Chocolate

Lies and Wine

Noelle Kinsey tossed a bottle of wine back and forth in her palms, contemplating whether she should down the sweet liquid, of save it for another night. She didn't want to succumb to the realization that she was drinking wine and watching reruns of America's Next Too Model alone of Valentine's Day. Charlie Grayson, her boyfriend was sick with the flu and had been for the past week, so their plans for dinner and a romantic night out were canceled. When the feelings of patheticness and self pity began to cloud her mind, she popped open the wine, drinking straight from the bottle.

Down the hall, her two younger brothers fussed and bickered, pounding on the floor. The wine tasted better with each scream that came from the room down the hall. Her mother called for the boys to hush up. With the sound of her mother's footsteps travel up the steps, she stuffed the wine bottle behind a silky pink pillow and wiped a drop from her lips. Sure enough, her mother knocked and walked in without a response.

"Hi baby," she slunk down at the foot of the bed. Noelle kept a shaky hand on the cool bottle under her pillow. Her mother would kill her if she found out her 17 year old daughter was drinking, even if it only was wine. "I'm sorry your plans were canceled. I hope Charlie is okay. Send him my love," she reassuringly patted Noelle's leg, which was adorned in nothing but short white satin shorts.

"I will," Noelle adjusted her eyes on the TV, praying her mother would leave before finding the bottle.

"I'm just waiting for your father. Tonight was a busy night, so we weren't able to do anything either. Maybe some other night," she stared off in the other direction, thoughts clearly fogging up her mind. When the silence stood for a minute too long, Noelle's mother gave her a hug, then left, leaving Noelle to her oh-so romantic Valentine's Night.