The Art of Letting You Go

a room

I don't remember much up until now. I'm sitting in a dark room, my head spinning beyond measure. I can hear muffled voices outside whatever room I'm in. Am I still at the party?

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I apologized to the man who had just bumped into me.

"No worries," He lends me a smile. Olly shifts uncomfortably. 

"Oscar." The man shakes my hand. 

"Avery." 

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up." Olly brushes against my arm, igniting a thousands sparks just under my skin. The boy I bumped into must have spilled his drink on my dress. I took one last sip of my water before setting it down and following Olly into the crowd of people. 

"Hello?" My voice is strained and my throat burns. No one answers my call, so I decided to stand up and get myself out of this room.

The door handle doesn't budge. The light switch won't turn on. I fumble my way back to the bed I was just sitting on, searching the covers for my phone. 

"Geez, what did he spill on me?" I ask Olly as he wets the towel again. This stain will not come off, and I'm hoping no one will be able to see it. I secretly pat my subconscious on the back for deciding to wear black.

"I don't know, I'll get it off though." I pull all of my hair to one side as Olly walks over to me with the towel. He gently pats the patch of liquid on my lower right side, just above my hip. Usually I would find this uncomfortable and weird, but I feel so close to Olly. No, Avery. You don't even know him. 

My hand touches what I hope is my phone. I pull it from the sheets and attempt to turn it on. 2%, just great. My fingers shake as I scroll through my contacts. The first name my eyes latch onto is Logan. 

"Avery? We're about to leave. Where are you?" Logan's voice comforts my trembling nerves. He hasn't left yet.

I watch the mirror as Olly continues to clean the stain. I'm sitting on the rub, him kneeling next to me. My eyes have gone a little red. 

"You okay? You don't look so good," He stands up and walks over to the sink again.

"Yeah I think so. My head feels weird." I pat at my overly bushy hair hoping it would go back in place as I'm sitting in a small room with a boy I dangerously like more than I should. "Did you know that guy who bumped into me?" I change the subject, hoping that this queasy feeling I've come across goes away.

"No, but I know his friends." I wonder why Olly wanted me away from Oscar so bad.

"Logan, I-" The call drops before I can end my sentence. "No, no!" I throw my phone down at the ground, disappointed at its sudden death. I flinch at the noise.

Noise. I need to make noise.

I walk over to the door and bend down. I should listen and see how far people are from the room I'm in. What if I'm not even at the party? Or I am and somehow got myself locked in a room? How pathetic...

"They aren't nice people." It's like he can read my mind. I shudder at the cold cloth touching me through my dress. I hear Olly mutter a "Sorry," under his breath. 

"It's okay." I reassure him but he didn't say anything back.

"Thank you for helping me." I try to fill the awkward silence, but I notice my lips weren't moving in the mirror. Why aren't they moving?