The Normal Life

ch. 8

Just as Justin notices me - after closing the door - he looks shocked. He opens his mouth and shuts it again. "Wait, what are you doing here?"

"Open the door," I rush through my words. He looks confused but before I elaborate, I walk to where he is and push the door open. And Lindsay had been right. The door is stuck. I apply more force on the doorknob but the sad truth is already evident. I'm stuck in here....with Justin.

"What happened with the door? Wait...what even is going on?" Justin asks and he tries to open the door too but it doesn't work, of course.

I run my hand over my face anxiously. "What are you doing here?" I ask instead.

"Lindsay told me that the bathroom was the first room to the right so..."

"Oh c'mon, you idiot, this is the first room to the left!"

Realisation seems to hit his face as he lets out a long sigh. "I guess I drank too much. But wait, what is this room and what are you doing here?"

"I was here to get alcohol."

Justin only nods in answer. In this dark room, there's not much to see about him but I notice the tattoos on his arms now, more than I did before. I almost want to ask about them because I've never got the chance to but then I remind myself that we're not friends. I frustratingly put the bottles back in the shelves and slump down on the dirty floor. I lean my back against a shelf and rest my head on it. The loud music from upstairs is hurting my head. I pull my knees to my chest and remain silence.

"Do you have your phone? Call someone," suggests Justin after a while.

I fish it in my pocket and I unlock it. I decide to call Lindsay. But she doesn't pick up. I groan in annoyance and look up hopefully at Justin. "Do you have anyone's number?"

"I do. Try for Aiden," he tells me Aiden's number and I dial it but he, too, doesn't pick up.

"The music's too loud," I conclude after trying to call them for what seems like the hundredth time. I bite my lip thoughtfully - there must be a way we can get out.

"Call your house!"

"You want me to call my mother and get her worried at this time because I'm stuck in the basement of a party?" I ask incredulously.

He shakes his head. "Well now that you say it like that, it obviously sounds like a bad idea."

I press my eyes shut and try to block out the obnoxious noises but I obviously fail as he speaks again, "We should wait a while...Lindsay will definitely notice our absence."

I nod in answer. I think that he's finally understood that I have no interest in keeping the conversation going because he also sits down, a few feet away from me and remains quiet. The smallness of the room doesn't help the increasing temperature. There are no windows that I can open to aerate the space so I'm soon starting to sweat.

My dress is annoyingly warm and I curse myself for not having put just a pair of jeans and a shirt so I could've felt less hot and more comfortable. In this small dress and wearing just my underwear underneath, I can't discard any piece of my clothes to lessen the growing heat on my skin. I would if he wasn't here but now that he is right here, a few feet away from me, I can't do it.

I'm bored now. The heat and person next to me start irritating me. I stand up and pace the room which doesn't help at all.

I groan, "God...will someone freaking come up?" I exclaim in frustration.

"Call Lindsay again."

I take out my phone but it doesn't switch on. I put it back in my pocket harshly, "Low battery," I mumble.