We're Not Related Anymore...

Slurred Words

Jacob: Present Day

I stumble out of the bar, more than a little drunk. My dad left a few hours ago after he received some mysterious call. Chip kept me company, pouring me beer after beer and even one shot of tequila as I bought my ticket to L.A.

"This is so romantic," Chip had said, watching me buy the ticket. I'd eventually given in and shown him a picture of Maddie. He'd whistled and stolen my phone from me to look at the picture more closely. 

"I wish my stepsister had looked like that."

Now, my head is spinning and I find myself leaning against the dirty walls at the outside of the bar. There are broken bottles lying near overflowing trash cans and I catch sight of a few smokers standing next to their cars. 

One of the people outside is Betty. I've no idea why. I've never seen her so much pick up a lighter, never mind a cigarette. When she sees me, she pouts and leans into her friend to tell her something. 

The next thing I know, she's walking towards me. I crouch down, trying to do anything to lessen the pounding in my head. 

"No, no, no, don't come near me," I say, my words jumbled. She pauses in front of me, her hands on her hips. 

"Either you're warning me away because you're about to throw up all over the place or I was right about you blanking me inside earlier," she says, her lip curling as she watches me sit down on the cold, slightly wet pavement. 

"I'll give you three guesses," I say, laughing at myself. She crouches down again, grabbing me by the hair so that I look at her. I see three of her swim around in my vision. "Hey, you know what's worse than one of you?" I ask, holding up three fingers. "Fuck, did I just say that out loud? Did I just say that out loud too?" 

"What's wrong with you?" She questions, looking at me like she can barely recognize me. "You're not the type of person who gets wasted like this. You're better than this, Jacob."

"Aww... that's like... that's like an asshole telling another asshole to stop being an asshole," I slur, finally getting a grip on the ground, with another force, I'm able to push my body so that I can stand somewhat upright. 

"Are you calling me an asshole?" She asks, offended. Behind her, I can see the friend she was with look over at us with curiosity. But between the smoke in the air and my blurring vision, I can't stare in that direction too long. 

"Are you telling me, that you don't know you're a terrible person?" I ask, swaying and catching myself on the wall again before I fall down. There are some broken pieces of wood out here and even in my drunk state, I know I don't want to collapse near something sharp. 

"You're obviously drunk. I'm calling Josh to come get you," she says, pulling out her phone from one of those tiny purse-things women use when they go out. 

"I'm drunk. But I'm honest. You're a terrible person, you're a terrible person," I chant and she takes a step back from me, her phone pressed to her ear. 

"Hi, no I'm fine. I ran into Jacob at the bachelorette party. He's really out of it. Can you come pick him up and take him home?" She pauses waiting for, who I guess is, Josh's response. "I love you too. I'll see you now."

"How can you love someone so much and then hurt someone they care about?" I ask once she's ended the call, the cold air helping me think straighter. 

Betty looks at me with sharp eyes. "I don't know what you're going on about but you better shut up before you piss someone off." 

"What? Are you going to hit me, Bethany? Or better yet, film me and post it for all the world to see." I laugh again when she takes a step back, her eyes wide. 

"How do you know about that?" She demands. 

"Ooo, so you admit to it, then?" 

"Don't tell, Josh," she suddenly begs, her eyes huge. "Please, Jacob. He'll never forgive me."

Somewhere, in the part of my brain that can still function even with all the alcohol running through my veins, I feel relief. He didn't know. Thank fuck. 

"Why'd you do it?" I ask, suddenly feeling sad. "What could have possibly possessed you to do such a thing?" When she doesn't answer, I take a step closer to her, frowning when she takes one back. "Huh, Betty? Why would you ever film us having sex and then post it for everyone to see?"

"Because what you two were doing was wrong," she whispers. 

"Oh, so I'm supposed to believe you did this as a justice thing? Are you the self-appointed moral police? Don't treat me like I'm some kind of fool. Why'd you really do it?"

She's saved from answering when Josh arrives. I see him wade his way through the outside smokers, his eyes narrowed on me. 

"I thought she was lying when she said you were drunk," he says, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

"Well, she is always lying," I agree, staggering forward. 

"What is he going on about?" Josh asks his fiancé, catching me before I fall headfirst to the cold dark ground. 

"It's total nonsense," she says, still looking scared out of her mind. I enjoy that I've frightened her. I now have something to dangle over her head, a little piece of information that might have her beau running for the hills. 

"I can't take him to Lilian's like this. She'll have a shit fit," I hear Josh say. 

"Just take him to our place," Betty says, eager to get rid of me. 

"Your dad's place," I correct loudly but then Josh is herding me away back to his truck. 

He fastens me in like I'm some kind of child and I let my head fall back. 

When he gets in the car, he starts the engine and heads to the Rowland estate. I fall in and out of sleep during the ride. By the time we get there, I'm sober enough to know I've acted like a total dick. 

"Fuck," is all I can say. 

"Why the fuck did you drink so much?" Josh asks as he helps me out of the car and leads me into the house. He shows me to one of the enormous guest rooms. 

"Why is it, that whenever I do something remotely normal for my age, I get hauled over the coals? But it's perfectly acceptable when everyone else is a jack-ass?"

"Because you have more self-control than most people, so when you act out, it usually means something is very wrong," Josh says, pushing me onto the bed, and then forcing my boots off of my feet. "What is wrong with you, by the way?" He asks as he throws my boots into a corner. 

"It's your sister," I say dreamily. 

"Go to sleep you drunk fuck," he says, eyeing me with a mixture of disgust and concern. "You're going to have the biggest fucking hangover tomorrow."

-

Josh isn't lying. When I wake up, my head is in excruciating pain. I force myself into a sitting position and clutch my head. 

"I will never drink in excess ever again," I say, looking up at the ceiling. It's not swaying anymore but my eyes hurt from keeping them open for too long. "Why'd I drink so much?"

As I stumble around the room, gathering my bearings and my shit, I suddenly recall the events from last night. 

1. Was a dick to Betty. 

2. Bought a plane ticket. 

3. Was more of a dick to Betty.

4. Wait- what was number two?

I look around the room, trying to find out where my phone went. When I find it, I tap through it until I find the confirmation for my flight. 

"Oh my fuck," I say when I see it. It's for today. "I have to go home and pack."