Page 34

I kept the windows open and sat down on the bed, the sheets soft and cool. It made my skin tingle. I lazily stretched out on the bed, which was large enough for a soccer team.
More than enough for two people.
Shaking my head at the dirty thoughts, I slid the blankets over my body, wondering what was Khalid doing at that hour.Maybe taking a relaxing shower before sleeping?
“You are being rude, Valeria!” I scolded myself, hiding my flaming face in a pillow when thoughts of Khalid wet with water filled my head.
I hoped that I could survive another day with him. Alone and naked in his art studio.
* * *
I could hearhissoft voice in my room, his new shoes shuffling as he looked around my closet while I frowned on the bed. “Come to the party with me.”
Even though I had already denied, he was always insistent. The familiar scent of citrus overwhelmed me. I could feel him looming over my bed. “Come on, Val. you know it’s going to be fun. Everyone from our high school is going.”
He knelt down, my cheeks warming at his attention. The golden boy of the school, my close friend, my crush, gazing at me.
“I will be with you,” he whispered. “I promise.”
I fumbled in the darkness, grabbing his hand, my cane in my other hand as I tried to pull the sleeve of an oversized shirt I had worn over the dress he had chosen for me. The stench of cheap beer was strong. The bustling of people, the taste of acid and smoke in the air.
He laughed with his friends when I coughed, taking a small drag, but brought me a cup of something bitter and strong.
“Here, drink this. It’s beer and sprite.”
I felt dizzy.
My head rolling as I moved between the bodies, trying to make sense of the world. Of the universe.Is this what being drunk feels like?It’s fun. I felt loose. Almost unhinged.
I giggled, my arms and body swaying with others to the loud music. He told me colorful neon lights were all around us. That my red hair looked purple and my skin looked green. I had almost forgotten how colors looked. I burst into laughter when he said, ‘Like an alien.’
So alive.
I felt lightheaded and free. As if my soul was out of me, floating in the ceiling until I fell.
Butheheld me. He never let me fall down. He always protected me.
“Come with me, you can rest here.”
The stench of sweat and alcohol surrounded us. I was floating even though my feet felt heavy. I told him I didn’t feel so good, I wanted to go home and sleep for a week straight.
Of course I didn’t feel so good. I never had alcohol before. I tried to call Mr Benjamin, but I was slurring my words, and I didn’t want him to worry. He told me to keep my phone down and rest on the bed. That he would look after me. Make sure no one entered the room.
I followed his advice like a lost puppy. Massaging my head, I flopped down on the bed. The sheets smelled of orange detergent. I told him that, laughing and clutching my stomach.
Floating and bobbing in the endless darkness, I thought,so naïve, so stupid.
The reek of beer brushed over my face, the warm fingers inching my dress up.
What are you doing?I mumbled sleepily, and it felt like I was speaking another language.
Everything felt foggy and suffocating and constricting. I couldn’t speak because my tongue was heavy, my mouth too dry. My limbs were tired with exhaustion, or maybe the alcohol.
Sh, it’s okay, Valeria. Fuck, you’re so hot. He whispered back, holding down my wrists when I tried to bat his hands away.
It was of no use.
It was really happening. He was—