Ariana's pov
"Jai I'm back!" I called out as I closed the door behind me, I had just came back from school. "Didn't you have a practice today?" he said, getting ready for work. I hadn't told him yet that I wasn't going to my cheerleading practice anymore, nor that babysitting. I was going at First Avenue almost every night, and I needed more time, so I just stopped everything. "No, I'm not going anymore" I stated, as I picked an apple out of the fridge. "And what about the babysitting?" he hurried to get his teeth brushed. "Nah," I took a bite of the apple and chewed it.
"Really? You didn't let me know.." my brother put his big sweater on, that I would sometime steal from him. He opened the door, "So.. I'll be back around 7am, okay? There's some leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry.. I'm sorry sweetie, I'm late," he gave me a quick hug, "I love you, bye" he walked away and closed the door before I could say anything.
I went in my room, and changed into a crop top, and some tight high waist skinny jeans, with my black and white converse. I knew the 70's fashion was the famed elephant jeans, and the large heels, but I didn't care, I liked to be unique and in my own style. I brushed my long dark brown hair, and straightened it. I put on mascara and eyeliner, but not too much because I wasn't a big fan of makeup. As a matter of fact, I tried to look older than my age. When I was all settled up, I directly went to First Avenue.
Some of the employees, that were now my friends, and I were resting around the oval table, since we didn't have much clients to serve. I had taken a few sip of different beers, but I was taken by surprised when one of the guys laid a kind of white powder on the table. "Ari, I dare you to sniff it and take a shooter right after" the same lad challenged me, as he poured the high voltage alcohol in a small glass. I looked at him like he was crazy, "I never did that..-" I startled, but he cut me off, "There's a first time to everything" he said.
After a moment of hesitation, I leaned down towards the table, took a thin straw, and sniffled all of it. An electrifying sensation rushed through my body, making my every parts shake. Before figuring out what just happened, I took the glass and drank it all in one gulp. My eyebrows frowned in disgust because of the bad taste. I felt like a kid whom just got out of kindergarten to go to college. It didn't take long before I wasn't myself anymore.
-
When I got back home, I immediately put my clothes in the washer, because I couldn't stand the smell of smoke and alcohol invading my clothes, so I did the laundry. While my clothes were drying, I took a shower to feel freshened. The next day, I felt someone slowly shaking me, which woke me up. "Ari why aren't you at school?" my brother asked. I looked around the room like I was lost, and then I remembered everything. "I'm not feeling well.." I mumbled into my pillow. It was true though, I had one of the worsts headache. He touched my forehead, "I can sense that.. your eyes are all red" my eyes widened in shock after he said his sentence, "Really?",
"Yeah, I'll give you some painkillers for your head.. Stay in bed, I'll communicate with your school" he told me before I watched him leave my room. I was really hoping that he wouldn't notice what I did. Jai came back with painkillers like he said, and gave them to me with a glass of water. He had given me the day to rest. During the evening, he let me know that he was going to work again, but at the time I was already feeling better.
Now that I was home alone, I decided to write things in my notebook. Until I heard a knock on the front door, I opened up, and revealed someone I hadn't seen in a while, Prince. He looked like he hadn't eaten anything for days, and looked like he was crying for hours. "Skipper?" I called out above a whisper, trying to ease the discomfort. He just walked in, and hugged me tight with his head on my shoulder. I hugged him back, and that's when he broke down. We made our way to my room carefully, and sat on my bed. He was leaving a big wet spot on my blouse from his sobbing. "He kicked me out" Prince managed to say, "I have nowhere to go..." he cried even harder.
It hurt me to see him like this. My fingers massaged his hair, while my other hand was holding him. We laid down and we ended up falling asleep in the same position. In the morning, when I woke up, his head was buried in the crook of my neck, and his arms were still around me. "Don't leave me please.." I jumped a little at the sound of his voice, I thought he was sleeping. "I'll never leave you, I promise" I said, he held me tighter in response.
A bit later, I feeded him with something I made, and gave him a lot of water. He was hesitant at first, but I convinced him. "I'll ask my brother if you can stay.." I stated, "Really?" a tear rolled down his cheek, "Yes," I gently wiped under his eyes with my thumb, and he hugged me once again.
