Tainted Desires | 18+

02 - Alcohol

2 Months Ago.

Settling back in was getting easier. Or so I thought. Stacey and Landon came over to the house once or twice a week, and every weekend, I was forced to join them for a little trip downtown where Stacey would take pictures of the area. She had gone full-time into photography while Landon worked as a model. Good for them. Life seemed to work out for them. I thought.

Back in high school, they were 'couple goals' no matter how much they tried to deny it. They fit each other like a puzzle and made me believe so much in love. I was a hopeless romantic to a fault, and even though I was never lucky in the relationship aspect, I still had faith that I would find the missing piece to my puzzle.

"What are you thinking about?" Stacey yelled over the loud music that was pumping in the room.

Yes, I was at the club with Stacey and Landon. I had argued against it as I did not want to third wheel with them, but have I ever won an argument against them? No.

Here I was, on a Friday night, sitting in a little black dress that Stacey lent me because my clothes were too 'religious' as she put it. I thought my clothes were just fine, they fit me perfectly and were my style.

However, she let me put on a light black jacket to cover my arms as I felt too naked for the eyes of horny men who wanted nothing but a quick fix for the night. I managed to fight against wearing heels and settled for the loyal flats that have been with me through thick and thin. The shoes were my lifesaver. I had my hair pulled up in a ponytail, Stacey said it brought out my face and made me look younger.

I was anything but young, I was already pushing thirty. I grimace at the thought of turning thirty in three years.

"Nothing," I yelled back at her as she moved her body to the music that was playing.

Landon had gone off to get our drinks while Stacey felt it was inappropriate to leave me all alone even though I had protested that I was going to be fine. Internally, I was grateful that she had stayed back with me.

"I am just trying to get used to the feeling of the club."

And that was the truth. It had been a while since I stepped foot in a club. Heck, the last time I went to a club was for my eighteenth birthday. He had hurled me out of the house and snuck us into the club with fake IDs.

"You need to loosen up, babe. I'm here with you, nothing's going to happen, I promise." She smiled at me while linking our arms.

It did feel like she knew nothing that happened before I left. Landon seemed to have left her out of the gist, and that shocked me because they told each other everything. However, it was either she did not know or they were both good at acting like everything was okay in order not to make me feel uncomfortable.

Landon got back with two cups in his hands and one stuck in between his teeth. He did not change much. A tall and athletically built butterscotch-skinned man with soft, blue eyes, small lips, and a round chin that was now sprouting a goatee on his oval face.

Stacey grabbed the cup that was in his mouth while I hesitantly took the cup from his left hand. I gazed hard at the drink, thinking about when last I took a sip of alcohol. I was very weary about the drinks I put in my mouth because I didn't want a repeat of old me to make an appearance.

"You can trust the drink. I watched while it was being made," Landon assured me, but that still did not ease my mind. It was not like I didn't trust him.

"Oh, come on, Mira." Stacey urged me to drink it. She downed the liquid into her mouth and then shook the empty cup over her head.

Not to be a party pooper, I drank the liquid Landon had offered me. As soon as I emptied the cup, I began to cough. "There, there," Landon patted my back while laughing. "Who is this new Mirabelle?" I rolled my eyes at his statement.