Adapted

Extra Chapter ~ 6

ADAPTED

All Rights Reserved

©️ Emrys Noah 2021

BETILLA

It's been a few weeks since I last saw and heard from Archer or Ariana. I was already overthinking. Maybe Ariana finally gave up. I couldn't just show up at their house unannounced. I spent most of my time hunting for universities to apply to. By the time I received the invite to a party, I had applied to several universities and I had begun receiving admission letters. 

I closed the door behind me as I walked back to the living room only to see Mae on the floor, staring at my ceiling. "I'm so hungry." She muttered. I laughed at her and tossed the box of pizza to her, "You're always hungry, dum dum." She flipped me off and smiled at the chewy goodness in front of her. I scrolled through my phone and saw the invite, "Dude, the party's today. We gat to go." I tried to convince her. She shook her head. "Bee, I'm not as eager to see those bastards classmates as you are. You just want to go because Archer's going to be there." I frowned at her. 

"How do you know he's going to be there?" I asked and took the pizza away from her. "What planet do you live on, he put it on his Instagram story." She replied and snatched it away from me. I looked down and thought. I had been avoiding his stories on Instagram for a while. Now I definitely had to go!

I dropped Mae off on the way to the party. The party already started hours ago. Someone made me late, she goes by the name, Mae. I parked on the sidewalk. I had to walk all the way to the house. I scoffed when I saw the lawn ridiculed with red plastic cups. I walked in and the party was already popping off. A random person pulled me into a hug and handed me a cup. I shrugged and took a sip out of it. I realised it was a mixture and dropped it on a counter. I scanned the house briefly for a particular person. 

I finally spotted a place to sit and just watch from the shadows. Until I was ambushed by a crowd that was supposedly heading to the pool. And I was thrown in with them. The water was icy cold at first but with time, I got used to it. We played several pool games and I started to loosen up. I also kept an eye out for a particular blonde boy. I sighed as I started to get out of the pool. No one noticed as I walked out of the place. I went back to the house but I was dripping wet so I decided to dry off in the backyard. 

I walked in and sighed heavily before seeing a figure on the chair. I recognised him immediately. I walked to him slowly and noticed a pool of puke. I cringed and felt back because he wasn't well. I reached where he was and sat beside him. His eyes were closed. His lips parted and I took in a deep breath. That's when I heard him say, "Stop staring at me." I could feel my eyes widen. 

He took my hand in his and placed it on his face. "You're so cold." He whispered and I shivered instantly. I looked away from him. He groaned and tried to sit up. I heard him shrugging something off. It was his jacket. He lazily put it around my shoulders and paused when his face was levelled with mine. I felt my breath hitch in my throat. "Betilla, right?" He said and leaned back. "You call me Betty." I retorted. I readjusted his jacket and loved the warmth that it brought. 

"I'm pretty sure you're mistaken." He said coldly. I stood up and started pulling off his jacket when he did the same. "Take me home please." He said and started to puke again. I cursed under my breath and tried to pull him out of the backyard. He was really wasted. He could barely make it out of the front door. I sat him down and told him to wait. I was going to get my car and pick him up there. I hurried to where I parked and drove to only find Archer gone. 

My eyebrows shot up so fast and I groaned. "Where the fuck did he go?" I left my car running and ran to search for him. If my car gets stolen, I swear to God, I'd never for- The rest of the sentence got lodged in my throat when I saw him exchanging saliva with a mouth breather. I frowned and yanked him away from her. I didn't miss his grunt of protest. I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw my car still where I left it. I managed to get him into the car. 

"Betilla?" He called out, his eyes closed. "Yeah?" I replied and started heading to his house which wasn't far away. "I want to kiss you." He said dryly and I almost hit the brakes. "What do you mean by that?" I asked him and slowed down. He opened his eyes and said, "I remember you." I hit the brakes immediately. "You do?" 

He nodded and laughed, "You're the girl my parents hired to fool me in the hospital." He said and closed his eyes. The disappointment in my face was overwhelming. I was tired.