Under Glass

Chapter 17 - Crime and Punishment

Hours later, Caitlin closed the door behind her and hopped down the stairs, skipping every other one. Escape was always her go to these days and this would be epic. Sophia leaned over and unlocked the passenger side of the 1996 Oldsmobile Station Wagon.

"What's up?" Sophia straightened her over sized sunglasses and reversed the boat. "Saved you shotgun."

Caitlin nodded and looked back at the five additional people in the car she'd never met.

"Brought you somethin' special," Sophia offered as she sped off through the apartment complex. "Look in the glove compartment."

Caitlin opened the glove compartment and saw a bag of white pills, another bag of marijuana, and several patches of acid.

"I brought some OJ, put a couple of the ecstasy in the carton."

She did what Sophia told her, shaking the bottle of orange juice before she passed it around. A guy in the back asked for the marijuana, which she passed back as well. She leaned in and tried to tune the radio to another station.

Giving up on the music, Caitlin sighed and turned it down. "How do you deal without a radio?"

"I listen to my phone."

"What if other people are in your car?"

"I listen to my phone," Sophia repeated glancing at Caitlin.

"Three hours, right?" Caitlin asked taking the joint that was making the rounds.

"Yep, by the time we get there we should be good and stoned. Hey, grab the wheel for a minute." While she grabbed the wheel, Sophia grabbed one of the patches Caitlin had put on the console and dropped on her tongue. This only vaguely made Caitlin nervous. "Thanks."

"Not a problem." Although Caitlin had never tried drugs before James died, she wasn't judgey about it. People did what they wanted and had to deal with those consequences, just like she was now. Alcohol works most of the time, but she didn't turn away marijuana. It was her favorite. She could laugh again after she smoked.

She turned to hand the joint to the person behind her and thought how strange it was she didn't recognize any of the rest of the people in the car. They seemed to know her. If she cared, it'd be unsettling.

*******

The drive was a blur of smoke, laughter and Sophia scaring the fuck out of Caitlin with her driving. She'd never been so happy to get out of a car. She imagined people looking at all of them piling out of station wagon, like a scene from Dazed and Confused.

They walked in a line to Kevin Berry's, an Irish Bar on the water- the perfect spot to start the night. The group pounded Black and Tans and after a couple of rounds, they headed to a dance club a couple of blocks away. The walk there was steamy and Caitlin felt sweat trickle down her back. Her gauzy white tank top was sticking to her and she pulled her linen shorts from her legs.

As they entered the club, Caitlin stalked straight to the dance floor. Ignoring anyone around her, she focused on the music. The numbness she craved held her captive and she let herself go. The bass filled her body, making it pulse. While she danced, all the people and colors became a single smear. There was not one thought in her mind as she twirled and swayed for hours.

Her hair stuck to her head.

She chugged beer.

People touched her.

She made out with different boys and girls.

She blinked.

*****

The sun peeked from under the ocean and stabbed her with it's brightness. She sat up hesitantly, realizing immediately they slept on the beach. Sand was stuck in places she didn't want to think about. Her shorts did little to protect her from anything on the ground. Caitlin glanced around, shielding her eyes with her hand as if they would help her head, and saw many members of her party from last night. Some were in the sand, some in the grass, and they all looked like hell.

Smacking her mouth several times, Caitlin wished she had some Gatorade to ease or erase the cotton balls she'd obviously eaten during the night.

"Are we at Tybee?" She asked anyone in earshot.

Tybee Island is a beach just east of Savannah.

"It was a great idea Cait," Sophia said nodding.

Caitlin was relieved when she saw Sophia sitting only in her underwear staring at the water. It was a miracle she was still wearing her clothes.

"My idea?" Caitlin raised up on her elbows and looked toward the ocean. "How did we get here?"

"We drove." Caitlin's head moved like a sloth instead of whipping around like she'd urged it to. "Don't worry I wasn't as fucked up as you."

"Wow, I feel like shit." Caitlin rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself up on her hands and knees. She began retching, but she didn't have anything in her stomach. There is nothing worse that dry heaving.

"You okay?"

Still dry heaving, she nodded. Suddenly very hot, Caitlin got up and walked to the edge of the water. Sophia followed her and handed her a beer.

"This will make you feel better."

She took a huge sip and she immediately threw it up. It came out of her nose and mouth, stinging her throat.

"Drink it all, I'll go get you some bread to soak up some alcohol." Sophia walked up the street and then toward the convenience store in her underwear.

"Damn it," Caitlin said at the pain that caused her to double over again.

How many more of these stupid things could she do without real danger? Is that what she was trying to do? Punish herself?