Hooked Up

Chapter 7 - Tension

I cringe. Miranda looks from me to my boyfriend behind me, comprehension filling her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she mouths at me and I nod, waiting until she's gone to turn around to face my doom.

"I should've told you—" I start, but he cuts me off.

"When?"

So I tell him. The lines on his face harden with every word I say, until his face resembles a stone mask.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

I bite my lip. Why didn't I? "I don't know."

"Avery..." he closes his eyes and drags a hand down his face. "I'm your boyfriend. You're supposed to tell me stuff like this. You're supposed to trust me."

"I do trust you," I say in a small voice. He just gives me an exasperated look. "I do. I guess I just... didn't think about it." It's true. I hadn't even thought about Nick straight after the incident. As I realize it I feel my stomach sinking. Why hadn't I thought about him afterwards? Shouldn't I have wanted him there to comfort me?

"Well that's just great," he says, hurt. I can see it in his eyes. Why am I always hurting him?

"I'm sorry," I try, "but I had Nate and Landon and-"

"Landon was there?" Something flashes in his eyes. Anger?

"Well, yes," I say, fearing his reaction. I know he's never liked Landon, one thing we have in common. He's about to say something but I beat him there. "But only because he was with Nate when it happened. I didn't ask him there."

Nick takes in a deep breath. "But when you got home, when you'd calmed down, when you'd slept over it... You didn't even think about calling me?"

I don't know what to say. Talking to to him about it hadn't even crossed my mind. It should have. He should be the one I can confide into. The one I'd want to confide into.

"I think..." he hesitates, looking at me with so much hurt in his eyes I just want the ground to swallow me whole. "I think we should call it quits." For real this time."

"Nick..." I try to grab his hand but he steps back out of my reach.

"I just can't do this anymore," he turns around and leaves me standing there with a bottomless pit in my stomach.

"Avery?" I hear Miranda's voice. "Are you okay?"

I gather myself up and plaster a smile on my face before turning around to face my best friend.

"Of course I'm okay," I lie, and I know she can see through it. She doesn't say anything though, just follows me to the drinks. "Never better," I mutter under my breath.

---

Two hours later and I'm drunk. Far past the tipsy giggling phase. I'm at a point where I don't care about anything else than having a good time. I laugh and dance and drink some more.

"Bathroom," I announce to my friends as I break from the group and walk past other drunken people to search for the room. I have to take support from the wall a few times but I manage to get to a hallway filled with closed doors. I open a promising looking one and step inside. Two hazy figures spring apart as if electrocuted. Not a bathroom.