Teenage Bones

Straying From Problems

When I wake up, my stomach growls at me and the room is dark. I have to feel around the room for three minutes before I find the light and give myself a sense of place. Outside was dark and I had no idea what time it was but wanting desperately to cry. I hear people cheering drunkenly from outside my window and I was half inclined to join them too. Why not? Grabbing my keys from the bed and already having my shoes on, I run to the door and let myself out, locking the door behind me. It took me a minute to get onto the street.

"Hey, you guys open for one more?" I ask. The group was mostly composed of girls, all in masquerade masks and feathery dresses and the boys in suits with half-face masks.

"Of cause!" A blond girl answers, dressed as a flamingo. "We're going back to Percy's for a drink." The 'Percy' was a guy dressed in complete black with a shiny black tie with a tall top hat. He tips the hat for me, "it would be a pleasure to invite you over..."

"Esmé."

"Esmé," Percy repeats, smiling and offering me his arm to hold. Without hesitation, I latch on, following the gang to a small three-bedroom house. The sitting room was huge and had plenty of sofas for us all. My stomach cramps moderately and I fight not holding it. Percy sits next to me and the blonde girl I met brings out black cards. "You aren't allergic to anything, are you Esmé?" Percy purrs, saying my name like silk. Shaking my head, he smiles at me. Everyone in the room rathers around a small table. Percy places a shot glass for everyone and various high volume alcohol drinks. "The rules for the newcomers," Percy starts, "Everyone will take it in turns to pick up a card and read it out. On the cards will be a question, if you do not want to answer it, you drink a shot. Is it clear? Any questions?" Everyone smiles and nods, so Percy begins, flipping over the first black card.

" 'Are you a top or a bottom?'" Percy places the card to the bottom, flashing everyone a smile. "I am a top."

I'm up. I take the top card and flip it.

I'm sorry. Come back, please.

 I rub my eyes to make sure that's what I'm seeing and it changes, I must be exhausted. I read,

"' How many family members drive you crazy and why?'" I place the card to the back of the deck and the first person to come to my mind is my sister. Entitled and spoilt. "My sister because she can be hard to be around sometimes." Everyone nods, most people not bothering to read out their card in fear of judgment of not answering it. I peer over at the card of the table, reading it as:

Get back to Tyler's. You are unsafe to the people you are around right now. - Starr

Ignoring each message, I pick up a card, the message showing straight away this time without one of the creepy sister's screwing with my head. "' If you had to sleep with one person here, who would it be?' Well, sorry to disappoint you all," I slide the card to the bottom, "but I am taken bacon."

"The card didn't ask that," Percy says, stroking my back and smiling though his green eyes, "it asked you who you'd sleep with- wait, if you're taken, why did you come from the hotel?"

The blonde flamingo gasps, "did he leave you in a hotel?"

"I left him. I saved our lives and he was more focused on how-" I break off, my stomach shooting a burning pain and then leaving again.

"Are you okay?" Percy asks.

"Fine." I whisper, "he was more focused on how I did it against that I did it in the first place and told me I wasn't the same person."

"Sounds shitty." Come's from a guy in an owl mask, "he should be thankful you even thought of him. My girl took off about three months ago and I haven't seen her since." Lots of people awed and gave pity glances toward him. 

Percy turns to me. "Hearing about your boyfriend makes me think you should drink anyway. To hell with it!" Everyone repeats 'to hell with it' and grabs at bottles, filling up glasses all around them. Percy fills my glass with vodka for me, clinking our glasses and downing the burning liquid. We do that about four times and someone knocks over the cards and they spill all over the table, Lilly and Starr's messages all over them.

Get to Tyler, he is worried - Starr

Elijah is going crazy that we lost you, get your skinny ass back to Tyler's - Lilly

At least go outside so we can try and see where you are - Lilly

The cramps are going to get worse until you get sick again - Starr

I'm really sorry and I really miss you. Please just come back. - Tyler

We can talk about this - an idiot

I wasn't thinking clearly and I'm sorry - Your boyfriend

I'm handed another shot and I accept graciously, downing it in seconds. A card falls from the table and I pick it up to put it back but it reads:

Tyler knows what hotel you are staying at and is meeting you there with your stuff. Get back to the hotel, right now - Starr

She sounds pissed and I know I should. Placing the card back and the glass on top of it, I say goodnight to everyone and leave, walking drunkenly toward the brightly litten high street. A cramp hits and it feels like a knife twisting, making me stop and lean on a lamp post for support. I can see the hotel logo and I still think I might puke before making it to my room. I wait a minute for it to pass before I'm stumbling toward my goal again, making it to the entrance and key carding myself in. Falling up the stairs and turning the key in the door, I am let into a litten room, bags packed in the corner. The shower is on and I close the door before sitting on the bed, kicking off my shoes.

Tyler walks out of the shower, wrapped in a towel and looking at me while leaning on the door frame. "You got the messages then," he says gently. I just shrug, feeling myself spin a little from the alcohol. He also catches on, "are you drunk?"

"Probably," I hiccup and it sends my stomach into another painful spiral. Clutching it so it wouldn't fall apart, and nearly screaming with pain. I roll over, shutting off the shower in the bathroom but not breaking anything yet. Tyler's hands are on my shoulders, pulling me into his lap as he holds me. He tried to put his wrist to my mouth but I push his arm away, denying the beating liquid that I needed out of stubbornness.

"You really need to, Es." Tyler says, trying again but being pushed away from my mouth with a jerk of my head.

"I saved us today, that was all I could do. That was the only possible thing I could do, Ty." I sob, spilling tears of shame and pain all over the towel. "He would've killed you."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry." Fingers pet my hair gently, twisting some parts. "But you don't want to be in pain all night, do you?"

"I don't know," I cry, clawing at my stomach roughly to get the sharp thing to stop moving from inside of it. "Maybe I deserve it."

"You don't deserve any of this pain, Esmé. I promise," his smile is only half effort with not much happy emotion behind it. What feels like a hot poker is rammed into the center of my stomach and Tyler covers my mouth as I scream, rolling over and crying endlessly into his fingers. Fire burns away at my insides and only begins to spread, making it feel like I was been burnt from the inside out. Then Tyler kisses me, blood leaking from his bottom lip, silencing the pain quickly. His tongue slides easily into my mouth, dancing with my own. Kissing him upside down was hard, so I sit up very slowly, earning a dull pain in my muscles and whimpering, the gash in his mouth already healed. Brillant blue eyes look at my confused brown ones, sighing to himself. "Please drink just a little bit." His hands pat his covered thighs, but all I do in response in staring at him.

"I don't want to hurt you like I did in the car," I say, looking at his flawless skinned wrist that caused him a mass amount of pain when I bit him in the car and his eyes soften.

"You won't, baby," he says, stroking hair back from my face. "Please, Es."

Then I crash into the ensuite, being sick into the toilet.