My Wish for You
Page 12
“Uhh…yeah. Sure. C’mon Sam.” I followed his lead as he turned and walked away from them. I glanced back a few times before Jonathon noticed.
“Cut it out Sam,” he said bluntly.
“What?” I looked up at Jonathon innocently.
“Quit creepin’ kid. You don’t wanna watch anyway.”
“And you know this how?”
“Because I know how he feels about you and I know how you feel about him. You’re just going to make it harder.”
“How does he feel about me?” I prodded, ignoring the rest.
“Sam, do you really have to ask me that? He’s like head over heels for you, and you know that. You don’t want to watch.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right.”
By this point we had caught up with Brian, who was silently observing our conversation. Half-heartedly, we found everything on the list. We were strolling through the meat section when Brian approached me.
“He’s right, you know.”
“About what?”
“About the way he feels about you. And the fact that you’d be driving yourself crazy if you were watching.”
“Yeah I know. Are we done yet?”
“Almost,” Jonathon answered. “I just need to get some refreshments for the party.”
Downtrodden, I followed the two of them as they made their way through the alcoholic beverages, searching for the substances of their choice. I wandered through the aisles glancing at the many colored glass bottles, varying in shapes and sizes. Trying to distract myself, I stood at the end of the row studying the vodka display intently. Glancing up, I saw Sean motion to Jonathon and Brian.
Curious as to what was going on, I watched them intently. They seemed to be having a somewhat heated discussion. I saw all three of them turn towards me, then to Tasha. Turning my attention to her, I was surprised and slightly relieved to see her talking to three considerably shady looking guys. Turning back to the display, I avoided any chance of looking like a creep.
“Hey little lady.” I peeked up, dumbfounded. One of the three shady looking guys was standing to my left, then, another came up to my right. He was the shortest of the three, barely my height.
“Uh…hi?” I hesitated.
“How you doin’?” the one to my right asked.
“Umm…good?”
“Lookin’ for a good time?”
“No…I’m okay,” I said quietly.
Looking over to where Sean was standing for help, I found the space empty. My eyes frantically darted around searching for him, only to find him walking through the doors with Tasha, his hand on the small of her back. With a new chip on my shoulder, I turned around to walk away and found myself boxed in by the tall one.
“Excuse me,” I said harshly.
“Come on mamacita. I bet you could show us a good time.”
Who did this guy think he was?
“And I bet you could get the hell out of my way before I kick your ass.”
The three of them laughed at me while I tried to think of different self-defense moves.
“We got a feisty one tonight guys. Come on baby. Let’s go have a good time.” He went to grab my arm and I flinched back from it.
“I am not your baby.”
“What?”
“You heard her.”
“What?” he said again stupidly, turning around to face Jonathon, who was standing there with his arms crossed, Brian standing just behind him.
“Either you show yourselves out, or we will.”
Until then, I had never noticed how scary Jonathon or my brother could be. I most definitely would not want to be on the receiving end of one of their threats, or be on the receiving end of the carrying out of a threat. They took a step closer when none of the guys moved away from me. “You fucking heard me. You have three seconds to get away from her before we knock your heads in.”
They all looked at one another, dumbly waiting for the other to do something.
“One.”
The two shorter ones looked at the tall guy.
“Two.”
He looked at the door and shrugged.
“Let’s get out of here.”
And with that, they turned and walked away. I saw the empty area where Sean had been standing. Despite foreseeing this happening, my heart felt like it had shattered into a million little pieces. I sighed and looked up to Brian and Jonathon, who were both watching me. I could see the pity in their eyes.
“Thanks guys,” I said dejectedly.
“Not a problem,” they chorused.
“So…uhh….” Jonathon uncomfortably broke the silence. “Do we have everything we need?”
I looked around again. Seeing the vodka display behind me, I leaned over and grabbed a bottle, holding it up to them.
“Yup. Let’s go.”
***
“Woooh!”
I pulled up on Cara’s hand so she could get onto the couch and dance with me. Her weight threw off my balance though, and unexpectedly, I went tumbling down onto the couch, pulling her with me. Laughing hysterically, I steadied the bottle in my hand to take another drink.
From across the room, I caught the eye of some kind of gorgeous eye candy. I passed the bottle to Cara.
“Look at that,” I nudged her, then nodded towards the guy.
“Well, isn’t he fine?”
“Mhmm.”
Mr. Gorgeous looked back over at us. Smiling, I wiggled my fingers at him. He said something to the guy he was standing with before turning and making his way towards us.
“Well, well, well, look who’s here.” Cara motioned towards the doorway, passing the bottle back to me. I flung my head up the way she pointed to see Sean walking in by himself. I took a drink as the anger from earlier flared up. Cara noticed the new way I was glancing at Mr. Gorgeous.
“Gonna make him jealous?”
“Either that, or forget about him completely,” I muttered darkly, taking another sip.
“Ladies?”
We both looked up, smiling.
“Good luck with that,” she whispered before we said “Yes?” in unison.
“Care to dance?” I took one last sip before handing the bottle off to Cara and taking his hand. He led me to the middle of the makeshift dance floor.
“Aaron,” he said, pulling me up against him.
“Sam,” I returned, moving against him and laying my hands on his chest. It was probably a good thing that he was holding on to me, as my legs kind of felt like Jell-O. Maybe the vodka hadn’t been the best idea…oh well!
I took the beer out of Adam’s hand, taking a drink of it. He didn’t seem to mind. If I hadn’t been impaired, sharing a drink with a complete stranger probably would have bothered me. I turned around so my back was against his chest and we moved to the beat of the music.
“Thanks Adam.” I laid my head back against his shoulder.
“It’s Aaron,” he said over the music into my ear, kissing just underneath it. I turned my head to the side towards his lips, which he pushed against mine. As the song changed to a quicker beat, Adam/Aaron/Mr. Gorgeous slid his hands to my hips to turn me towards him so I could return the kiss better.
“You wanna go find somewhere quiet to ‘talk’?”
“Hmm. Doesn’t sound like a horrible plan,” I slurred. We turned to find somewhere to go and came face to face with a very angry Sean.
“What is going on here?”
“Seany!!! You made it!” I nudged him playfully with the beer bottle. “Where’s your little floozy?” Taking another drink, I looked around for Tasha.
“Who the hell is this Sam? And why are you kissing him? God, how much have you drank?”
“Seany. This is Adam.”
“Aaron,” he corrected.
“Adam,” I ignored him.
“Aaron,” he corrected again.
“This is Seany. He gets a little jealous. But don’t worry. He’s okay.” I patted Sean’s chest as he glared down at me.
He let go of me and I swayed slightly. I went to go take another drink of his forgotten beer and found it empty. I pouted and looked up at Sean. “I need another.”
I proceeded to take a step in the direction of the kitchen and lost my balance.
“Sammy,” Sean caught me, “let’s get you out of here.” He steered me towards the door; at least, he tried to. I pulled away from him when I saw Cara out of the corner of my eye.
“Cara’s got my drink. Let’s go find her.”
“Sammy. You don’t need any more to drink, honey. You’ve had enough,” he said evenly.
“You are not my father.” I pulled my hand from his and stumbled back into a couple dancing behind me. People all around us were starting to stare.
“Sam. Come on, let’s just go. Don’t make a scene, please.”
“No. You,” I pointed at him, “don’t get to tell me what to do.”
The room spun and I swayed. Sean stepped forward quickly and put his arms under mine to hold me up.
“I’m fine,” I said weakly, slurring my words. “Just let me go.”
Standing a little straighter, I waved him off and started scouring the room for Brian.
“What? What do you need?” he asked, still concerned. Everything spun again as I turned my head the other way.
“Air. I need some air.”
“Okay Sammy. Let’s go outside.”
How we managed to make it outside is beyond me. Looking back, I should have just let Sean take me home the second he found me. But the alcohol was speaking for me and I was tired of being some pathetic little girl who swooned at anything he said.
“You okay Sammy?” he asked as he gingerly sat me on the log bench. I stretched out across it, praying that everything would stay where it was supposed to. “Can I get you something?”
“Brian. I need Brian.” I did not intend to be indebted to Sean for the night.
“Brian?”
“Mhmm,” I groaned, closing my eyes while my stomach churned. I listened as Sean walked off to go search for him.
Chapter Twenty-One
Tap, tap, tap.
“Sam.”
Tap, tap, tap.
“Sam. Come on. Wake up.”
Brian tapped my face again and I groaned, opening my eyes just a little bit.
“Quit hitting me,” I whined, closing my eyes again.
“Rise and shine, princess. Time to get you home.”
“I think I’ll just sleep here.”
“Oh, no you won’t. Come on Sam, quit screwin’ around. Get up.”
“Sammy,” Sean chimed in. “Come on.”
I tried to sit up, but I misjudged the width of the bench and my hand slipped, causing me to slip and hit my head.
“Briaaannn. Hellllp meeee.”
Brian sat down next to me and helped me sit up. I took in my surroundings slowly so I didn’t get dizzy again. Jonathon was standing there with some blonde lanky girl wrapped under his arm, drinking a beer. Sean was watching me tentatively. Brian wrapped his arm around me and started rubbing my back.
“BryBry,” I laid my head onto his shoulder gently.
“Yeah Sams?”
Everything was spinning again. My stomach clenched and my pulse was racing. I felt all clammy.
“I think I’m gonna be sick.”
I pulled myself up off his shoulder, leaned over the side of the bench, and threw up in the dirt.
“How does this equal you guys watching out for her?”
Sean was yelling at Brian and Jonathon. I winced at the volume and threw up into a bucket or something that someone found for me.
“I leave for a few hours and when I come back, she’s shit faced drunk and kissing some random guy!”
Brian and Jonathon looked down, both slightly ashamed.
“Wait. You’re mad at them, because you left?” I said, standing up. It took a second to gather my bearings. When he saw me sway, Brian took a step towards me. “I’m okay,” I reassured him and took a step towards Sean. Embarrassment and guilt were already clear on his face. “You left with that little tramp when you told me you wouldn’t. And judging by the guilt written all over your face, I would say something happened. And you’re mad at them? No. I don’t think so.”
“Sammy,” his voice softened. “I—”
I didn’t hear the rest of his statement since I turned away and threw up again. Sean came over and held my hair out of my face.
“Don’t. Stop it!” I fought him pointlessly. “I just wanna go home. Can we go home BryBry?”
“Yeah Sams, we can.” He came over and pulled me from Sean. Wrapping his arm around my waist, he held me up and walked me over to the truck, where he lifted me into it and buckled me up. Jonathon told them he’d find a ride home as Brian and Sean got into the truck. I pressed my forehead against the window, the coolness of it feeling refreshing.
“My head hurts,” I complained.
“I know Sams.”
“And my mouth tastes funny.” I made a face.
“I wonder why,” I heard Sean mutter sarcastically.
“Hey. You. Shut up. It’s your fault anyway.”
“How?!” he exclaimed incredulously.
“You could have stayed.”
“I had to—”
“Dude. Sean. Just give her a piece of gum and drop it.”
He threw the pack of gum back at us.
“I just don’t see what her deal is.”
“Really?” The world started spinning again. “You told her you weren’t gonna leave, then you did? Sounds pretty self-explanatory to me.”
“Guys, I don’t feel so good.”
“You weren’t even there…you wouldn’t know.” Sean started to raise his voice and winced again.
“Guys.”
“I’m sure if she said it, it’s true.”
“She’s drunk; I mean, look at her!”
I closed my eyes as they both looked at me. My pulse was racing again.
“BryBry. I don’t feel so good.”
“I know Sams. We’re almost there. Just put your head between your knees and take slow, even breaths.”
I did what he said and thankfully, the nausea passed. I remained stationary like that for the rest of the ride home.
Brian came around and helped me out. Stumbling, my foot got caught on the step and I fell. Luckily, Brian caught me so I didn’t get a face full of dirt. I started snickering.
“Ya know Sean, your truck is not good for drunken escapades.”
“Ha. Ha. Very funny Sam.”
“I am funny, aren’t I?” I straightened myself out, still laughing, only to almost fall down again. Swaying, I gripped Brian’s arms.
“Sam? Do you think you can make it upstairs without—”
I turned and threw up again in the shrubbery, somehow managing to miss Brian’s shoes.
“–getting sick?”
“Yeah. I think so.”
“Okay, come on.” Slowly, he picked me up so I was cradled in his arms. Unlike with Sean, there were no moments of almost getting caught. Sean and Brian prevented any would-be situations and got me safely into my room.
“BryBry?”
“Yeah Sams?”
“Will you stay for a little while?”
“Sure.” The three of us slipped into my room silently. Brian sat me on my feet gently.
“Sar-ah!”
All three of them shushed me and I giggled semi-silently.
“God, what did you give her?” Sarah scolded.
“Vodka,” Brian admitted shamefully.
“Will you never learn?” She came over and wrapped her arm around me, supporting my weight. “Is she gonna be sick again?”
“I wouldn’t doubt it.”
I looked around as Sarah led me slowly to the bathroom.
“Where’s Cassie?”
“Out with Tasha I think.”
“Stupid Tasha,” I gru
mbled, looking up at Sean who was standing awkwardly in the middle of my room. “Shouldn’t you be with her too? You already left me for her once tonight. Why not shoot for twice?”
“Seriously Samantha?” He started to raise his voice at me again and I flinched at the way it made my head throb. Brian handed me off completely to Sarah to go stand in front of Sean. He was only a little bit shorter than him, but they both looked equally menacing.
“Get out. Now.”
“What?”
“Go. You’re mad and she’s hurt and drunk. Get out of here. You both need to cool down. So go. Now.”
“Sammy?” Sean said turning to me, “Do you want me to stay?”
My response was grabbing Cassie’s trashcan and getting sick in it.
***
I flushed the toilet and laid my head back against the wall. Sarah stared at me.
“You’re pathetic,” she said, joking gently.
“I know,” I sighed. At least I wasn’t feeling so drunk anymore, just miserable.
Brian slipped into the bathroom quietly and sat down next to me. I drooped my head, resting it on his shoulder.
“So, what happened, Sams?” he inquired gently.
“When?”
“Before the store.”
“Uhh….” I tried to think that far back. “We were kissing and talking in his truck when Jonathon told him that Tasha was there. He said he wouldn’t leave me for her.”
“And he did?” Sarah questioned.
Slowly I nodded, causing my stomach to ache again and I leaned forward.
“Yeah,” Brian answered. “We all went grocery shopping. Once we were almost done, Sean pulled me and Jonathon aside and told us to watch out for her because he was going with Tasha for a little while.”
I sniffed and laid my head back on Brian’s shoulder.
“Are you crying Sam?” Sarah asked.
Sure enough, when I put my hand to my cheek, it was wet.
“I guess I am.” Sniff. Tears were flowing down my face and my nose was running. “He left me. He just left me.”
“Sam, I’m sure they were just talking,” she consoled me.
I snorted.
“Ha. When I brought it up and accused him of it, he looked guilty.”
“Sams. It’ll be okay. Everything will be better in the morning.” He patted my leg lightly as I pouted.