Drowning

Chapter 15:

The brown bottle on the kitchen table was calling to me. I snatched the bottle from the table and brought it to my lips and began to chug it down. I was regretting my decision to come back to the house tonight. I should have just turned around and driven myself home instead of picking up the bottle to drown my troubles.

"We got ourselves a party girl." A guy with cotton candy pink hair and snake bite piercings called to his buddies from the other side of the table. I reached up and flipped him off while gulping down mouthfuls of the bitter liquid. "Damn, she's feisty. I like her."

I took a few more drinks from the bottle and welcomed the burning liquid as it filled my belly. I didn't eat anything tonight and the drinking would hit me hard when it finally caught up to me. It tasted like the same stuff I was drinking the other night. It was horrible, strong, and burned through me. I was on a mission tonight, drink as fast as I could to stop thinking about how isolated I was feeling.

I thought back to Ezra again. He had really upset me and I wasn't sure why he was able to get under my skin. It's not like anything serious happened between us. I was just playing a game with him tonight to get a reaction out of him and accepted the challenge.

The pink-haired guy leaned over and whispered in his friend's ear. They both turned back to look at me, smiling. His friend motioned for the other two guys in the room to follow him out to the living room. It was just me and Pinky standing alone in the kitchen with the bottles of liquor.  He leaned back against the counter with a smile on his face watching me.

My hands and lips were already tingling. The bottle in my hands was significantly lighter than it was when I first picked it up. I had drunk more than I should have and my body was starting to feel the effects. Everything started moving in slow motion and I developed a case of the lonely giggles. I was literally standing in the kitchen laughing to myself over absolutely nothing at all.

This was the feeling I was looking for. I didn't have a care in the world; everything was so much better now. I should drink like this more often. I loved being drunk.

"What's so funny over there, party girl?" Pinky asked me.

"I can't feel my face."  I laughed hysterically as I mashed my hand against it.

I pushed the bottle back to my lips and almost missed my mouth completely. The liquid dripped down my face and onto my shirt, leaving a cold, wet spot on my breast. I wiped my hand over the spot trying to dry it off.

"Want some company over there?"  He asked, moving around the table closer to me before I could answer. He wasn't as far gone as I was, but he was pretty plastered too. I studied him as he walked closer to me.  He was a good looking guy, lean and tan; maybe he could distract me from thoughts of the dark-haired boy on the stairs for a little bit. 

"Sure, Pinky." I said, pressing the bottle back to my lips with a smile. This guy had definitely noticed me and I was drunk enough to enjoy the attention.

"You enjoying the party?" He asked me as he looked me over and bit at one of the piercings at the corner of his mouth. He placed his hand on the small of my back. 

"I can't complain." I smiled again.

"What are you drinking?" He asked, moving closer to me.

"Ummm... Something brown."  I laughed, not even bothering to read the label.

"You don't even know what you're drinking?"  He laughed at me.

"Don't really care."  I said, pressing the bottle back to my lips.

"That's hot. Keep drinking it, baby." He encouraged me. 

"You're so right; I should drink the whole bottle." I looked at my bottle and decided I should polish it off.  There was no need for me to leave the dark fluid behind. It was time for me to let loose. I took another large gulp of the dark fluid and could barely get it to go down.