A Curly Mess Of Emotions✓

20

I'm lost.

You must be thinking, that I'm lost emotionally, from everything that has happened lately (I mean, have you read the last three chapters?). But no, I am like, literally lost. Apart from the mental kind of lost (which I am) I actually don't know where I am.

In the course of my very long and exhausting run, I lost track of time and location. To top it all off, my phone's battery is almost dead. Yay me.

It's 21st December. Eight days since I came back to Indiana. Seven days since his funeral.

I took in my surroundings. I was at some unknown street, near a lamp post and a cemetery. Great.
There was a bus stop a few metres ahead, but I guessed no bus would be coming this way any time soon, considering how empty the bus stand was. In an empty street like this, people would surely take any chance of public transport they get. There was also a faint sound of party music coming from a low shack nearby, which I guessed was an illegal and underage bar. It was almost dark by now. There was a convenience store a few metres back, but it was almost closed.

See, that's the pro of being an impulsive kid. You have better survival instincts than the average human. When I was a tween, I used to dream of secretly being a demigod, just like Percy. Unfortunately, I wasn't that lucky, and no centaur escorted me to Camp.

(A/N: reference (^^) )

I looked down at my phone. It was surviving at barely three percent. By the looks of it, I could make only one phone call. The only belongings I had were my airpods, my phone, a few dollars and a fresh wad of gum. So my only way out was a phone call.

Who could I call? Definitely not my parents. Not only would they take years to understand my location, but would also gave me a huge lecture and speech worthy of Minerva McGonagall. Dying of boredom in an isolated place is not my fortè.

So I called the only person I could think of right then.
I waited as the phone rang, tapping my foot in nervousness. Finally, the line connected.
"Hello?"

"Mark, thank god," I breathed out.

"Hey shortcake, everything okay?"

"Not really. I am, lost?"

"What do you mean?" I could hear the shuffling of keys on his end, he must be leaving right now. God, I love him.

Not love love him, more like, oh you know what I mean.

"I'm lost and I don't have much time to talk," I continued. "I'm somewhere near nowhere, I mean there's an intersection of roads leading to some amusement park, w convenience store, and a shack that looks like a bar. There is a bus stop too but there's no bus coming this way what do I do?"

"Oh gods listen here Stephanie," There was a lot of commotion on his end, which left me to conclude that he was on road.
"Do not-----i will-----go-----bar---'"

And then my phone died.

I tried not to panic. It was around seven thirty, last I checked on my phone, not that late. I knew Mark would come and find me, but I also knew he would take a lot of time. Standing near the lamp post wouldn't really be safe, since it was getting darker and I was still in my running clothes. Who knows what happens in such an isolated street.
I needed the assurance of human presence.
So I did the next best thing:

I walked into the shack bar.

♠

Walking inside the bar was harder than boarding a fully loaded metro during peak hours. All around, I was surrounded by sweaty bodies, the stench of alcohol and- oh gods, drugs?
The entire place was flooded with provocative teenagers. Horny males and even hornier females, who were hardly wearing clothes. A few of them eyed me like I was the dirt on their heels.