Healing us

Chapter 1

✰ ✰ ✰  Cinnamon  ✰ ✰ ✰

I rub the brush against the canvas, leaving dark blue lines behind. Dipping the brush in more paint on the palette in my hand, I look up at the canvas and the picture that is starting to form. It's forming into a beautiful stormy sky above the meadow, that is  shadowed by the clouds.

Not many people could see it, but there's a hidden figure in the back of the painting, standing on the meadow, faceless. As I'm about to spread the paint on the canvas, my hand hovering over it, the doorbell rings.

I put down the palette and the brush and walk to the front door. It's quite late at night, so I can only think of one person who'd ring at my door this late.

I open the door to see Ayden's grinning face. She's dressed in a shiny silver dress that hugs her curves perfectly and shows a decent amount of her cleavage, but not too much.

"Cinn!" She practically jumps at me, wrapping her arms around my neck. I smile and hug her back.

"Hey, Ay, what are you doing here?" I say, as we pull apart.

"Riv and Neve are waiting in the car; we're here to pick you up for Jameson's party," she says, as if it were obvious.

"Ay, I told you, I'm not going; I want to stay home tonight."

"And I told you that you need contact with actual human beings instead of just painted ones." I almost snorted. Sure, I didn't go out much, but it wasn't that bad.

"I'm still not going."

"Yes, you are. I'm not letting you stay home and drown in yourself, not this time, so come on, get dressed," Ayden says in a certain and confident tone. This girl. She always gets what she wants.

With a sigh, I turn around, leaving her in the doorway. I walk up the stairs to my room and search my closet for something decent. I fish out a long black dress, that goes all the way down to my calfs, and one that hides my cleavage.

I put it on, adjusting the straps on my shoulders as I walked down the stairs. I grab my purse, in which I put my phone, wallet, and keys, and follow Ayden to the car.

I sit in the back of the car, behind the driver's seat, and see Neve on the other seat by the door. She looks away from the window at me and gives me one of her shy smiles before turning back. River looks up from her phone in the front seat, looking at me. She warmly smiles.

"Hi," Riv says, and I smile back before she turns back to her phone. The poor girl is still looking for the perfect sculpture to make for her final exam.

I met all the girls on the capmus last year when I started the university and was starting the artistic program. River was starting the statuary program, and Neve and Ayden both went for the social sciences.

Ayden gets into the driver's seat and starts driving us to Jameson's, a fourth-year history major's house.

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I was never really a fan of big parties, I only ever attended them because of the girls. They were always too loud for me.

Parking in front of Jameson's house, I can already hear the loud music and yelling. We all get out of the car and head to the house, which is bursting with energy and life.

Too much of life, if you ask me.

Inside, people are drinking and playing all types of games, some are making out, and some are sneaking into the bedrooms upstairs. A classic college party.

Arms wrap around me from behind, and I turn around to see Hughie. He's in the art program with me. I grin when I see him and quickly hug him. He's brigthly smiling at me as we pull apart.

Hughie takes the cup of beer from my hand and takes a sip before I snatch it back.

"Hey! Get your own!" I yell over the loud music, still grinning like an idiot. He only laughs. We have a friendly conversation before one of his football teammates calls for him, and he excuses himself.

I take the chance to look around for the girls. I can see River in the corner, rejecting any boys that come near her without even looking up from her phone. Ayden is clearly flirting with some third-year who just stares at her cleavage like a horny teenager, but Ay doesn't seem to mind as she moves her hips. And Neve is quietly standing a few steps behind her, sipping her cup of beer.

I can see a few people popping pills in their mouths or snorting powder, which is nothing I haven't seen before. It's a normal occurrence at these parties.

I continue to drink my beer, sometimes indulging in conversations with random people. It's not until three hours later, when I hear the sirens of the police, that I start looking for the girls again. I need to leave before the police get here, I can't have issues with drugs. My parents would go crazy. I shiver at the thought.

One by one, I find the girls, and we drag ourselves outside to Ayden's car. It's far enough from the house so that we won't be noticed by the police.

"Now, that was fun! We need to do this more often." Ayden practically shouts. She tends to get cheerful and loud when she drinks.

We watch as the police arrive, drag out some guys, and drive away with them in their cars. We wait until they're gone before talking again.

"So, uh, who's driving?" Ayden asks the question we're all wondering. I look at the girls. Ayden's definitely not an option, Neve looks like she's going to pass out any second, and my vision is spinning. It's only River who stands stable. She shakes her head and sighs as we all look at her.

"Fine, let's go. But one of you is staying sober and driving next time." River says as she starts walking towards the driver's door, and the three of us nod or make an agreeing sound, as if we all don't know that that's not going to happen.

We get in the car, and River starts driving. She didn't let any of us sit in the passenger seat, so we're all squashed together in the back. Ayden's saying sentences that make no sense, without caring if we're listening as she rambles on. Neve has fallen asleep —or passed out— against the window, and I quietly look out of the window as we ride.

Suddenly, I hear a loud crash and screams before I black out.

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Word count: 1144

First chapter, yay! It was a little shorter than I intended, but oh well. Sorry for any mistakes, english is not my first language.

Let me know what you think, I'm grateful for any feedback!

- N