MONEY TREES, gossip girl [DISCONTINUED]

08

tw! brief mention of suicidal thoughts, discussion of drug addiction

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CHAPTER EIGHT
HIDDEN STUPIDITY
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EYES open like sandpaper. CJ can't tell where the light is coming from, but it's burning through his corneas. He blinks it away. Vision is blurry. Memories of the night before are even more out of focus.

CJ groans at the dull soreness throughout his entire body, striking right into his bones. What happened? He questions drearily inside his hazy head. He tries to sit up, but gravity throws him back down to the ground. Tiny rocks dig into his spine.

Wait, rocks?

CJ can only manage to move his head. His eyes cry out at the harsh light as he takes in his surroundings. The sky is above him, grey and cloudy. Sharp rocks stabbing into the skin of his back. Cool wind moves his messy hair. A roof, he realizes. Cristian is on a rooftop.

There's someone beside him, he can feel their body heat. Marley? Cristian turns his head to see straight hair. Not Marley. If it's not her, then who is it? Her dark hair smells like lavender. He doesn't recognize her at all, albeit her back is to him. He can't see this mystery girl's face.

Something gnawing. CJ uses his weak arms to push himself onto his elbows, the gravel piercing his elbows. Everything hurts. His head feels as if it's been fucked a million different ways. CJ feels like he has, too.

I am never, ever drinking again, he swears to himself. A lie he's told more times than he can count with this alcohol-induced head trauma.

A phone rings. A flash of fireworks go off inside his skull, rattling his brain. CJ blindly pats the floor around him until his fingers brush against the vibrating phone. He picks it up and squints at the screen. His mother is calling.

His mom. Obie and the party. The burn of Malibu rum. CJ's starting to remember. He kissed Obie. Why the fuck did he kiss him? He glances at the stranger sleeping soundly beside him— it's no stranger, it's Ayla. They slept together. He smoked a little, drank a lot.

Something is still gnawing.

His eyes widen, "Shit!"

The NA meeting.

Cristian checks the time. Almost nine. He's late. His pure panic is enough to give him the energy to jump to his feet. At the sudden commotion, Ayla starts to awaken.

"What are you doing?" She groggily asks, rubbing at her eyes.

"I-I'm late for something." He stammers out as he steps into his jeans. His entire body tremors as he struggles to button up his jeans.