Saved By You (7 page)

I was going to be doing a lot more of that very soon. Like Mom had said, there was no reason to pretend that things were all going to be alright. She was going to die, and then it would just be me on my own.

Sarah came back with two small glasses in her hands. She set one in front of me, cautiously.

“What’s this?” I asked. I poked at the drink with a finger, and watched the amber liquid swirl around inside.

“Nothing too fancy, but it’ll get the job done,” she said. My eyebrows raised. “It’s whiskey—on the rocks.”

My eyes went wide. “Whiskey’s pretty strong, isn’t it?” I said.

She shrugged. “Like every drink, you get used to it.” She looked at hers, nervously, then looked back at me. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

I opened my mouth like I was about to say something, but I didn’t. Finally, I gave her a little nod, then picked the glass up.

Sarah stared at me for a second, then she lifted her glass next to mine.

“To us,” I said, giving her a half smile. Her lips quivered at the corner, but she didn’t say anything. I brought the glass to my lips, and the scent of it hit me before I could take a sip. “Wow,” I said, pulling my head back. “It’s got quite the smell.” Sarah watched me, but she didn’t say anything. I let out a soft laugh, then said, “Bottoms up.”

With one quick motion, I lifted the glass to my mouth and drank as much as I could. There was a split second delay between when the cold liquid hit my tongue and when the taste of it punched me in the face. I sputtered and coughed, but kept drinking. I didn’t stop drinking until the only things in the glass were the cubes of ice.

Fire roared down my throat and into my belly. And when it had made its way to my center, it began branching out. The numbness that was in my chest buzzed out through my arms to my fingertips, and down through my legs to my toes. I stared at the empty glass on the table as it buzzed up through my head before settling itself.

A few more coughs escaped me, but my eyes remained locked on the glass. Sarah studied me for a long time, not bothering to even take a sip of her drink.

“Are you alright?” she asked after a time.

I gave her two huge nods.

“That packs quite a punch,” I said. “But… I think it’s good.”

Her eyes narrowed, and she lowered her drink to the table after giving it a cursory glance. After a few seconds, she grabbed her phone and checked the time.

“Huck should be here any minute now,” she said.

I shrugged a shoulder. Heaviness was already making my head feel thick.

“No rush,” I said. “Nowhere to be tonight.” My eyes sunk down to her glass, still sitting on the table untouched. “Did you change your mind?” I asked.

Sarah looked from me to the tumbler. She studied it for a second, as though she were considering it for the first time.

“You can have it, if you want,” she said, looking back up at me.

My lips pursed in a soft whistle.

“I don’t know if I’m ready for that, yet,” I said. “The first one still burns a little.”

She nodded her head slowly. “They do that, at first,” she said. She looked at her phone again, as though it was possible she missed something in the last thirty seconds.

“What’s going on with you two, anyway?” I asked. “One minute you’re telling me that you two broke up, and the next he’s coming back around again.”

She shrugged her shoulder. “We’re still best friends,” she said.

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, but are you
together
?” I asked. “What’s going on with the whole college situation?”

Sarah and Huck had hit the ground running like a bat out of hell. They had gone from being best friends to being in a relationship in a heartbeat. But, while the transition might have happened overnight, it had been years in the making.

The family was happy about it - especially Grandma. Huck was a good guy. The kind of guy that you didn’t want to let go of once you had him. He put a smile on Sarah’s face, but most importantly, he treated her like she was a princess. That was how Haden had treated me, at first. But it had all turned out to be a lie.

For all the sparks and fireworks that were set off when Huck and Sarah got together, things had fizzled just as quickly. Perhaps fizzled wasn’t the best way to describe it, because the chemistry between them was undeniable. But, life has a way of messing things up, and Huck had been accepted to his dream school - Brown. Sarah had never even thought about leaving Texas before. At least, not until she realized Huck was going to be running off to Providence, Rhode Island.

Sarah gave me a determined look. “I’m going to apply to some schools out east,” she said. My head dipped back, and surprise washed over me.

“Really?” I said. “That’s a pretty big deal.”

She nodded, quickly. “It’s important, though. Isn’t it? Huck’s my first real boyfriend, and… he means a lot to me.” She said the last part almost to herself, as though she had realized something for the first time.

“So you’re going to follow him cross country?” I asked.

“You make it sound like a bad thing,” she said. “It’s not like I’m just dropping everything to be with him. I’ll still be going to school. I’m just not ready to let things end already.”

“What are your parents going to say?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “If it’s important enough for me to take this seriously, then I think they’ll understand, too.”

I gave her a lopsided grin. The alcohol was already making my face tingle, and I found myself enjoying it.

“Well, that’s a reason to drink if I’ve ever heard one,” I said. She looked at her full glass still sitting on the table, but didn’t make a move for it. I watched her for a second before continuing. “You know, this Romeo and Juliet plan you’ve got going on is romantic, but I think your parents are going to freak out when you tell them.”

Sarah got a nervous look in her eye and the blood drained from her face. She looked like she was about to say something, when we were interrupted.

“What’s this about a plan?” someone said.

Sarah’s eyes locked on me, frozen in panic. Huck slid onto the empty seat at the table and gave us both a huge grin. He looked between us, confident and beaming at first, then nervous.

“Did I miss something?” he asked, turning to Sarah.

“Oh, nothing,” I said, covering for her. Heat was rushing to my cheeks, but I wasn’t sure if it was because I was blushing or if it was because of the alcohol.

Huck narrowed his eyes at me, but leaned in and gave Sarah a kiss on the cheek.

“Everything alright?” he asked her. “You’re pale.”

She waved a hand, quickly. “It’s nothing,” she said. Her fingers tapped together as she stared at the table, unable to look him in the eye.

I grinned at her, foolishly. She was in a nervous panic at the thought of Huck overhearing something he shouldn’t have. I couldn’t quite put my finger on the reason, but, right then, it was the most hilarious thing in the world. A giggle escaped me, and Huck leveled his suspicious stare back at me.

“Have you been drinking?” he asked, seeing the empty glass in front of me for the first time.

I shrugged. “Just one drink,” I said.

His face scrunched up. “But, I thought you didn’t drink at all.”

I shrugged a shoulder and held my palms out.

“Nothing stays the same,” I said.

He frowned at me, but didn’t say anything else. I let my gaze wonder over the crowds of people filling the bar. In the few minutes that we’d been there, more people had already begun to pack the place. The dance floor wasn’t as empty anymore, and I had a hard time seeing through all the groups of people between me and the bar.

A pleasant warmth spread through me, and, for the first time all day, I was content to just sit there and stare off into nothing. It was like my brain had decided to turn itself off for a little while. It was perfect.

The last day had been a wild ride, and a little mental vacation time was exactly what I needed. First, everything had happened with Haden. I had given him my virginity, only to find out that he had been lying to me since the day I met him. Then, everything happened with Mom. If there was ever a person that deserved a drink right then—it was me.

“You’ll never guess who pulled into the parking lot just ahead of me,” Huck said, then, breaking the simple blissfulness of my thoughts.

Just as I was about to ask what he was talking about, there was a parting in the crowd between me and the bar. It occurred to me that it must have been something like Moses parting the Red Sea. My eyes locked onto something—someone—and I knew what Huck was talking about.

Haden stood against the bar, leaning into it. He was wearing a tight, black, button-up shirt, and one of his usual pair of tight blue jeans. Muscles twitched in his arms as he leaned forward and ordered a drink.

For a second, the fuzziness in my head intensified. My eyes leered at him in a lustful way, forgetting everything that had happened between us. He looked sizzlingly hot standing here. Visions of his body pressing down on me flashed in my mind. I could see myself with him, again. I remembered the feel of his body as he twitched and convulsed against me.

Beads of sweat bristled to my forehead. My eyes didn’t want to look away—they couldn’t look away. For a long second, there was nothing else in that bar except the two of us.

“Who’s that?” Sarah said, her voice cutting through the haze.

I shook my head, trying to focus.

A girl leaned into him at the bar, whispering something in his ear. He smiled at her, and whispered something back, and she laughed. A finger ran through her hair as she looked up at him, and his eyes focused on her too long for my liking.

Heat boiled to my forehead, now. In one fluid motion, I grabbed Sarah’s drink from the table and drank it all. The warm liquid flowed through me, but the liquid fire wasn’t as hot this time. I slammed the empty glass on the table, letting out loud crack. Sarah and Huck jumped, startled by the loud sound.

Sarah’s eyes locked on mine, curious and horrified. “Do you know who that is?” she asked.

I shook my head.

“No,” I said, low and threatening. “But, I’m going to find out.”

My feet were heavy as I slid off the stool. They were even heavier when I picked them up and tried to make them work for me. I grew frustrated that they weren’t doing what I told them to do.

“Maggie, what are you doing?” Sarah asked. She jumped around Huck and came to my side.

“I’m going to go find out who that is,” I said, jabbing a finger toward the brunette with her hands all over Haden.

“This isn’t a good idea, Maggie,” Sarah said, her voice concerned. “You’re not thinking straight.”

“I’m thinking just fine,” I said, my voice rising in pitch. “I’m thinking that Haden has a little girl on the side already.” My eyes narrowed at him. “I’m just going to go meet Slutty McSlut-Slut and give them both a piece of my mind.”

I put one foot in front of the other, forcing myself to remain upright with each step. The asshole had told me he loved me only a few hours ago, and now he was already out with someone new. I didn’t realize I could be replaced so easily. She was some exotic looking thing with long, brown hair and even longer legs. I had long legs, why wasn’t he there with
me
?

Almost there, keep it together.

Something snagged my foot, and I nearly tripped. Sarah grabbed my arm, and held me upright, but not before I let out a yelp of surprise. Haden must have heard it, too, because his head jerked around, and his eyes locked right one me.

“Maggie?” he said, his brow pinching together. He studied me for a long second, as I tried to pull myself together. My legs were wobbly, but I straightened them in an authoritative way. “Maggie, what are you doing here?” he said.

“What am
I
doing here? What are
you
doing here,” I said, jabbing a finger at him. My eyes were a little blurry, but I was pretty sure the girl was looking at me, too. I thought I saw a smile form on her lips, and my face pinched together. “And who’s your little friend here?” I said. “Was I not good enough for you?”

This time I was sure I saw things clearly. The girl let out a laugh, but tried to turn her head and cover it up. She had high cheeks, and a narrow jawline. I wondered how she held herself upright with those giant boobs weighing her down. I bet they were fake.

Haden glanced at her nervously, then back at me.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” he said. “We’re just getting a drink.”

“
We
?” I said, my voice sharp.

The girl turned and looked at him, her head tilted towards me.

“
This
is Maggie?” she said, sneering.

Rage boiled in me, and if Sarah hadn’t been holding me in place I probably would have launched myself at her. I could take her. She might have been taller than me, but she was all tits and ass. Besides—I was from Jersey.

Haden shot her a dangerous look before turning back to me.

“It’s not what it looks like,” he said, again.

“Nothing ever is with you. Is it?”

He studied me for a long moment, then glanced back over my shoulder. I saw Sarah give him a nervous wave of the hand from the corner of my eye. Something passed between them, but I couldn’t tell what.

“Have you been drinking?” he asked, looking back at me.

“That’s none of your business,” I said.

“Has she?” he asked, looking over my shoulder again.

“Hey,” I said, snapping my fingers. “Back here. Remember me? The girl you professed your love for over lunch?”

Sarah put a hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off. My legs wobbled as I did, but I steadied myself. Sarah’s hand tightened under my arm.

“She may have had a little bit,” she said.

“I can handle this,” I said to her in a low voice.

Haden gave me a long look before he leaned in a bit closer.

“Let’s go sit down,” he said. “You’re making a scene.”

I looked around, noticing the small gathering of people that had formed a circle around us. But, I didn’t care. I didn’t care if they saw what was going on. Everyone should know exactly what kind of scum Haden was—before he went of and preyed on another innocent victim.