When Amber sees the notification pop-up, showing a message from her father, she pinches the soft skin on her elbow in an effort to try and distract herself.
She smiles, nodding replies and laughing with the others but she can't stop her mind from wondering back to the message sitting on her phone like a loaded gun.
It crawls under her skin like a disastrous itch so that no amount of pinching can pull her back into their simple world.
"Riley where's your bathroom?" Amber croaks, speaking up whilst the others are distracted.
"First door on the left." Riley replies, pointing her in the correct direction before re-joining the conversation.
Amber takes her chance to sneak away, swiping the bottle Farah bought off the side, locking the bathroom door squarely behind herself.
She wasn't lying about having a raging hangover, it was all true, and yet only the contents of the bronze bottle have any chance at submerging her deep enough to tame the itch.
She looks at herself in the mirror mounted on the wall for a split second, disgusted at the desperation she catches on her face.
Amber throws back her head and gulps down the drink, knowing that if she thinks about it too much she'll hesitate.
When she removes the bottle from her lips, hot tears streak down her face as her eyes burn red.
She silently dares her reflection to make a sound, staring into her own puffy blue eyes as she gulps down more of the chilly beverage.
It only stays that way until it hits her throat where it begins to burn, but in the end she doesn't mind, pushing herself to do whatever it takes to reach the point when it stops hurting, to a point where even her intrusive thoughts go numb.
If her father can hide himself at the bottom of a bottle, then why can't she?
YOU ARE READING
There's Always A Plot Twist | Wattys 2023 ✓
RomantikRiley Mitchell's tumultuous relationship with Arlo Knight has always been rocky and with the addition of the transfer student, Lain Adler, things are about to get even messier. No one said college life was going to be smooth sailing, but Riley neve...
