by Bella King
Morgan cocked her head to the side. “Is something wrong, Faith. You’re acting really weird.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m fine.”
“Okay, well let’s go then. I swiped a couple of bottles of tequila from my parents’ collection. They’re basically alcoholics so they have a whole basement full of the stuff,” Morgan said, taking my hand and leading me off the field with the others.
A drink would certainly take the edge off things. I could use a moment to relax and just enjoy myself instead of thinking about Troy and how he made me feel. I joined the cheerleaders in the locker rooms and changed into regular clothes to go out and celebrate.
Morgan had half of us go in her car, while the other half went in Jennifer’s car. We split the bottles, three for us and two for them. Morgan insisted that she could hold down more liquor because she was taller than everyone else. I believed her.
We climbed into the car and began driving to the park. It was usually unoccupied after six, and now that the sun went down earlier, it would probably be abandoned. The cops never hung around that place either.
I began to feel more at home with the women on the cheer team as we twisted open a bottle of tequila in the car.
“Don’t spill that shit,” Morgan called back to us as she drove up the twisting roads that led to the park.
“Straight from the bottle,” Jennifer said with a grin before throwing the bottle back and gulping down a shot’s worth of booze.
I laughed as she made a face after swallowing it. “Fucking hell,” she exclaimed, handing the bottle to the next woman in the car. She also took a swig, grimacing at the strongness of the alcohol without a chaser to take the edge off.
“Damn, not even some salt to go with this,” I commented as I took the textured glass bottle.
“The only salt you’re going to find is from the jocks. I bet they’re salty as hell from having to reschedule the game,” Morgan said from the front.
“Serves them right,” I said, throwing the bottle back and letting the cool liquid sting the back of my throat. It tasted like pepper and regret, something that would be burned into my memory after tonight.
I wanted to fit in with the other cheerleaders, but I hadn’t really drunk much alcohol before, aside from the occasional glass of wine that my parents permitted. It was never something that I was into. I didn’t exactly see the appeal of getting drunk and losing control, but after that afternoon with Troy in the men’s bathroom, a stiff drink was sounding pretty appealing.
“Bottle down,” Morgan shouted.
Jennifer’s hand came down on the bottle, yanking it down into my lap and splashing tequila onto my crimson skirt.
A cop passed the car in the opposite direction. I looked back as it sped off and disappeared around the corner. “Close one,” I said, trying to wipe some of the clear liquid off my skirt. I handed the bottle back down the line.
“Give that to me,” Morgan demanded, reaching back and snatching the bottle of tequila from one of the girls. She took a drink and smacked her lips together. “Yep, that’s tequila alright.”
“Shouldn’t you wait until we get there?” I asked, feeling weird about Morgan drinking and driving.
Morgan grinned at me in the rearview mirror. “We are there.”
I looked out the window to see us pulling through the front gates of the park and rolling past the front booth. Normally there would be someone there, but the park was closed after five for the winter months. Even though it wasn’t really cold yet, they had switched the schedule once schools opened. Nobody came to the park in the evening when they had school the next day.
Well, nobody except for the cheerleading team, that was. We were there to have some drinks and swap stories as we gloated over sending the entire rugby team running for the bathroom. There was no way there were enough toilets for all of them. They probably had a pretty rough time.
I wondered about what the consequences of this would be. I had let slip to Troy that something was up with their drinks, and now he probably thought I was behind it. If not that, then the whole cheerleading team. Either way, in my haste to be nice to him, I had given him dirt on me that I probably shouldn’t have.
I was a bit stupid to let my lust for his touch get in the way of my thinking. His aggression had been mesmerizing, and I was pretty sure that I was the only woman that he had gotten that close to since he had sworn off women years ago. Fucking is one thing, but there was fire in that kiss that hinted at more than just sexual desire.
Even tequila couldn’t wash him out of my mouth. I was handed the bottle after climbing out of Morgan’s SUV, taking another swig as the first one began to set in. At this rate I would be drunk within the hour.
The other cheerleaders arrive at the park soon after us, and we all occupied the benches in the picnic area, passing around five bottles of tequila, too much for even the entire cheer squad to drink on their own. If only we had some guys without to make the evening sparkle.
Jennifer jumped up onto a table beside me, propping her head up between her legs with her hands and pouting at me. “You have a boyfriend yet, or what?”
I shook my head. Had she been reading my mind or something?
Jennifer giggled. “Maybe you want a girlfriend instead,” she asked, raising her perfect eyebrows at me.
I made a face. “Not my thing,” I replied.
“Well you’re no fun, Ms. Only-dates-men.”
I laughed. “Is there something wrong with that?”
Morgan cut into the conversation. “Jesus, Jennifer, cut it out. Faith’s not going to suck your clit tonight.”
Jennifer looked disappointed, hopping off the table and slinking somewhere else.
Morgan gave her a look of pity before turning back to me. “She just broke up with her girlfriend. Looking for a quick fuck, but I don’t think a single woman on the time swings that way.”
“I’m sure we could all use a quick fuck,” I said, taking another drink from the nearly empty bottle on the table. I was thinking of Troy’s cock pressed against my body, and the way his hands gripped my ass like he would never let it go. I wondered what it felt like to have a man like that inside of me.
“Have you not managed to get laid yet?” Morgan asked.
I shrugged. “I’ve never been.”
“I figured that was the case, the way you stare at the jocks every time they’re out. Get some good dick and you’ll forget about those losers,” Morgan replied. “I can help you find someone. Greywood Academy isn’t that big but there is a swim team with some hunks on it if you’re into the sporty type.”
I couldn’t think about any man but Troy. The thought of some swimmer and his cold wet body made me want to puke, or maybe that was the tequila that was swimming in my empty stomach. How many drinks had I had? Five? Six? I was definitely beginning to feel the full effect of alcohol on my brain and body.
Morgan’s forehead creased. “Are you going to be alright?” She asked, brushing her thick brown hair from her shoulder and leaning in.
“I think I need to puke,” I said, holding my stomach and rocking back and forth. I regretted that tequila already.
“Girls, we have a lightweight over here,” Morgan called out to the other women who had begun to drunkenly laugh and gossip together. A few of them looked over to me with pity painted on their faces as I vomited onto the gravel that covered the ground.
Morgan leaped back, avoiding getting her ankles sprayed with the clear vomit that was mainly bile and tequila. It probably wasn’t even that gross considering there was no food substance in it. Drool ran from my mouth as I hunched over, feeling the blood rush to my face. “I want to go home,” I said pathetically.
I was a buzz kill, alright, but my body was telling me that I needed to sleep this off. I wasn’t ready to stay at the park late enough for the booze to wear off on its own.
“Well, I’m a little tipsy so you’re going to have to wait,” Morgan said, patting me on the back.
&
nbsp; “How long?” I asked.
Morgan sighed. “Unless you want my drunk ass to drive you home and get us killed, I’d say a few hours. I have some water in the car. You can hang out there but don’t puke on my leather seats. We still have to drive back in that car.”
I nodded. “I think I’m done throwing up,” I said, smiling at her weakly and standing up.
Morgan gave me a look, not fully believing me, but began walking to her car anyway. I followed her, my steps wobbly and uncoordinated as I struggled to stay on a straight path. Morgan arrived at the car and opened the door for me, handing me a bottle of water as I tried to keep myself from falling over.
“Sit down,” she said, pointing into the SUV.
I mumbled my thanks and sat down in the seat, taking a sip of water. It tasted much better than the tequila had. The world was spinning around me and I wanted desperately for it to stop. I leaned back and closed my eyes, passing out in my seat for the time being.
Chapter 17
I woke up to headlights flashing in my face and the sounds of the cheer team shouting. I opened my eyes, confused as to what was going on. I just wanted to sleep. Were they having a party or something?
Jennifer leaped over my limp body into the seat beside me, knocking her shoes against my face.
“Ow, what the fuck?” I asked angrily and confused.
Jennifer shrieked at Morgan as she jumped into the driver’s seat and started up the car. “Get us out of here!”
I looked out the window to see three cars heading straight toward us. I recognized one of them from Troy’s house the night that I threw a rock through his window and got the shit kicked out of me. I was confused. Why were the jocks here?
“Fucking go!” Jennifer yelled at Morgan as she peeled out of the picnic area, gravel flying back behind her wheels.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Jennifer had a panicked look on her face. “The fucking rugby team found us and they’re probably angry as fuck about what we did.”
“How did they know where we are?” Morgan asked as she drunkenly swerved around the jock’s cars toward the exit.
“I don’t know,” Jennifer replied. “They must have known it was us that fucked with their drinking supply during the game.”
Morgan laughed crazily as she sped out onto the main road. “Who else would have done that to them?”
Morgan was jerking the car around, flying down the crooked streets that led us back to the main city from the park. There weren’t any other cars on the road or we would be a splatter on the side of the road by now. She wasn’t exactly staying in her own lane.
I looked back, feeling sick again as I saw the headlights of one of the jock’s cars behind us, closing in quickly. “We got company!”
Morgan looked in her rearview, worry painted on her face. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she said, hitting the gas harder and nearly flying off the road at the first turn.
“Slow it the fuck down,” Jennifer shouted, banging Morgan’s headrest from behind.
“Yeah, if you want to die,” Morgan shouted back.
“We are going to die if you wrap this hunk of metal around a tree driving like that,” Jennifer countered.
I agreed with Jennifer, but I didn’t say anything. My stomach was churning, and I was barely aware of what was going on. Everything was a blur and the lights behind us were so bright that I couldn’t see anything clearly. All I knew was that we were in danger, whether it be from Morgan’s erratic driving or the jocks that were trying to murder us for poisoning their drinks.
The car behind us sped up and bumped into the back of Morgan’s car.
“Hell no. I know you aren’t putting scratches on my new car,” Morgan said angrily.
The car behind us pushed into Morgan’s car again, sending us into a fishtail before returning to a straight line. The wobbling car was just enough to make me puke again. The contents of my stomach, mostly water now, splattered against the seat in front of me, dripping down onto the floor mat.
Jennifer moved away from me. “Gross, Faith. Now is definitely not a good time for that.”
I glared at her and spat the taste of vomit out of my mouth onto the floor. “Maybe if Morgan slowed the fuck down, I wouldn’t be so sick.”
As the words left my lips, my wish came true, but not in the way anyone wanted. Morgan slammed on the breaks and swerved the SUV, sending it flying off the road as she tried to take a corner too fast. I felt like we were flying, then, in a loud crunch of metal and broken glass, the car hit a tree, skimming off at an angle, and rolled over into the woods.
I was the only one without a seatbelt on, and my body was thrown up against the ceiling of the car as it laid upside down, smoke rising from the engine. I looked around, surprised I was still alive and awake.
Morgan groaned. “My parents are going to kill me,” she said, hanging upside down in her seat.
Jennifer looked around in a daze. “Fuck, are we dead?”
I laughed bitterly. “Not yet, but we might be soon.” I heard the sound of crunching leaves and sticks as someone approached the car.
“Shit,” Morgan exclaimed, unbuckling her seatbelt and crawling through the broken window out into the cool night air.
Jennifer followed her, grabbing my wrist and pulling me with her. I was still too drunk to run, but once we were out of the car, Morgan and Jennifer flew off into the woods at unbelievable speed. They always seemed to make a fast getaway, leaving me behind.
I stumbled as I heard a familiar voice behind me. I tried to run, but I fell onto the ground and didn’t feel well enough to get up. I let my body sink into the wet leaves and dirt, giving up and thinking that I was due for another beating. Let them kill me this time, my drunken brain thought. At least I wouldn’t have to deal with being bullied any longer that way.
It was Troy who walked up to me, looking down and shaking his head. “Why is it always you, Faith?”
That’s all I remembered before he scooped me up and carried me away.
Chapter 18
The tequila and car wreck hadn’t managed to kill me, but waking up at Troy’s bed had me wishing they had. I jumped up when I realized where I was. Not again!
I looked around frantically, searching for Troy, but didn’t see anyone. Had I been raped? What had happened last night that had me ending up in his bed? Must have made some noise upon arising because the door opened, and Troy entered with a glass of water.
“Drink this,” he said, placing it down on the bedside table.
“What’s going on?” I asked, feeling a dull thudding begin to take hold of my skull. The tequila hadn’t been kind to me in the least.
Troy sighed. “You girls did some pretty stupid shit yesterday.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, taking the water off the bedside table and letting the cold liquid wet my mouth. It washed away the aftertaste of puke and tequila.
“Cindy told us where you were after we figured out what you did to our drinking supply during the game.”
“Cindy?” I asked. “Was she spying on us or something?”
“Perhaps,” Troy responded vaguely. “Regardless, the fact still stands that you poisoned the rugby team and tried to flee when we found you. Everyone is still alive, but the guys on the team that drove you off the road feel pretty bad about what they did.”
“Oh really? Because it seemed more like you wanted to kill us,” I replied bitterly.
Troy shrugged. “I wasn’t the one driving. I told them to cut it out.”
“Why the fuck is Cindy ratting us out? I guess she doesn’t like me anymore,” I replied angrily. “She’s a jealous bitch.”
Troy raised an eyebrow but didn’t respond. He looked like he hadn’t slept much that night, and his hair was in a charmingly disheveled state. On any other occasion, I would have been pleased to see him like this, but I was still pissed off about the night before.
“And how did I end up here?” I asked, my memory a faded blur.
I squinted at him, lifting up the sheets to see that I was only in a bra and panties. “Where are my clothes? Why did you take them off?”
Troy laughed. “I didn’t take them off. You tried to have sex with me when we got back but I told you to go to bed.”
“You’re lying,” I spat, but I knew he wasn’t. I knew that I had been thinking about Troy the whole night, and tequila doesn’t always make me act rationally. In fact, it never does.
Troy shrugged. “I didn’t do anything. I just had you go to bed. Thankfully, you fell asleep without a fuss.”
“You promise you didn’t do anything weird to me?” I asked defensively.
Troy laughed. “No, but you’re lucky I was the one who saved your ass again. I can’t guarantee the other guys on the team wouldn’t have.”
“Troy, why would you even be friends with guys like that? You would let them do something like that to me?” I asked, searching his face for a hint of empathy.
Troy shrugged. “I’m the team captain. I can’t leave the team.”
Troy may have cared about me, but he didn’t do a very good job of showing it. Maybe it was just sexual attraction all along, with no real emotional connection. I felt stupid now for kissing him in the bathroom at school. He was nothing but a stupid bully. At the very least, he was a coward.
“By the way, what’s up with your legs?” Troy asked, cocking his head to the side.
“What do you mean?” I asked, already knowing that he was talking about the scars that littered my upper thighs.
“You seem pretty scraped up,” he said.
“I used to cut. I don’t do it anymore,” I said quietly.
“Okay, I was just curious. I’m not going to judge you for that,” Troy said sweetly.
“Mind your own business,” I said as I pulled the covers away and got up out of bed, my body aching and my head pounding. I shot Troy a nasty look as he held out a hand to help me. “I don’t want your help.”
