What He Did

Chapter Three

RECAP

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"Tara, will you be okay staying here?"

"I'm FINE! Just be careful."

Ben sits Steph up in back because she starts saying she feels sick and passes back out. Just as he starts pulling away, she begins puking all down the side of her car.

I sit under the stars and drink the rest of my last beer. Throwing it into the fire when I'm done. I've lost count at this point how many I've had. I'm still coherent, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't walk to save my life. Right now, all I wanna do is sleep.

I sit in front of the fire in the chilly air, soaking up the warm glow of the flames. It's a beautiful night, I got to spend it with my friends, and I'm feeling fantastic. I lean my head back to gaze at all the beautiful stars that are going to be my heavenly roof tonight, when all of a sudden I fall backwards and I'm laying on my back.

Great. I just lay there and take deep breaths, enjoying the crisp cold air filling my lungs and soothing my burning stomach. I'm so numbed by alcohol at this point that I can't feel anything, how cold it is, the warm fire, the hard ground beneath my back like a slab of concrete, nothing.

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I stir, feeling the soft cloth seat underneath my fingertips. My eyes are still closed, but I can feel the early morning sun beaming down on my face and I welcome the warmth it brings. I hear Steph softly snoring beside me and decide it's too early to be awake. As I sit still trying to drift back off to sleep, my swollen bladder screams for release. Fine

I open my eyes and look around. I'm sitting in the passenger side of Steph's car and she's passed out in the driver's seat. The keys are absent from the ignition, which tells me Ben must have them. I quietly open the door and slide out of the SUV as quietly as I possibly can, trying not to wake Steph up. Walking to the back of the car, I notice that Ben's truck is 20 feet away and parked a little ahead of the car, so it's safe to pee at the back of the car. It's still a little dark out, but the sun has began peaking over the hills, ready to greet the day. After squatting down on the ground, I try to stand back up, only to lose my balance and fall into a bush.

"Seriously?!" Only I would manage to fall into a bush when my pants are down.

I stand up and pull my pants back on, making sure to dust myself off in the process, and start walking back up to the front of the car. We have to have some cigarettes, neither one of us smoked that much last night. Searching through the car, I finally find Steph's and my shared pack discarded on the floor, miraculously not smashed. Please, please, PLEASE. Let there be a cigarette in here.... Success!!! Opening the package, I find five, perfectly unharmed cigarettes. I pull one out and light up, welcoming the intrusion of the nicotine into my cloudy head. What happened last night? Taking a walk around the campsite, I notice the fire had died out, and there were beer cans everywhere. Also, after taking a glimpse into the cooler, there is nothing left, so everyone must've drank them last night. Why can't I remember anything? My thoughts are disturbed when I hear car doors opening. Steph joins me soon after, scratching her head and looking around dazed.

"Can I have a hit off that?" I hold the cigarette up to her lips and she takes a deep drag, blowing it out soon after.

"The boys up yet?"

"No, you're the only one besides me."

We sit back going over last night's events for awhile, enjoying the alone time with each other. We finally hear the boys getting up awhile later. It's about seven by now, and we all decide to pack up and head home to rest. We each go around, picking up discarded cans and bottles, making sure to throw it all into the bed of Ben's truck so that he can discard it later. Steph and I load up the SUV and start up the engine to start warming it up. Sitting in silence, Steph finally speaks up.

"So...who puked on my car?"

"You did!" Her eyes turned into huge ovals and she looked back down the side of the car. I start into the story of Ben needing to take Blaine and a few others to the road so they could go home and her tagging along, and she sits in silence the whole time taking in the entire account. As I'm diving into the story, I start to remember everything from the night before. The more I remember, the more upset I get. The car finally heats up, and Steph puts the car in gear. As we follow Ben out, I fall silent, trying to hold back the tears that I know are on the brink of spilling over.

Driving down the road, I remember more vivid details every mile we pass. The darkness, sitting in front of the fire...his breath on my neck. It's too much.

"Steph? I think something happened last night."

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An hour later....

We pull up in front of my house, and I look at Steph. After we had gotten to town, we stopped by the car wash and washed all of the vomit off the side of the car so we wouldn't look suspicious. Steph was going to head to her house and I was going home because I had promised my mom I would spend the day with her. I sit staring at her, and she steals a glance at me.

"I'll call you later, K?" I just nod my head and get out. Closing the door, I watch her half smile at me and pull away, heading towards the end of the street. I turn towards my house and look up at it. The brick never looked as strong and sturdy as it did to me right now. Ascending the stairs, I reach the door and bring my key to lock, taking a deep breath before turning the key in the deadbolt and bringing my hand down to the knob. I lower my gaze staring at my hand, trying to hear if there's any movement in the house before pushing the door open. Feeling satisfied, I step into the living room, and close and re-lock the deadbolt. Staring down at my feet, I make my way to the hallway and down to my bedroom, carefully closing the door behind me. My mother's soft snoring reaches my ears and a small smile spreads across my face, thankful that she isn't up to grill me about my being home so early. I drop my bag on my bed and take my coat and shoes off. Slowly making my way back across my room, I slide the door open and walk across the hall into the bathroom. Closing the door, I turn and grab a towel and place it on the toilet. I bend down to turn the hot water on so I can take a shower and wash all of the grime off of my body from the night before. Satisfied with the temperature, I pull my clothes off and lay them on the floor, and step into the shower. The warm water beats on my back and I close my eyes feeling every spurt hit it.

Pow, pow, pow, pow, POW!

Wiping the water out of my eyes, I reach for the shampoo and pause suddenly. Wrapping my arms around myself, I sink to the floor of the shower, and finally allow the sobs to come and overtake me.

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I know a cliffhanger, I'm awful!

Next chapter will be the lost memory portion of the party!!

Comment, thanks!