High School Story

What Happened Last Night?

     I woke up on the ground in front of my house. I was shivering and my drool was almost frozen to the ground. As I sat up, the world spun and I fell back onto the lawn. "Ohhh," I moaned as my head spun. I needed to get up before my mother got off. The sun was just coming up, so I had a bit of time. I sat up, slower this time, then frowned. I felt off, that was the drunkest I had ever been so I blamed it on that.

     I stood and, on shaky legs, made my way to the door. I let myself in and made my way to the bathroom, falling down the stairs more than once. Once I finally made it up, I went into my room and grabbed a large t shirt and fuzzy pj pants, not caring if they matched. I shuffled to the bathroom and undressed, avoiding the mirror, I turned the water on and sat in the tub, putting my head back, and relaxed. I let myself drift into a restless sleep.

***

     I was awakened by a sharp knock at the door. "Erin!" My mother called. "Are you in there?"

     "Yeah," I groaned, my voice raspy. 

     "What are you doing?" She asked, sounding tired. "I found your phone in the driveway."

     "I don't feel good." I explained, standing up and walking over to the door, ignoring how wet the floor had become. Wrapping myself in a towel, I opened the door slightly and looked at my frazzled mother. "I must have dropped it after school yesterday, I wasn't feeling good then either."

     She slid the phone through the door and frowned. "I could take a look at you, are you running a fever?"

     I shook my head. "I don't know, you look tired, just go to sleep."

     She made eye contact with me. "Are you sure that you're okay?" I nodded, holding back tears. "Alright then, goodnight." With that, she walked away. I closed the door and locked it once again. Then made my way over to the tub, dropped the towel and settled myself back in. I was still holding my phone and powered it on. It beeped twice, showed a low battery signal and then shut down once again. I frowned and decided it was time to go to my room. I
pulled the plug out and let it drain, then stood, wrapping myself in the towel once again. I stood in front of the sink and threw on my clothes, wrapping my old, dirty, nasty clothes from the night before in the towel, then exiting the room altogether.

     I entered my bedroom and flopped onto my bed, grabbing my phone charger and plugging it in.

     My HTC One came back to life and showed me that I had new text messages.

Eva: Erin, where r u?

Eva: Who did u leave with, I saw u in an odd car.

Eva: Wait, did u leave with that mystery boy?

Veronica: Babes, why aren't you answering my phone calls?

Veronica: What was that voicemail about?

Veronica: Babes, you need to call me.

Veronica: I am going to call your mom if you don't answer soon!

     I frowned and dialed her number, then placed the phone to my ear. "Babes!" She cried. "What happened?"

     "What are you talking about?" I questioned, confused.

     "You called me at like 4 in the morning and left an odd voicemail1" She wailed. "What happened! You sounded drunk."

     I frowned, shaking my head. "I have no idea what you are talking about. Can you send it to me?"

     She laughed without any humor. "How am I supposed to do that?"

     I shrugged, "Play it out loud and record it on your computer?"

     "That's a good idea." I heard her surprise. "Then I'll be able to email it to you. Talk to you soon. Love ya Babes!" Then the line went dead. I placed my hands over my face and took a deep breath, not knowing what to do other than wait.

***

     My phone dinged as the email was received and I unlocked the phone instantly. I downloaded the audio file and stood, realizing I needed to find earbuds. I rummaged through my bag, but when I stood, the room spun and I had to sit down once more. Once I got my bearing back, I crawled over to my dresser and pulled myself up. I then reached onto the top and found my purple earbuds. Then I made my way back to the bed and laid down, plugging the earbuds in and taking a deep breath. I pressed play...

***

Audio File:

"Alright, alright! I just need to...turn... this..."  My voice trailed off. "No, I will be there. I just...no... NO! Let go of me. Did you not understand-" I heard gurgling, like I was choking on something. "I do not need anything else to drink. No. Get-" I heard a scuffle and then a crash. A deep voice cursed and I heard myself scream. Then I heard footsteps coming closer to the phone. Nothing was said by who picked it up, but it heard a drawer open, then the voicemail voice said "End of message."

***