Escape (Dana Vaughns) *EDITING*

Chapter 16: Goodbye

New Year’s Day was a blur of concerned parents and friends while I sat motionless in a corner. My parents were the first to discover my state after checking up on me when they came in from the party. I had been there for I don’t know how long until my dad put me in my bed while my mom constantly asked what was wrong. I couldn’t bring myself to tell them what was going on and I guess they understood that as they both kissed my forehead and left me.

Sleep was not an option as my mind raced with thoughts of Dana. What was he doing? How mad was he? Did he go home yet? I couldn’t stop the questions from coming forcing the tears to come pouring down harder. We weren’t even together and now that I have this charm I have no doubt that it would’ve happened last night.

I had no clue what time it was when I finally got out of the bed but it was definitely late. The girls had come by earlier and I continued to break down again making all of them concerned. My mouth was just unable to form the proper sentence to explain what I had done. I felt like the only one who I could actually talk to was Dana and he obviously was not available.

The steam from the shower made me feel a little better but not by much. After I had gotten out, my towel wrapped around myself, I was surprised to see a figure sitting on my bed. Not making the mistake twice, I flipped the light switch, hoping that it was the one person I wanted to see. My heart skipped a beat as I saw the snapback placed on his head, his hands holding up his face as he breathed deeply.

We both remained still, neither of us knowing what to actually say. I took the quiet time to look at him. He still had on his outfit from the party, his clothes wrinkled and a series of unknown stains littering his appearance.

I made my way to my dresser and got out some comfortable clothes before quickly making my way into the bathroom to change. I had no clue why he was here but I surely did not want him to leave. I opened the door again and took a couple steps back as he was now right in front of me. His eyes were bloodshot like he hadn’t slept and there was a smirk on his lips. He looked drunk honestly but that couldn’t have been the case.

“Babe.” He said softly, coming close enough to put his arms around me. It was then that I knew he was drunk. The alcohol smell reeked and I leaned my head back further as he came closer.

“Dana… Are you drunk?” I asked him while he smiled back at me. My heart was racing as I thought of what to do. He knew how much I hated drunk people and still showed up here. I am so confused.

Grabbing his hand, I lead him to the bed where he sat down and I grabbed the pain relievers and water from my nightstand, handing it to him so that he could take them now. If there was one thing I learned from being around drunks it’s that if you take the pain reliever before you go to bed, you will be less hung over.

After he had taken what I’d given him, he turned towards me and pulled me to him. I didn’t object but I really wanted to explain to him what happened last night.

“Dana I-“ I was cut off by him placing his hand over my mouth to cover it. He was shaking his head back and forth, telling me that he did not want to hear what I had to say. I looked at him while he just chuckled humorlessly.

“I’m going back to LA tomorrow. My parents said that it was okay for me to go and spend it with my real friends there who won’t break my heart.” He said, tripping over a few words here and there. My heart stopped as I took in what he said. My head spun to his, panic flooding my system.

Tomorrow must have meant today which meant that he was leaving on his birthday. We always went out to Jiangs on his birthday and then took a trip to the park, no matter how cold, to eat it at the top of the slide. Why would he do this so quickly and not listen to what I had to say.