never letting go || lrh

Drunken decisions.

My throbbing hand did the first thing I could think of after walking to the other end of the park. I pulled out my phone, and as suprising as it might seem, I called Rita. We had hung out a couple times, and we were becoming attached at the hip. Funnily enough, when I had a problem, or when I had excited news, it was her I called, instead of Aylin.

«Hello?» Her deep voice answered on 3d ring.

«Hey, Rita, how’re things?» I asked, trying not to get straight to the point. She must’ve sensed something was wrong, because she seemed cautious in her answer.

«Life’s good, how about you?» 

«Oh you know...» I didn’t know how to do this. Fuck it, I can’t not tell her. «I just punched Aylin... maybe?» I sounded a lot worse when I said it out loud.

«WHAT? Why?» She screamed.

«Because, she called me a slut!» I responded, my voice shaking. Of course, Rita didn’t know about my sexual assault, so she couldn’t know how that affected me.

«That’s not a reason to punch her!» She shrieked.

«I know, I know.. I don’t know what I was thinking..» I replied sobbing.

«Don’t cry! C’mon, meet me at my place in 10, I have a friend who can help you. His name is vodka.» She said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. I chuckled and wiped the tear that had escaped my eye.

«Fine.» I said, and she hung up.

As I made my way to Rita’s house, I texted Ben telling him I’d be gone for the night. I walked, thinking about what had just happened. I didn’t even see if she was bleeding. I felt terrible, I thought I was gonna collapse in the middle of the street. I took deep breaths and kept walking, one foot in front of another, slowly. I felt lightheaded, but kept going.

I arrived at her house, I had struggled but I was fine. My head was pounding as I walked to her front door. I knocked and waited for her to open.

«Hi, how are you?» She said as she opened the door a few seconds later.

«Umm, do I have to answer that?» I said blankly.

«Nope, come on in.» She smiled. We both went in, and I sat on her couch before my legs could snap. I looked at the table in front of me, and I could see a bottle of vodka, shot glasses, beers and other liquors. 

«You ready to take your mind of of things?» She said.

«More than ever.» I answered, a weak smile on my face.

«It’s gonna suck at first coz’ we’re only two, but when the alcohol steps in, it’ll be fun.» She reassured me.

We started slowly, with a beer bottle each. We downed it quickly, and we put an action movie in, and we watched, as we poured shots.

I downed 2 in a row, the liquid burning my mouth and my throat as it went down. It felt good, liberating. I felt in control of my life again, even though that moment was one where I didn’t control anything.

We blasted Nirvana music over the TV, and we started dancing around. I grabbed another beer, and drank that quickly. Another couple shots later, Rita and I were completely and utterly drunk. 

We collapsed on her couch laughing.

«Soooooo, let’s talk about boys!» She said sloppily. 

«Ugh.» I moaned. 

«How are things going with Luke?» She said.

«Well, they aren’t. We haven’t spoken since my blowout." I answered, blankly.