Splintered Heart

Chapter 06 | Bottoms Up

Chapter 06 | Bottoms Up

"I'm swinging by your place at around 9:00," Cash announces through the speaker phone.

Eden and I are currently getting ready for the party. She keeps insisting that we 'get in the mood' and I don't blame her. The way she speaks of having fun is getting me more and more excited. Never in a million years did I think I would be feeling this way about going to a party.

"Sounds good," I answer back and hang up quickly to start doing my makeup.

I don't plan on putting too much on, maybe a pair of lashes and some lip gloss. Eden, on the other hand, has a full face of foundation on and is applying on dark eyeshadow to her lids.

"You're going all out, aren't you?" I laugh as she struggles to find another brush.

"You got that right," she winked. Once I finish putting on my makeup, I proceed to do my hair. I'm too lazy to curl it so instead I just put it in my signature high ponytail.

"Do I look okay?" I ask Eden and she immediately spins around in her chair.

"Gorgeous!"

I take a look at myself in the mirror and almost don't even recognize the girl looking back at me. I have never worn a dress this revealing before, and to be honest, I'm growing fond of the look. There is still no way that I would agree to wear a skin-tight dress, but we'll take these party looks by baby steps.

"Are you almost done? Cash should be coming soon." I don't mean to rush Eden, but if she puts on any more makeup, you won't be able to recognize that it's her. I can barely even recognize my roommate under all the foundation and eyeliner.

"Almost!" she calls out and runs to fetch something under her bed. She takes out a pair of metallic rose gold heels that matches her dress perfectly. I decided on wearing nice sandals instead of heels. There is only so much I'm going to change about myself for this party, and comfort isn't one of them.

After we put on our footwear, there's a knock at the door and I look through the peephole to make sure that it's Cash. The door swings open and Cash's jaw practically drops to the ground.

"Wow, I've never seen you wear anything like that before." He takes another look at me and each time he does, his eyes widen in surprise.

Cash's outfit looks like what he wears on an everyday basis. It's like he didn't even put any effort into his appearance. He's wearing a plain white shirt with the same green pants that I got him for Christmas.

"Thanks," I mutter softly, avoiding eye contact with him. I feel awkward having my cousin see me in such a revealing dress. Eden pops up behind me to let me know that she's ready to leave and we do just that.

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The whole time, Cash directs me on where to go, and I'm confused as to how he knows where it is. He probably has been to a couple of college parties already. There's not a doubt in my mind that he has.

"Just park here," he instructs, pointing to an empty stall. I pull into the stall and turn the engine off. Eden and Cash frantically rushed out of the car, leaving me to catch up to them. The Lounge is pretty big for being located on a college campus. I can hear the music that's playing inside from the parking lot.

When we enter, my heartbeat instantly syncs with the pounding music. The inside of the place is formatted as a mixture of a club and a house. The couches are filled with already drunk girls kissing guys and the sight makes me want to gag. I scrunch up my nose as I see a guy trying to shove his tongue down a poor girl's throat.

"Who owns this place?" I shouted over the music to ask Cash. He shrugs his shoulders. "I think the frat guys do."

I follow Cash to the kitchen, where he hands Eden and me a cup. As soon as Eden receives hers, she tilts the cup back quickly, drinking the content inside of it. "It's easier to have fun when you're buzzed," she yells into my ear.

I nodded my head at her and looked inside the cup to see what it is. "It's just beer," she says when she sees me examining the drink.

I've sipped before, once, when I mistook it for another drink, but never again after that. "Bottoms up," Eden yells as she chugs her second drink of the night. I lift the cup at her command and let the alcohol burn the back of my throat.

I reopen my eyes after I chugged down my first drink of the night. Cash is quick to shove another cup into my hand after he sees the current one empty. I don't know how much I plan to drink tonight, but Eden was telling me to go with the flow, and I think I will.

"Let's dance!" Eden screeches. Before I have the chance to refuse, she's already dragging me to the crowd of people dancing to the music.

The dance floor is packed with people and Eden is set on being in the middle of all of them. As we go deeper in, the temperature gets hotter from all the body heat.

When she finally settles on a place, Eden sways her hips to the music and throws her hands up in the air. She looks ridiculous, but I don't stop her.

"Dance with me, Aila!" she whines. I don't know how to dance the way she is. My hips don't have the same coordination she does and I know that once I started to dance, I would look as ridiculous as her, possibly even more.

I shake my head. "I don't know how to!"

"Just move your hips; loosen up," she shouts, twirling around. I look around at the girls surrounding me and try to mimic their body movements. I feel weird when I do because when they do it, it comes naturally, and they have a tendency of making it look sexy. I know for a fact that my movements are nowhere near that.

I'm overthinking this way too much, and I know that there's no way that I can let loose if I'm still sober. "I'm going to get another drink, I'll be back," I tell Eden before leaving the dance floor.

When I reach the kitchen again, Cash isn't where we left him. This time I'm left to pour my own drink. I never thought that the first week into college, I would be pouring beer from a keg. Let alone pouring it for myself.

Once the beer reaches the top, I drink the whole thing as fast as I can. The liquid rushes down my throat and I welcome the burn. As I set the cup back on the counter, I stare at the emptied bottom. Who am I?

The thought doesn't stay long and I pour myself one more cup, but this time I drink it much slower than the first two. I look out the window and see Cash sitting on the bench with his arm around a brunette.

She laughs as he whispers something into her ear. I always knew Cash was a ladies' man, but seeing him in his element is quite hilarious.

My brain starts to feel fuzzy and I can hear my thoughts slowing down. The alcohol is most certainly kicking in and it's kicking it fast. Without thinking twice, I decide to join Eden back on the dance floor.

She's easy to find because of her sequined dress. But once I reach her, I notice that she's not alone. A brown-haired guy has his hands on her waist and she moves her bottom against him.

"Aila! You're back!" she exclaims, when she sees me coming closer. This time I feel much more comfortable as I begin to sway my hips to the music. My eyes close as I try to become in sync with the music.

All the worries that were bothering me before don't seem to surface now and I know it's because of all the alcohol I drank. I continue to move with the music until I feel a strong grip against my waist and someone pressing me into their chest.

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A/N: Hi my beautiful readers! I'm so sorry for not being as active and updating like I said I would. I just started college a month ago and I'm still trying to balance out the workload and trying to write at the same time! I promise that I'm going to try and be better with it! I've actually had the motivation to start writing again! Please don't give up on this book even if the updates are slow :) Anyways, tomorrow is my birthday and I'm thinking that maybe I should upload another chapter?? Let me know what you think!