✔ DRUNK words, SOBER thoughts ✖ hemmings au

54: Unwritten Stories

ARI.

When the clock ticked midnight, and the bell tower released its deep resonance, I took a deep breath in and a deep breath out. At midnight, though my shoes were lost, my carriage did not turn back into a pumpkin, no men were morphed back into mice, and my dress were not rags. The magic was indeed lost, but hope and faith, were very much alive.

I was covered by a blanket given to me from the paramedics, as I sat at the back of the ambulance getting tested for trauma. Before me, was a commotion fit for a night of anarchy. My party guests all stood behind yellow tape, my friends were speaking to authorities, and the red and blue lights continued to flash in my eyes.

"Are you sure you don't have any pain? In your head, back, shoulders?" The paramedic asked me, as she held a gentle touch to my skull.

I shook my head, "no, I promise. I'll be fine."

"Okay," she nodded, "but I want you to stay here for a while before I release you to your parents, just to make sure everything is a-okay."

The paramedic gave me an assuring smile before walking away to attend to Michael, who wasted no time at all in flirting with the woman. I rolled my eyes and softly chuckled to myself. I trailed my eyes across the scene before me, catching glimpse of Ashton, who was holding a crying Mia.

All of this felt so odd to me; like I was in a dream and it was taking longer for me to wake up. This would definitely be an 18th birthday to remember - no other parties could compare to the one where Jasey went crazy and Reese fell off the roof to save the girl.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine!"

I turned my head to look at Michael sitting behind another medical truck. He gave me a thumbs up as the female medic examined his head and neck.

"Thank God for that awning, huh?" Michael continued.

I was almost for sure Reese was a goner. But thanks to the awning that was conveniently placed below him, it broke his fall, causing Reese to lightly plant on the ground. Granted, he did break a leg and has a concussion, but other than that, I knew the tech nerd would be alright. He would wake up several hours later as a hero, as the boy who sacrificed himself for a girl who wasn't quite all there.

"There's a guardian angel by the name of Brayson Cole who's watching out for the squad," Michael added, "he just needs to keep an eye on the psycho."

Jasey.

It was hurting me than it should've, but at that point it didn't matter. Jasey Lopes was, and will probably be, one of my greatest friends. She ruined me, ruined Luke's life, turned people against me, and wore me thin. But there was a part of me that could forgive her. Jasey wasn't right in the head, and I wished I could've seen that. Maybe if I hadn't been so concentrated with my own issues, I would've had the decency to ask Jasey about hers. Or maybe even noticed that the TicTacs she kept popping into her mouth, weren't even TicTacs to begin with.

"If they take Jasey to Cobb in Napa, should we take a road trip?" Michael asked.

"You wanna go visit the girl who shot you in the head?" I raised a brow.

"More like, we can do something fancy like wine tasting, horseback riding, and eat kale salads," Michael suggested with a grin. "Get some sophistication in our blood before you go off to Newcoast and I spend my days working some lame job while taking pottery courses at the community college."

I don't know why I contemplated Michael's request to go to Napa. There was going to be more up there than just Jasey, horses and a sense of maturity. There was going to be Luke too, and I was more than willing to visit him - besides, who's going to scare off Kelsey and anymore cute employees at Cobb who find Luke attractive?