She [SLOW UPDATES]

Chapter 7

"Rachel. Rachel! Are you okay?"

I opened my eyes to see four faces peering down at me: Sean, Tinera, Antonio, and, someone I really didn't want to see, Dominique. I attempted to sit up but got into a coughing fit.

"Quick! Someone get some water", Antonio ordered. Dominique dashed into the house and came out a couple seconds later with a glass, which she handed to Tinera.

"Here, drink this. It'll help". I grabbed the glass from her and drank all of it, rather quickly if I do say so myself. "Thanks, guys. I feel a bit better now".

"Well, that's just great - for you. The party's ruined now. Everyone's gone!" Dominique whined. I rolled my eyes, and Tinera stifled a giggle. Dominique scowled at her, then turned to me. "Do you want some more water?" 

The offer was unusual for someone like Dominique. I  guess I should have suspected something, but considering the situation, I'm not surprised that I didn't.

"Yeah, that'd be nice, thanks". Dominique turned and headed inside the house a second time.

"Shouldn't you be getting home now?" Antonio asked. "You're curfew is in less than 30 minutes from now".

"Oh shit, what's the time?" I scrambled to my feet, dusting myself off in the process.

"It's 18 minutes to 11", Tinera said, barely glancing up from her phone.

I was screwed. A friend of my mom's had dropped me off at the Rivera's on her way to the airport and although it was my original plan, the thought of taking an Uber home this late was terrifying. Almost as terrifying having one of the Alphabitches having to drop me off at home. Basically, I had no ride home.

"You need a ride?" Sean asked. "My dad lent me the Mustang for the night". I sighed in relief. 

"You have no idea how much you're doing for me, Sean". I grinned. "Thanks"

Just then, Dominique came back with some bottled water. "I figured you'd be leaving soon, so I got this for you". She handed me the bottle.

"See you guys tomorrow then", Tinera said as she and Antonio turned to leave.

"Have a good night y'all! Save trip", Dominique called out to them. Then she turned back to us with her hands on her hips. "You guys good to go?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Dominique", Sean said.

"What for?" she asked, puzzled.

"Just because. Good night".

We ended up leaving the Rivera's place at 10:56 PM. Halfway to my house, I got rather thirsty, so I drank some of the water Dominique gave me.

"Hey, could I have a drink? I'm real thirsty", Sean asked, pulling over. I nodded and handed him the bottle. He took a gulp, and frowned. He turned to me. "Rachel, this isn't water".

I stared at him, wide-eyed. "It's not?"

"I'm not really sure, but it's something alcoholic", he poured the rest out the window and threw the bottle out with it. Then he restarted the car and we were moving again.

"When will it stop?" I vented. "Why can't they just leave me alone?!"

"That's just the way they are. Sadly, they can't seem to get enough of you"

I scoffed. "Isn't that something I should be saying to you?" I asked. "They were all over you in 9th grade. What makes you think that's over? I smirked.

It was true. The whole school knew that Brianna had the biggest crush on Sean, who obviously didn't feel the same way. And since I'm his closest female friend, they blamed me.

Not to mention that they're all wayyyy to petty to let this slide. It had been a whole year already.

"Well, it's not me they're trying to intoxicate so that I pass out. Wouldn't that be ever so convenient for their evil plans", he retorted, his smirk matching mine.

"Oh my God; you are unbelievable", I leaned back into my seat. On a normal day, I'd have tackled him. But he was driving, and I wasn't ready to die yet.

"Trust me; I know", he chuckled before regaining his composure. "Now, this stays between us, and also Dominique, but you get my drift. You don't want to them any new material to use against you anyway".

"No kidding", I sighed and turned to face the window.

  •••  

I definitely owe you one, Sean.

It was past midnight by the time we'd gotten to my place, and my mom was just about calling the police to report me as a missing person. She was literally three seconds away from hitting the roof by then, and if it wasn't for Sean, I would have probably been grounded for the rest of the year.

After the whole mini-trauma, I went straight to bed. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore and I just really needed a break from everything. 

And Sunday was the best day to do just that.