Be My Addiction

15 • Bottoms Up

Ethan

The rest of the week flew by fast and soon it was Saturday morning. I haven’t talked to my dad about how I left the conversation but at the moment, I was pretty sure it was on him to approach me.

I have been relaxing all day and playing on my phone whenever I was waiting for a notification. Gene and I have been texting back and forth with him talking about how excited he is and me complaining about him not letting me relax in peace.

Even though I liked it.

I’ve become a bit aware of things between us. It’s hard to describe but being around him is.. Different. I’ve caught myself opening up to him more, smiling around him and enjoying myself.

I haven’t been able to do that since the accident.

I also haven’t been carefree enough to go to any parties. That was changing tonight though. Eugene promised he would let me leave if I didn’t enjoy it, so I was going to go and try to have fun.

At the moment, I was figuring out what to wear. It wasn’t a formal event and the chances of me going home without some stain on my clothes wasn’t very likely. That only left me with one choice. My old jeans and a grey shirt I didn’t wear too often. By the time I finished choosing my outfit, it was half-past seven and Eugene would be picking me up soon.

I dressed, pulling on my shoes and black jean jacket before looking at myself in the mirror. I looked like the loner kid who just stood in a corner while everyone had fun. Thinking about the party reminded me about how stressful and loud parties can be. I already took my pills so I was living a nice high at the moment but who knows how long I would be staying?

For better or worse, I slipped my pill bag into my inside breast pocket on my jacket. I doubted I would need them but I was going to take them just in case.

Gene pulled into the driveway and honked lightly. After checking out my appearance one more time, I darted downstairs to the front door. I locked it from the inside and shut the door after me. Eugene lightly waved from the driver's seat and soon I was jumping in the front seat. It took a moment for me to realize someone was missing.

“Where’s Veronica?” I glanced to the back seat before looking to the quarterback. He shrugged and shifted the car to drive.

Eugene sighed softly as he began driving “She got a ride with one of her friends.” I had to fight hard to keep my hands in my lap. I wanted to smooth out the frown line forming between his eyebrows. But like a perfectly normal person, I sat there, observing him.

Shaking my head, I offer a smile “again, her loss.” That made him smile a bit and soon we arrived at the party. If I told you I wasn’t nervous, I would be lying.

Eugene gave me a soft smile “Remember our deal?” I gave him a simple nod. “If you decide you don’t want to stay here, we can leave” Gene was familiar with the person who owned the house so if he had to, we could leave the car here and get it in the morning. I definitely wouldn’t be sitting in a car with a drunk driver. And I definitely wasn't going to drive.

I gave another nod before taking a deep breath. Building the courage, I stepped out of the car. Gene was soon to follow and we made our way into the house. It was pretty early at night but the party was already started. Thankfully, there weren’t any people trying to do the nasty on the porch and no one was passed out on the lawn. 

Yet. 

That’s how the average party went. People got wasted and usually ended up doing something worth crying over in the morning. 

The music was loud and Eugene had to yell just for me to hear him “Do you want me to get you something to drink?” Reluctantly, I nodded and the 6-foot something guy vanished in a crowd of dancing bodies. 

I could feel the heat rising in the room from so many active people in one room. Sure it was a generally large room, but it wasn’t built for more than maybe twenty people. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more than fifty people here. 

It was a bit crowded. 

Eugene soon returned with some form of light alcohol in a red solo cup. Taking it, I sniffed the drink before taking a sip. The slight burn of the disgusting drink slid down my throat. It was definitely a cheap beer brand. I’ve had better but anything to give you a buzz, I guess.

Shrugging off my doubt, I downed the drinks.