Jules Journey- A Horse Tale

Chapter 1 - Numb

"This is going to hurt, Jules."

No shit. You're tearing my skin apart with needles to inject ink into me. It's going to hurt.

I nod my head. My brain is buzzing, partly from the shots of Tito's I just took and partly from the blunt I smoked about 30 minutes ago. I turned 16 a few months ago and Rachel is finally out of town, which means only one thing: I can throw a rager. There's around 30 people in my house currently, and I'm suddenly extremely thankful for the tornado that practically destroyed Rachel's house in March, giving me the opportunity to live in a rent house with a heated pool and zero cameras, located on the outskirts of town.

"I'm going to count to 3, and then I want you to take a deep breath and I'll start."

Despite the current buzz I'm riding, anxiety suddenly fills my stomach as I imagine Ryders needles penetrating my skin. My friend's, for lack of better words, situationship, volunteered to be a DD tonight. I was reluctant until he offered to bring his tattoo machine, but Rachel hates tattoos, and I love raising hell.

"3.."

I take a deep breath and squeeze the arm rest of the couch I'm sitting on.

"2.."

The air remains stagnant in my lungs as I suddenly realize how cool my skin feels, with the rubbing alcohol from under the kitchen sink almost clinging to the breeze of cold air in the room.

"1."

I exhale as I feel the skin on my shoulder being ripped open.

———————————————————————————————————————— 3 hours later (2:17 AM)

Now I'm standing on my kitchen counter, handle of Jack Daniel's in one hand and a random cherry vape I found on the floor in the other. Im taking pulls back and forth, right hand, then left.

Ryders off with Dallas, probably doing unholy things in my room. There's around 17 people in the kitchen with me, singing and dancing with a speaker blaring Colt 45. A few girls from school I rarely talked to ended up sneaking out in their mom's jeep, and they appear to be having a blast flirting with Rachel's real child, Shawn, and his best friend, Jake. I look through the window to our backyard to see girls in skanky swimsuits swimming dangerously close to their dates, undoubtedly feeling the buzz of beer and liquor and whatever else they brought.

I'm swaying back and forth, partly due to getting jiggy with the music and party due to the drunkenness that I'm feeling. right now, I'm not feeling the pain from Harvey and I's breakup 2 days ago. I'm not feeling the hurt of watching my siblings being torn from me. I'm not feeling the loss of my mother, or the betrayal of my father.

I'm finally comfortably numb.