My eyes fluttered around Clint’s face. He kept swaying. Teetering. Like he couldn’t even keep himself upright. Allison and Michael kept talking around us, but I wasn’t paying them any attention.
“Where you in a fight?” I whispered.
He slowly looked over at me, and the pain behind his eyes stabbed me in the gut. Tears rushed my eyes and freely poured down my cheeks as he looked away. His shoulders hunched. He looked absolutely defeated. And as I sat there, wondering how the hell this night had careened so far out of control, I tried with all my might to conjure what I had said to him.
But I came up with nothing.
“There it is!”
“Over here!”
“Hey, hey, hey. Slow down! It’s us!”
Allison and Michael started yelling before a car pulled up in front of me. My head fell back as someone helped me up. I didn’t know who. A car door opened and I felt my body falling against a seat. Allison kept cursing to herself as my head fell onto someone’s shoulder. I wasn’t registering anything. I couldn’t even remember what color the damn car was. Why did my throat hurt so badly? Why was my chest sore?
“Fuck,” I groaned.
Michael rattled off the address to the hotel before another door closed. I heard the locks flip, and I nestled into the person next to me. My eyes wouldn't open. My body couldn't prop itself up a second longer. I felt myself falling in and out of sleep. Trying to find relief as the car’s swaying lulled me into a peaceful slumber.
I woke up to my shoulder being shaken. My head jerked up as my arm slid around someone’s shoulders. Allison groaned as she pulled me out of the car, and my feet stumbled underneath me.
“You’re going to have to help just a bit here, Rae.”
I snickered. “I’m trying. But I can’t.”
“Yeah, well. Story of your life, I guess.”
I scoffed. “We can tuck in the attitude a bit.”
“You first.”
“Why the hell is everyone so mad at me right now?”
Michael butted in. “Because had it not been for you and your asinine tricks, Clint wouldn't have started drinking to forget shit.”
“Oh, so you're mad at me, too, now?”
“Yeah, I am. Because a night that was supposed to be fun for all of us was ruined because you decided, out of the blue, that you wanted to be alone. Which is fine, if you had fucking come alone, Rae. Now, let’s get you in the room.”
I rolled my eyes. “What the hell ever, asshole.”
Allison sighed. “Save it for the morning when you’re sober.”
The hotel door crashed open and the next thing I knew, I was being piled into a bed. My eyes fell open and the ceiling circled around. Twisting and turning as my stomach started rolling again. I clenched my eyes shut. I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes. I tried to shake this terrible feeling in the pit of my gut. And as Clint’s groans hit my ears, I felt the mattress jump with the force of his fall.
“All right, can you two hear me?”
Michael’s voice filled my ear and I nodded along with Clint’s grunt.
“Good. We’re not changing rooms. I’m going to sleep with Allison, and the two of you are going to fix this on your own. Rae, had you not been an absolute bitch, none of this would’ve happened. I don’t know what the hell’s wrong with you lately, but figure it out.”
I snickered. “The tough guy act doesn’t sound good on you.”
Allison interjected. “I don’t care what you think. All I care about is you two fixing things. Whether you stay together or break up before college starts, you need to figure it out. You’re making everyone miserable, and that’s not okay.”
I furrowed my brow. “Break up with Clint? What?”
Clint sighed. “Don’t act like it’s news.”