My Wish for You (16 page)

“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.

“Alright. I’m
out of here. I don’t need drama.”

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 grumbled, 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.

Wiping my face
with the back of my hand, I sniffed again and closed my eyes. “Yeah, maybe,” I
mumbled. “I hope so.”

At that point, I
didn’t know whether I was dreaming or not. Everything got fuzzy from there. I
remember crying for a while and Sarah and Brian comforting me. Then Brian
carried me to my bed, where Sarah sat with me and consoled me. And some point
after that, I drifted off into a bliss-like darkness.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Someone’s phone
vibrated loudly from across the room.