The Red Evening

Chapter Twenty-One

The music sounded fantastic. Music wasn't a big part of my life while sober but listening to the blaring music and feeling its rhythm in sync with the flow of my blood made me feel like I had been missing out. I casually flowed with the music, twirling my hands up, running my fingers through my hair, lowering my body down to the floor. It all felt so natural and right.

"Look at those moves," Cooper cheered.

"Maybe she was a stripper in her past life," Bailey joked.

"Who knows?" I teased with a smirk.

"Mmm, okay," Cooper said with a wink.

Bringing up parts of life in DC wasn't painful. It was if it was okay to talk about my past and not feel ashamed or hurt. Words slipped out of my mouth like wind. I didn't have to worry about what I had to say and the effects of it. I was free to be me.

Bailey seductively walked over to Art, who was laying on the couch and seemed like he entered an entirely different dimension. She decided not to interrupt him and made her way to Mateo who watched us all dance. She ran her hand up his arm and pulled him towards her direction.

"Dance with me," she cooed.

He obliged and placed his hands on her hips. She circled her arms around his neck and placed delicate kisses on his jaw line. He closed his eyes and raised his eyebrows in pleasure. He lowered his hands to cup her bottom and squeezed her tightly against him. A moan escaped her plump lips and they crashed into Mateo's lips.

"Fuck," he groaned.

Bailey grabbed his hands and they both ran down the hall in giggles and slamming the bedroom door.

"Ugh, alone forever," Cooper exhaled.

I collapsed onto the floor and lifted my arms up in the air. I grazed my arms with my fingers and became fascinated with how my sense of touch had heightened.

"I could've been in Italy giving my boyfriend a messy blowjob on a balcony," I joked. I cupped my hands with my mouth and giggled at how something so private could so easily escape me.

"Damn, you're a freak," said Cooper.

"For him, yes," I agreed as I thought about Elijah. Everything about him was the proper definition of a man, but despite my awe, he was also a human. He made mistakes and the damage he caused couldn't easily be repaired.

"So what happened?" Cooper asked, laying down next to me.

"I got into a really bad accident and lost a lot of blood. I was pregnant and we didn't know until we lost it. Well, my boyfriend knew but he kept it from me. I found out just a few weeks ago. He kept it from me and I couldn't handle it. I left everybody and started a life over here without saying goodbye."

This wouldn't have been a piece of me I would've shared with anybody especially when sober to a complete stranger. Though, with the drug running its course through my body, it was easy to share my past without feeling ashamed. I had the freedom to speak freely without fear.

"That's intense and dramatic," he responded.

I lifted myself up and stared down at him. "What do you mean dramatic?"

"You ran away instead of talking to him?" He shrugged. "I would've heard him out instead of assuming the reasoning. That's some crazy shit, you can't just share information like that. There is a time for everything."

"It was about me and my body," I answered, a bit annoyed. It baffled me that the only two people who knew my story had more empathy for Elijah. I completely understood their point of view. Elijah had to bear all the bad news by himself. He had already lost the baby and he could've easily lost me.