Comfortably Numb

Chapter 16: Awkward Meetings

Mom came home around two hours later, wobbling back and forth. She could barely keep her balance, so I had to help her get into her room. It was a sight I never wanted to see again.

    I asked her about Adam, hoping some part of her was still sober so she could tell me the truth. Mom said he didn’t do anything wrong, and she was positive on that. She did say that after they had dinner, they did go to a club somewhere, which in turn, got her completely wasted.

    I was somewhat relieved that nothing bad happened, and Mom was okay. I felt a little odd when it came to Adam, but if Mom was sure that he did nothing, I was good with that.

    Alexander left later that evening, helping me a lot through out the day. Mom mostly stayed in her room or the bathroom, and we made sure that she was good. I decided to not tell her about my night with Alexander though. At least, not yet.

    I didn’t know how I felt about Alexander. You might call me crazy, but I really don’t know. For one thing, he confuses me like no other being I’ve come into contact with, and he gets in these strange, sudden mood swings. But, besides all that, he helped me and stayed the night with me, and although that could of just been a mistake, there’s a part of me that is desperately hoping that it wasn’t. Ugh, I am rambling in my head. Great.

    I tap my foot, lightly, on the tile floor of Mrs. Summer’s class. I’m tired, Mom was still throwing up all last night, because of her being a virgin at drinking. I tried to keep my eyes open as Mrs. Summers lectured her power point, which was the definition of boring. I counted the minutes until the bell would ring, and I looked over to Alexander. He was asleep. I smiled.

    History class ended well, and it was time for lunch, something I was definitely looking forward to. Alexander caught up with me, running a hand through his hair.

    “Nice nap?” I teased, and he smirked.

    “Definitely,” His pupils went wider and he crouched down to my level. “You were in my dreams,”

    My mouth opened, but quickly regained myself. I rolled my eyes, trying to show him I wasn’t interested, even though I was. He smiled and shook his head.

    “C’mon,” We walked to the cafeteria, everyone already seated at the table Before sitting, I got a burrito from the food line. It looked pretty eatable.

    “Hey those were my chips!” I heard Marcus whine as soon we sat down.    

    Giovonni, who I’m guessing was the culprit, only rolled his eyes. “I did not,”

    Marcus scoffed. “Oh, so you mean to tell me that my bag of chips just walked into your hand?”

    “I guess so, cause here they are,” Opening the chips bag, Giovonni greedily ate a handful of them.

    Marcus crossed his arms over his chest, pouting. “Jerk.”

    Giovonni only laughed, continuing to eat the chips.

    “Is your mom okay?” Alexander asked from beside me, his voice very quiet. I wondered if he didn’t want to let the others know.

    I nodded. “Yeah. But it will take her a while to get back to normal,”

    “She’ll be fine.” He paused, as if something else was on his mind, that he didn’t want to say.

    Alexander turned to his food, not continuing. You could tell he was over thinking something in his head, but I decided to not ask.

**

    I came home to find laughter filling up the apartment. Walking forward, I notice an unfamiliar pair of shoes parked next to the door, and a dark jacket hung over the kitchen chair. Now, I’m worried.