Technically I was still grounded, but my parents allowed me to help with the preparations and attend the party considering Charlotte was my best friend.

I had tried not to think anything related to the whole situation because I couldn't understand it. My whole life I worked hard to be the best student I could be. But math, geometry, history, and literature hadn't helped me understand Noah's motivations for coming over to my house almost ten days ago.

My parents told me all about it, but it wasn't anything like I had imagined. He didn't blame me or hold me accountable for anything. They told me he said that the only one responsible was him and that I was trying to help. Obviously, I agreed because it was the truth, but how much of it did he believe? He told me he was sorry, but I doubt it was genuine. I didn't need his apology; I just needed him off my case. All of this didn't make sense to me, and I wasn't sure whether I should feel worried or not.

"Oh shit, more people are coming in! Got to go and say hi. You'll be good on your own?"

I looked around for a moment. I knew everyone, mostly because Char was so popular, but she and I didn't share the same charisma. I wasn't antisocial, but I could be awkward at times. Especially when I was surrounded by many people and most of them were strangers or people I had seen randomly at school. Loud music didn't help either, and it was one of those parties where you could hardly hear your voice if you didn't shout.

"Yup, I'm going to pour myself a drink. Have fun, we'll talk later!" I smiled at her and gently pushed her towards the directions of her guests.

"You know, he has been glancing at you all night..." She nodded meaningfully towards the bar, where Marcus and his friends were standing, having a discussion. "Just thought I would let you know!" She shared with me a wink that I could only ever describe as wicked, and then she skipped towards her friends.

I knew I shouldn't hope, but since the day he got suspended from working at the school, Marcus seemed to be a bit... more open. He was still very shy around me, but he wasn't avoiding me like the devil, which was an improvement. I had leaned towards him during class to show him on what page we were on, and although I think he blushed, he didn't pull away. I was slowly becoming hopeful, but I wasn't sure if I should. I guess I would find out.

Walking towards the bar, I pretended I was thinking about what I was going to drink, while they were having a conversation. I couldn't hear most of it, but when I pulled a red cup from the stack and decided on sangria, someone tapped my shoulder.

"Hey, what are you dressed as?" Alex, one of Marcus's friends asked as he eyed me curiously.

I readjusted my glasses and gave him a look.

"Who do you think I look like?"

I cocked his head to the side and shrugged.

I dared a look over Marcus, I found he was already looking at me, knowingly. Slowly his lips turned up with amusement.

"Monster, Inc. Boo, isn't it?"

My lips responded in kind. He remembered.

"Yes, that's the character."

Many years ago, I had told him that I plan one day to dress as Boo from the Monster, Inc. on Halloween. It had been so many years ago, and I had only mentioned it to him once, I believed he would've forgotten by now, but he still remembered. I stepped into their circle and started listening to them talking about comics, who is the best hero, and why and who would each of them be. Maybe I was a bit outdated, comic books weren't my thing, but I was happy to soak up any information I could because it felt like everything was falling back into place.

~0-0~

The party was getting more vivid as the hours went by. By then, I had one drink, a cup of orange juice and I was going to have another drink, although my second one was going to be my last. I'd stay over at Char's, but I decided it was much better to stay in control and be aware since Char had already had too much to drink.

However, after returning from the bathroom that I went to relieve myself, I noticed a similar cup next to mine. I didn't think anything of it, and I picked up the cup I believed was mine and started sipping until there wasn't much left.

After a few minutes, it could be ten or twenty I couldn't tell, I started to feel weird. I've never been drunk before in my life, but I didn't know how else to describe this feeling. My vision went blurry, and absentmindedly, I tried to rub my eyes over my glasses. I started feeling detached or disconnected from my body as if I wasn't mine, and thinking clearly was beyond me...

Water, I needed some water.

I tried focusing enough to look over at the bar, but other than alcohol and juice there was nothing else there, or at least, I couldn't find it.

Shit, I didn't feel well.

"Excuse me, I'm going to run to the bathroom for a moment," I said to Marcus and his friends before I turned and left. I didn't wait for a reply because I couldn't, I needed something to hydrate me.

Walking to the bathroom took so much of me. My vision was too blurry, and my feet felt abnormally heavy and alien to my body. I think I lost some movement in my hands, too. They felt foreign, so foreign.

When I finally made it, I thanked God it wasn't as busy as it was half an hour ago. Walking in, I think I closed the door behind me and opened the tub with difficulty. Water started to pour out of it, but I couldn't bend down enough to have a gulp. I wanted to, my body was supposed to follow after my brain, but it was wobbly, and I was almost completely gone.

Fear crawled up my spine freezing everything in its path, even time, as I swayed hard and fell on my back. I hit my head hard on the floor and felt like a wound could have opened there, wide enough for blood to pour out.

My eyes were open, I think I could blink them, but the rest of me was useless. Everything was cold as I stared at the white ceiling. My voice was screaming in my head loudly while my throat made no move to make a sound.

I was terrified but could do nothing about it. I lost sense of time, probably my mind too. I wasn't sure how many minutes, hours, or days I lay there. The only thing I knew was that I heard the door open at some point, and a shadow cast over me as I surrendered to the darkness of the unknown.