Precious

I Like Tuh Part 2

"Estella," Someone was shaking me. Maybe it was just my head. I don't know. I felt pain all over. "Estella!"

Slowly, very slowly, I opened my eyes.

"Where am I?" Someone was helping me out.

"Jorge, pick her up please." I heard Jude's voice, but I couldn't see him.

I felt someone lifting my body for a moment. I didn't like it. I felt sick. Also, his hands were cold. A moment later a cloth was placed on me. A minute later, my body was on some sort of cushion.

"Jude," I croaked.

"Yeah?" He sounded miserable too.

"I'm dying."

He laughed.

"Me too. Here." Jude passed me a pill and water. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to swallow it, but I sat up.

"What happened last night?" I groaned, the sunlight wounding me.

Jude reached over and put sunglasses on my face. I looked over at him and saw he was shirtless and I was in my lace bra and underwear. I was also barefoot.

Something was scrapping against my neck, so I pushed my hair behind my head in pain. It was a leaf. Disgusting.

"Oh my, God. Estella." Jude's voice was louder than I was able to handle, though he wasn't yelling.

"Shhhh." My neck ached.

"Bro, you have hickies the size of my fist on your neck." Jude was laughing.

"No," I wanted to shake my head, but I was in too much pain to do so. "That's impossible."

Jude kept laughing.

"Who did you hook up with?"

"Nobody." I shook my head as the memories came back.

"Yeah, okay." Jude laughed.

"Davie?" I squeaked out a name, but I realized after I said it that I was wrong.

"I don't think David went last night. Rumor has it, he went out with Catalina." Jude's words were jumbling together because I was about to throw up in the Bentley.

I pushed the windows down button in the car and leaned out as if my life depended on it. I felt like death.

"Gross, Estella." Jude patted my back and held my hair like a hero.

I lent back against the chair when I cleaned my mouth. The disgusting taste of acid all over my mouth.

In that moment, I vowed never to drink again.

After continuing to be sick for the entire day, by night time, I finally recovered. After gathering my senses, at some point I came to the conclusion that the guy I hooked up with roofied me.

"Estella, you feel better?"

Jude looked at me from behind the door as I pathetically laid in bed and nodded.

"How's the neck holding up?"

"I hate everything." I grumbled.

Jude laughed. I had been icing the shit out of my neck the whole day.

"We have mass in an hour." Jude sat on the foot of my bed, as if he hadn't drank as much as I had the night before.

"Are you kidding me?" I almost cried.

"No, get ready love."

I somehow gained the courage to lift myself. Jude's father and my mother never let me miss mass. Also, I didn't want God to hate me for skipping.

"Cheer up," Jude lifted my chin up as he sensed my gloom. "I have what you asked for."

I was dying, but my excitement returned. "He went?"

"Yup, and he was hooking up with some girl all night."

"Oh my God," My stomach began to pain again. This time in jealous hatred for the girl. "With who?"

"I don't know. I couldn't tell and the guy who was taking pics was too drunk. Apparently he went to some room with her. We could only see the wings were black but like you and three other girls had black wings."

"Give me!" I reached for Jude's phone.

I scrolled through four images of Alexander hooking up with some bitch. I tried to zoom in on the picture, but I couldn't see very well. It was clear Alexander was kissing someone, but the picture was too distant to tell who. I zoomed in, and almost dropped the phone as my heart started to pound. Was that me?!

"Estella?" Jude stood up next to me.

I lifted the back of my hand to my mouth. Quickly I touched my neck.

"I'll be ready in twenty minutes." I stood up.

"Okay," Jude took his phone back.

"Can you send me those pictures?" I asked as I began to pace. A new sort of sickness enveloping me.

"Yeah. Should I send them to the kid at the school newspaper too?"

I nodded not saying yes but thinking about the situation. What if that was me? I couldn't remember the night at all.

Bursts of memories began to crowd my mind. I swam through them. I think I had asked the guy if it was Alexander but he said no?

Worst case scenario, kids assume the girl in the pictures is me, I gain popularity, and Natalia and Alexander break up. Best case scenario, I never kissed Alexander, the pictures are released and Natalia and Alexander break up. It was a win-win.

"Yes, send them please." I texted Nikki as I walked to my closet.

'Bro, what the fuck happened last night?' I wrote.

After picking out my dress, I got a response. 'OMG, I SLEPT WITH JER.'

I rolled my eyes. What a slut.

'Wow. Do you remember who I was hooking up with?' I texted back.

'No, I lost you after we got there.'

I nodded.

Great. Unless I straight up asked Alexander if he roofied and hooked up with me, I wasn't going to be able to confirm.

I was fucked.

I sat on the chair in front of my makeup dresser and looked in the mirror.

"FUCK!" I yelled when I saw the bruises on my neck.

I heard Jude laughing in the distant background.

I had hickies all over my fucking neck. I was horrified.

It was going to take me hours to cover these hickies up.

I stood up immediately to get the blouse on my bed and a bra. When I took the robe off to place my bra on and I almost screamed. I had bruises all over my boobs.

Should I call the cops?

Was it okay that I couldn't remember who mauled me like a bear?

I had never had bruises this bad.

Quickly, I ran to my closet and looked for the highest turtle-neck I had. It was September and still 100 degrees outside, but the turtleneck was the only way I was going to be able to hide the giant hickies on my neck.

I'd have to wear it to school as well.

Fuck.