Eat!

6 ~ Sour News

Sam

It was the middle of the night when I decided to text Alice.

Hey. R u awake?

I didn’t have to wait long before I got a reply.

Well I am now. Whts up?

I bit my lip while replying.

Nothing. My tapping paused. Wanna go meet some people?

I sent it, and then regretted it. By people, I meant my dearest friends, and by dearest, I mean mentally deficient. Peter, harry and Michael where all people I had met while looking after my mother. But they were typical boys, testosterone driven and totally insane. Slightly jerkish at times. But I think Alice would like them; they were good at cheering people up, even if they weren’t one hundred per cent sane. I suddenly realised I had waited a little longer to get a text back. It occurred to me that maybe Alice didn’t want to. Anyway, she replied with a simple: Sure ;)

Really? That easy?

 I’ll come by your house ;) get out through the window.

I’m such a bad influence. I hardly have time to think about it before my feet are carrying me towards the keys and getting in the car. I started the ignition and took off down the street towards Alice’s house before I can even stop myself. What if I get Alice in trouble with her Mom? But then I remember she doesn’t even care that her daughter isn’t eating…

Not a can of worms I want to open.

As soon as I pulled up outside of her house I jumped out of the car and stood outside of her window. Luckily her house was a sort of bungalow so there wasn’t much of a drop. She smiled down at me, but she was shivering like she was nervous.

“Jump.” I whispered. “I’ll catch you.”

She nodded once, and dropped out of the window.

I caught her with ease. She was so light to hold. So dangerously skinny, it was like she had lost even more weight that when I had seen her last. I held her a little longer than necessary, which made us both cough awkwardly. “Thanks.” She said.

“Don’t you even want to know where I’m taking you?” I said, feeling dumb afterwards.

Alice smiled ruefully. “I trust you not to be a Paedo.”

I laughed. “OK then. I’m going to take you to meet my friends.” I said, taking her hand and dragging her to my car. I took off my jacket and wrapped it around her frail shoulders because she looked so cold in her teddy bear pyjamas. I started the ignition and drove down the dead street.

“Really? You have friends?” She said, tone sceptical.”

“Not nice.” I muttered. She laughed.

“I can’t wait. I bet there all like you.” She giggled.

I raised an eyebrow but I didn’t look away from the road. “Crazy? Weird? Creepy?”

“No…” She went quiet. “Good people.”

I felt the corner of my mouth turn up at her cute comment. It was nice that she thought I was a good person. But it was the medication that made me good. When I didn’t take them, I turned really nasty. Like this one girl, Jessica. I went to a party with her, had too much to drink and forgot to take my pills. I ended up saying some horrible things, like-,

But that won’t happen again. It can’t.

I had told the guys to meet us at the fair, so that’s where I took us. I pulled up in the car park. Michaels dad owned the place and often let us go on the rides at night, even when it wasn’t open. Everyone liked Michael’s dad because he acted like he was sixteen, even though he was at least fifty. I jumped out of the car and hurried to let Alice out. Her eyes shone in the dark as she looked around.