After Class (Janet and Aaliyah)

Chapter 34

The A has blessed us w some rainy, cozy reading weather today so I will leave this here 😊 Where are y'all from?

Acacia

I was about 30 seconds away from throwing up. All of the alcohol had dispersed itself into my bloodstream at the exact same time, and I wanted to die. When was the last time I'd let myself go this far? It felt so good, for a little while, and now it was all crashing down.

Matt was looking at me like I had four heads. I was convinced my face was green like in the cartoons. "Excuse me," I said before running to the balcony and wretching over it. He rushed to me and held my hair back for me as all of the Sangria came up. This was awful. And embarrassing. But I couldn't think about that part; all that was going through my head was where the closest place to curl up in a ball would be. Right about now, it was the floor.

I heard the screen door fly open and felt Matt's soothing hands being ripped from me. I was too busy coughing to protest.
 
  "What the hell did you do to her? Move," somebody said behind me.

  "Hey, relax, I was just—"

  "Yeah, Okay. Go inside. I got it from here. Acacia, come on. It's time to go."

Another smaller hand touched me now. I couldn't figure out who it was. But when I felt I'd finally gotten everything out of my system, I turned around to see Khori. She looked so concerned, it was almost scary. I just blinked slowly, trying to register her expression in my mind. Was I that bad?

  "Come on," she said gently. "I'll take you home."

  "I wanna stay, I think..." I said. "Matt—"

  "He's gone. Let's go."

  "No!" I cried, reaching for the door. He was watching me through it still. I couldn't read his face either. What was going on?

  "Do not embarrass yourself in front of your colleagues! We'll go down the stairs, not through the house, and get you back in the car."
 
  "I have to say goodbye to everyone. That's rude."

  "I said bye for you already." She pulled me down the stairs, stepping carefully so I wouldn't fall. My legs didn't feel like my own.

  We went around the front of the house and made it to the car in one piece. "Can you go real fast again?" I asked as I fell into the passenger's seat lazily.

  "Nah, I can't." Khori's jaw was locked tight as we pulled out. "Lean your seat back and go to sleep, okay?"

  "But I'm not tired," I protested.

  "Yeah you are. Here." She parked the car at the nearest stop sign and reached over me, leaning my seat back for me.

  "God, you smell so good..." I reveled at her body hovering so close to me. "Come here." I tugged on her jacket, causing her to stumble and collapse on top of me. I giggled. "That's better."

  Khori just shook her head. "Acacia, relax. Let me get you home." She pulled herself off of me.

  "No! Pull over and hold me," I whined. "I just want to—"

The car started to move, startling me as she continued to drive. It pushed me back into my seat, and sure enough, was a smooth and calming ride.

  "Good night," she said. I closed my eyes and before I knew it, I was in my driveway again. I was so confused. As she helped me get out, my head was pounding and my body felt like it weighed a million pounds.

  "Khori, What the hell happened to me?"

  "You got drunk. And you probably still are, but I drove around a little more so you could sleep some of it off. Come on, I'll help you change clothes."