The Temptations of Chemistry

Chapter Fifteen - It Was Whisky

Chapter Fifteen - It Was Whisky

The second that my eyes met Carson's, I knew that the rest of the night wouldn't be any better than the first half. He glared over at Stuart and me, his eyes narrowed as usual. They travelled down to where our fingers were interlocked and then immediately shot back to mine. I, however, looked away to avoid his judgemental and forceful glare.

Together we walked into the large house the was spilling teenagers and bad decisions. I glanced around to take in all the smell of liquor that I resented and the throbbing that immediately entered my head, pounding in my ears. There was music but it wasn't too loud, just enough to give these horny bastards a beat to do their bump and grind.

I scoffed at the whole scene before me. I've grown out of the thrill of times like this long ago. I mean, when you start getting drunk and that 'fun' stuff at early fourteen, you get a pretty good head start. 

This was the last place I wanted to be right now.

"You want a drink?" Stuart asked me, bringing my thoughts back to him which caused me to slip my hands away from his. 

"No." I replied firmly, looking around to avoid eye contact with anyone. 

Stuart must have noticed Carson still looking over at us and taking it as an invite, because it was only a few seconds before he was calling out his name and dragging me across the living room to where Carson sat down on the couch. 

As we approached, I noticed a girl sitting next to him. Not just any girl but Jada. She had her cheaply polished fingers wrapped around Carson's bicep as she scooted in closer to him, giving me a catty smirk. A flash of pain hit me in the stomach like fire in my heart but I ignored it and sneered back at her.

There was part of me- a very large part, that had this hatred for Jada. I mean, she said awful things to me and it angered me that she didn't even care to think of how it affected me. Even when we were young she never truly asked me about how I was, and she sure as hell never stopped to think that the whole thing wasn't as black and white as she painted it. 

Then there was the other part that didn't blame her even the slightest bit. She was right about me, just like everyone else. I know that everything hasn't been entirely my fault but the things she said were still true, my fault or not. I had betrayed her so many times that I'm not surprised she hated me.

"Hey man." Stuart greeted.

Carson's eyes connected with Stuart's just momentarily and then raked down the two of us as if we had done something horribly wrong. Then, his reply consisted of a bit of a grunt. He didn't say 'Hey', 'Hi' or even 'Kiss my ass'. Instead he ground out, "How was the date?"

I rolled my eyes at him and Jada leaned in to whisper in his ear but he completely ignored her gestures. That's when I felt Stuart grip my hand in his again. "Matty's turned out to be a but of a dud." Carson wasn't listening because his eyes were focused on our hands. "But mine was great." 

Stuart was smiling widely while Carson was doing everything but. There were a few moments of silence that could definitely be describes as awkward. I was staring down at Carson who sighed heavily as he returned the look. His lips slumped down into a unpleasant frown that almost sent a thrill of hurt up my spine. It was hard to look at him that way.

"I'm not surprised that you had a good time with her, " Jada scoffed, interrupting silence with her usual accusing and overly harsh tone. "I mean, guys always did like the easy girls right?"

I felt a surge of anger coarse through me slightly, but what overruled the frustration was the agony. It still stung that she thought so low of me, even after it had been clear how much she resented me.  I forced myself to maintain my composure, and I put a snide look on my face. I just opened my mouth but I was rudely interrupted.