Not good for you

36;

We listened to a woman in her thirties, wearing shorts and a tank top, revealing her stunning shoulder tattoos. Her name was Aliana, and she used to be Delilah's co-worker before she nearly died and switched jobs for her children's sake. They were still young, and she wasn't ready to give up on motherhood just yet.

"Imagine you walk into the house and hear the child crying, but you don't know where he is," Aliana said. "You can barely see anything through the smoke and flames. Your throat is burning, and your heart races so fast you can't even comprehend it. You know you probably have a minute or less to find the child, and you might panic. I did, as it was my first day in the field. I was paralyzed; I couldn't even breathe. My mind just went blank, convincing me that I couldn't save him. Then, this lady came in and hit me on the back of the neck, telling me to pull myself together. We managed to save the child, but I'll never forget that he could have lost his life because of me. I promised myself never to let my panic get through me, not even at home or when someone called after me on the street at night. I learned to keep calm, all because she hit me so hard that my head nearly rolled off my neck."

She hugged Delilah while we smiled and laughed at her story. Despite Aliana's quitting a few months back, they still seemed to be close friends. I admired how they maintained their friendship and visited each other; nowadays, it's a rare comfort not to end the day alone. I hoped that Leigh or Emilia might stay in touch with me after we parted ways. My fear wasn't in moving in a different direction than them but rather in the possibility of being forgotten.

"Sometimes a slap can save lives," Oswald said, finishing his beer.

As soon as I heard him, my smile faded, and I turned my attention to my plate, reminding myself that Perkyn didn't deserve the potential outburst growing inside me. I felt I needed to confront him alone, at least initially unless he wanted to push me away quickly.

The next two hours blurred into a haze of conversation, laughter, and plenty of drinks. Perkyn seemed drunker, growing funnier and lazier with each sip. Delilah made me a tequila lemonade, concerned that I wasn't drinking anything and enjoying myself with them. I wanted to tell her it was simply that I didn't feel like having a drink—I needed to stay clear-headed—but she went to the kitchen anyway.

You couldn't resist Delilah's innocent, sweet smile, which made you feel guilty for not participating in anything. The more time we spent together, the more I grew to like her. She was well-spoken and appreciated my presence, constantly reminding me how much Perkyn had adored me.

Later, I found myself in Perkyn's embrace as loud music blasted from the radio set near the back door. Half the group was dancing, and without waiting for my agreement, Perkyn pulled me up from my seat.

"Sorry," I apologized for the tenth time after accidentally stepping on his foot again. Dancing after drinking wasn't a wise thing for me to do.

He grinned, his vision likely blurred from the many beers he had drunk, and put my arms around his neck when a slower song started to play.

His skin felt warm against my arms, and I blushed as his hands rested on my waist. Since we started dancing, he hadn't taken his eyes off me. I allowed myself to get lost in the music and the movements, letting myself forget.

"It's okay, you're doing great," he said sweetly.

"Don't even try; I know I'm terrible," I scoffed while trying to follow his lead.

He laughed and drew me closer. I leaned my head against his chest as he gently rested his cheek on top of my head. Despite smelling like barbecue and beer, I didn't want to move away. I enjoyed being in his embrace; listening to his heartbeat soothed me.