Page 55

CARSON

Nylah walking out of my bedroom in tears is haunting me.

Her pitiful whimper runs on repeat in my mind, and no matter how much fucking alcohol I down, I can’t seem to get her out of my head. The music blaring at this party isn’t working. I keep asking them to turn it up, but it won’t drown out her whimper.

Fuck. I need to drown it out.

I can’t hear her anymore.

I can’t watch her falling onto my bedroom floor.

I can feel her delicate face against the backs of my fingers.

I hit her.

I fucking hit her!

“Carson.” Someone slaps my cheek, but I can’t open my eyes.

My head weighs a ton. My eyelids have been glued shut. Who the fuck would do that to me? Assholes.

“Carson!” The hand slaps my cheek a little harder, and I manage a soft groan.

“Well, at least he’s alive.”

“Shit,” someone huffs. “Help me get him up.”

“What’s he had?”

“I-I don’t know. Did you…? Hi…”

A girl giggles, and I hear a soft grunt.

“She’s wasted too. Should we take her?”

“And put her where?”

“She’s with me,” a distant voice calls. It’s a girl. She’s getting closer. Louder. “I’ll take her home.”

“Are you wasted too?”

Another girlish giggle, but this sound is different to the other one. “Just one little bomber. I’m fine.”

“Fuck, this whole party’s high. Who organized this shit?”

“I don’t know, but we’ve got to get Carson out of here.”

Another deep sigh, and then hands are tugging at me. I grunt, trying to open my mouth and protest, but nothing’s happening.

Stop! Let me go! I shout, but I’m silent. Why can’t I form words?

“Oof!” I let out a weird yelp as my body is thrown over something. My limbs start to sway as I’m carried somewhere.

Where are you taking me?

I don’t want to go.

Let me stay in oblivion.

Just let me forget everything.

“He’s so fucked. What the hell happened after he left practice today?”

“I don’t know, but Sen told me that Nylah left the house in tears.”

Nylah! Why’s she crying? I have to go and help her!

I grunt, trying to wrestle against the hands that are biting into my arm and leg. But my limbs feel like Jell-O. I’m having zero impact as I’m carried away from the thumping beat and then thrown down on a flat surface.

What is this?

Lemme go!

“Maybe they broke up?” A sad voice filters through my panicked shouts.

“They shouldn’t have really been together in the first place. Coach made it clear.”

“You don’t always get a say in who you fall for,” someone grumbles.

“I like her. She seems cool.”

“She does. And Carson definitely seemed better when they were together, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” two voices say together.

“Shit, he’s gonna be wrecked.”

“He is wrecked. Look at him.” Someone pats my leg. I try to jiggle it and shake them off, but who the fuck knows what my body’s doing.

“We’ll have to keep a closer eye on him.”

“How? I didn’t even see him leave the house this afternoon.”

“Well, we’re gonna have to keep tabs on him somehow. If that girl hadn’t been sending pics of the party, trying to get me to come, I never would have seen him lying in the background. It’s a fucking miracle I spotted him.”

Doors open and then slam shut.

I groan, my head pounding and throbbing, making me wish for death.

Someone lifts my head onto their lap. “Do you think he needs to go to the hospital? Get his stomach pumped? Or be put on an IV drip or something?”

“I don’t know.”

There’s a long pause, and then someone sighs. “Let’s just get this asshole home. We’ll take shifts and monitor him throughout the night. We’ve done it before; we can do it again.”

Why bother?

Just let me go in peace, guys. It’ll be better for everyone that way.