Yellow Roses

Chapter 21: Ava

I can't believe tonight is the first night in months that I'm drinking again. Before, I felt too traumatized to do so. However, Angel's advice to replace the bad memories with better ones is something I'm willing to give a try. Who knows, maybe the alcohol will help me forget. Lord knows I need it.

At first, I thought about making the excuse that it would be too cold to tag along. However, even though it's the end of January, the weather hasn't been nearly as cold as it usually is. Any day that it snows, it all seems to melt within the next few hours and be at a comfortable temperature. So, I'm not worried about freezing to death later, and couldn't use that excuse, even if I wanted to.

I texted the group chat and suggested meeting up around 6 since I know it'll be dark by then. I didn't want to risk someone seeing us clearly trespassing into an old house. They all agreed on that time.

About an hour later, I started to go crazy getting lost inside my thoughts, so I texted Liz, asking if I could come over early. "Of course you can." She responded. To which I got dressed and asked my mom for a ride over.

"You know, I don't like you hanging out with that Liz girl." She said sternly. "But, I've noticed you haven't been going out lately. You should be doing that more often, enjoying your life as a teenager."

I rolled my eyes. "Can you please just drive me now?" I asked, annoyed. She sighed. "Yes, honey. Get in the car."

A few minutes later, I arrived. When Liz let me into the house, I noticed her mom was sitting inside on the couch, which was weird. I have only met her once or twice in the past, usually she's not home. She had a bowl in her hand, smoking from taking a hit out of it.

"Hello sweetie. It's been a while since I saw you." She said in her usual raspy voice. I smiled. "Yeah, it has been a while." Liz directed me to sit on the couch next to her. "The others will be here soon. Do you want a hit?" She offered.

I contemplated whether weed right now would make me even more uptight, or relax me. Fuck it.

"Yeah, hand that over here." I responded nonchalantly.

Liz's mom handed me her bowl and lighter, to which I lit up. The smell alone was enough to make me feel euphoric, but after taking the hit, I instantly felt more calm. God, have I missed getting high. I must have taken a huge hit, because I heard Liz teasingly yell "Damn!" Before I nearly hacked my lungs out.

I coughed so hard I thought I was going to pass out, and felt Liz and her mom both pat me on the back. Moments later, I came back to my senses.

"Jesus Ava." Liz laughed. "You've smoked before so I know you can take a hit. That one was personal though."

I chuckled, seemingly already feeling the effects after one hit. "Yeah, I'm going through some shit. I don't want to talk about it, but I think I need to get fucked up." I dazingly confessed.

"Oh honey." I heard her mom say. "Getting drunk and high won't help your problems." I laughed out loud. "Just let me live and make my own mistakes." I responded. Liz looked baffled.

"Damn, you are forreal, aren't you? If you change your mind to talk about something, I'm here."

Suddenly, I felt an overwhelming sense of embarrassment, like I had just revealed my biggest secret in the world, even though I barely scratched the surface.

"No, no. I was just joking." I tried to play off. "Mhm." She responded as she also took a hit.

About a minute later of awkward silence, there was a knock on the door. It was Angel, Sapphire, and Carrie.

I almost couldn't help but laugh when I saw Sapphire's look of surprise when she walked into a house that was damn near hot boxed. Carrie started coughing.