Shattered But Not Broken

Chapter 18

When we were walling back home, I had to keep both mine and Jessica's balance since she wasn't walking straight. This was awful, I thought to myself. She wasn't even twenty-one and she was forced to drink, and now she's drunk. I wondered what she was thinking. I still don't know why those men just made her drink alcohol. It seemed unusual to me. Normally when people kidnap you, they kidnap you. Not kidnap you and then make you chug down alcohol and let you go. That's just not logical.

When we got home, I sat down on the couch, exhausted. I watched as Jessica was loopy and started singing out of tune and dancing around in circles. Her words were mumbly.

Yep, she was definitely drunk.

She was all giggly.

"Are you okay Jessica?" I asked.

"Yes Richie, I'm great!" she replied giggling. "Are YOU okay?!"

"Not really."

"Why not?"

I turned to her. "Because you're drunk and I don't know what to do."

She pouted. "I'm not drunk Richie. Why would I be drunk? You know what you need?"

"What," I sighed.

"Some music!" She walked crookedly to he radio player next to the television set.

I heard Casey Kasem's voice for a moment and then a song started playing that I didn't recognize.

I saw Jessica start jumping up and down while clapping her hands. She was acting like a little kid. "Oh my Godddd!" she said. "Do you hear what's playing right now?! Do you even know what this song is?"

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "Do you-"

"How do you NOT know this song?! It's... it's, I forgot but it's soooo good. I'm gonna dance. You should dance. We should both dance... together," she giggled, smiling at me with her drunk, dazzling eyes.

"Eh... I don't think so Jessica." I got up and started walking to the kitchen. "Dancing to party songs make me tired, and I'm already tired... so I'll pass."

"You wimp," she teased.

I turned around. "I'm not a wimp."

"Yes ya are," she smiled, biting her bottom lip.

"I'm not and you know it!"

"Then dance with me. It'll be fun," she said, moving closer to me. She grabbed my hands and started jumping up and down.

I guess I joined in at one point because when the song was over, I was all worn out. It was like one of those five or six minute songs. I got up from the couch to get some water since my throat was sore. I couldn't imagine how sore Jessica's throat was, so I got her a glass of water too. I took a sip out of my glass and walked back into the living room. I saw that Jessica had fallen asleep on the couch. I smiled at her and sighed. At least she was asleep and not going all crazy anymore.I knew that she'd be hungover tomorrow morning.

She didn't look all that comfortable so I walked over to her and picked her up so I was cradling her in my arms. She was very warm and moved a little.

I tried to be careful when I walked up the stairs so I wouldn't drop her. She was heavy too, probably no more than ten or fifteen pounds lighter than me.

When I walked into her bedroom, I didn't bother turning on the light. I walked over to her bed and laid her down. I pulled the covers over her body. "Goodnight," I whispered. I kissed her forehead. "I love you Jessica." I made my way back to the hallway and looked at her once more before I quietly shut her bedroom door.