for, liar

Chapter 6

My phone going off for the eleventh time finally jolts me awake. I hit my head against the car window and swear under my breath for letting myself fall asleep in the car. I fumble around for my phone and bring it close to my face to allow my blurry vision ability to read it. It's a quarter after 2 A.M. and I can't believe I actually slept this long.

Maddy's picture takes up the entire screen on my phone. I have to brace myself before I answer it, knowing it's going to be loud.

"Where the fuck are you!" She screams into the speaker.

I pull it away from my ear and click the speaker button. My head is pounding but she's adamant on making it worse. "Chill out! I'm in the car."

I sit up to stretch out my back and groan away from the phone.

"How could you just leave for hours and not say anything to anyone?"

I've never seen Maddy this mad. I don't get why it's a big deal considering she wouldn't even know I was there if we were in the same room because she was too busy with Jason, Jackson, Jesus or whatever the hell his name is.

"You were a little preoccupied. Why would I want to interrupt?" I snap.

The phone hangs up abruptly. I sigh under my breath and unlock the car door just in time for it to swing open angrily. Maddy yanks me out of the car. Damn, she really is mad.

"You can't do that shit to me. After everything that has happened? We agreed to this party together. Why couldn't you just stay in the house at least?"

Her eyes are flooded with tears. I'm not sure if it's from anger anymore.

"I can't...lose another best friend. I just can't. We promised we would watch out for each other."

Is she trying to make me feel guilty now?

"Maddy, calm down. I was just sitting in the car! I got stuck talking to Ben and I needed to get out of there."

She lets go of my shirt and backs up onto the curb. I think she finally forced herself to calm down and talk to me reasonably. I didn't realize Selena's death had that much of an impact on her anymore. I know we didn't talk for weeks after that, but I thought it was because she wanted to give me space.

"I'm sorry I freaked out. Can you at least tell me or shoot me a text next time and we can just leave together?" She says softly.

I nod and pull my sweatshirt sleeves down. It's gotten cold out here.

"We don't have to leave. I don't like ruining your fun because I'm antisocial." I admit.

She catches me off guard by throwing her arms around me and hugging me tightly. She reeks of alcohol, which is probably why her emotions are so disorderly right now. Maddy is an emotional drunk. It can be entertaining when I know she's not genuinely upset.

I relax and hug her back gently. I guess we haven't talked enough about Selena to see where we were both at in grievance. I never knew she was this afraid of losing someone else. Maybe when she sobers up we will have a real talk about it.

"Let's head out. I feel like you need some sleep." I suggest and chuckle as I pull bits of Cheeto dust out of her hair.

She wipes her face with the palms of her hands and agrees. I've had plenty of time to get over my light buzz in order to drive. I move out of the way and help Maddy into the passenger's seat. She groans under her breath and buckles up. She must've only been sober enough temporarily to yell at me.

I start the car and pull onto the road. The streets are deserted just like they should be this late. I glance over at Maddy who is now steadily sleeping with her head against the window. It doesn't take long for me to get to her house. I park the car in her usual spot and climb out.

Her parents are surely dead asleep at this time, so we don't have to worry about an interrogation on why we decided to stay out late; even if we are adults.

I jog around the car and pull Maddy's door open. She jumps at the sudden movement and looks at me, clearly caught off guard.

"Let's go inside. We're back at your house." I whisper.

She looks around as if she doesn't believe me and slowly climbs out of the seat. I keep her steady and walk her up to the door to unlock it. Maddy is barely awake right now and could pass out any minute if I don't hurry. It's just too damn hard to see the doorknob when there's no outside lights on. My mom would never turn off the outside light if she knew I was coming back that night. Maddy's parents have always been more than just a little lenient with her. Mom would wait for me on the couch until I walked in a minute before curfew while Maddy's parents didn't even text her the entire time we went to the beach for a week.

Our parental relationships and childhood differ significantly and we still became the best of friends through our mutual liking of cheesy teen dramas and our hatred for Peyton Fletcher. That bitch used to terrorize us back in middle school because she got mad that Maddy started dating her ex after he clearly didn't want to be with her. Besides, it was middle school and no one was actually dating anyone unless you define it as being together during lunch or in the courtyard after the last bell rang.

I manage to get Maddy upstairs to her bed safely. Her room is nice and tidy like usual. I pull open a drawer, grab a t-shirt for her to change into, and change into the pajamas I brought with me as well. Her eyes are halfway open and it's crazy that she's lasted this long.

I climb under the covers and adjust my pillow. Maddy's staring at the floor with her phone next to us on the nightstand where I put it. It buzzes a couple of times and I watch Justin's name flash across the screen.

"Unforgettable night. I got the rest if you want it."

What the hell?

:Revised