Enough (4 page)

The smile spread
ing on his lips told me he was joking.

“That was good.”
I said. He totally had me for a bit.

He let out a
laugh. “It’s just Alex.” He said.

This conversation needs
to end now. Not because I want it to (it needs to) but because the people at Sophie’s party will see us together and it will not be good if Alex is seen with me. No man is safe seen with me.

“
You should probably go in ahead of me. I don’t want them to start saying things about you too.” I slowed my steps and he turned around.

“I don’t care what they say. Come on. We
were just talking.” He said. Then he stopped walking. “I’m not moving.” Alex smiled and pushed his hands deep in his pockets. I looked at him. He’s serious.

“Okay
but I warned you.” I said.

We walked up to the house and the people
outside went silent. They looked at us and as we walked in, they started with the whispers. It’s always like that. I glanced sideways at Alex and shot an “I’m sorry” look.

He smiled and shrugged.
No, it’s not okay.

We parted ways and I found Tiffany in the kitchen.
She had a bottle of Smirnoff in hand. She waved it up to me and I pointed to the freezer. She stuck it in there and came over to me.

“
I see you came in with Alex.” She was smiling and wagging those brows at me, waiting for me to tell her what happened. I’m not going to.

“What kind does
Sophie have?” I asked nodding toward the freezer. “Please tell me she has raspberry or watermelon flavored vodka.”

She looked disappointed at me for changing the subject.

“Um, it was black cherry. I asked if she had more but her parents didn’t like knowing there was alcohol in the house while they were away so they hid it somewhere and she can’t find it. She made her brother buy some booze but he only came back with beer and that.” She pointed to the freezer. “Joey seemed happy that you were coming today. Did you guys date and not tell me about it?” Tiffany asked.

Joe
y is Sophie’s older brother. She told me he had a huge crush on me when we were friends but I was 13 and he was 18 so he didn’t try anything with me. Except a kiss. It only happened once and after that it never happened again. We even talked about it and he didn’t mind. It was in the past. After Sophie and I stopped hanging out, I heard he pushed her into becoming friends with me again. He tried. At least one Woods tried.

“No, he liked me but
it never went anywhere. I haven’t seen him in so long. He must be…twenty-three now. Hmmm, I’m almost eighteen you know. Where is he?” I asked. Yes, I like Alex but he obviously doesn’t feel the same way. A girl has got to move on, right?

Tiffany
spun in a circle as if he would magically appear. “I don’t know. He was right there when you came in. Maybe he thought you were with Alex and ran off. He’s cute. He asked if you drink, hence the vodka.”

Does
he still like me? I’m not looking for a one night stand but it didn’t hurt to try and get back in the dating pool. “Did Bryan come in yet?” I asked. Tiff shook her head and I went to the freezer. I took out the vodka and took a gulp. “Ah…just what I needed.” I drank some more. Since I have a high alcohol tolerance level, I could probably drink a whole bottle of this stuff and not get hammered. Good thing to have at a party. “Did I tell you the wonderful news? My mom is going to take the job in Seattle. I’m either stuck with Mrs. Diaz or go with my family.” I said drinking more.

“The Spencer clan is not leaving.” She said looking away from me. I don’t know who she is trying to convince.
And I love how she calls my family the Spencer clan. My mom’s maiden name is Spencer and since my dad left and never returned, Tiff calls us the Spencer’s instead of the Vasquez’s.

T
hirty minutes later, my eyes wondered to the front door and I saw Bryan coming in. I put the half empty bottle down on the counter and waved him over. I turned to Tiffany, “Don’t tell him about the move. He doesn’t know anything. Okay?” I said.

“Yeah. My lips are sealed.”
Tiff said. Good.

“Finally.
I thought you might chicken out because I turned down your offer to drive me home. What took you so long?” I asked Bryan.

Tiffany got a beer for Bryan and herself.

“The Jeep wouldn’t start. I needed jumpers and nobody was around so I hitched a ride with some football players.” Bryan said. He noticed the bottle of vodka on the counter. He eyed me curiously. “Did you drink that already?” He asked.

“No!” I lied. “I lik
e raspberry or watermelon. I never tried black cherry but since you mentioned it…” I grabbed the bottle and eyed Tiffany. She looked at me weirdly but followed my lead. Sometimes it’s like we can read each others minds. “Hm, not bad.”

Just because
Bryan’s nineteen doesn’t mean he can stop me from drinking. Yeah, he started school late. I don’t mind. We started school together. Hence being best friends. “Don’t look at me like that. You have a beer in your hands. Am I suppose to watch everyone drink and I’m going to be the sober one? Yeah, right.” He knows I’m right.

Tiffany
laughed and dragged me and Bryan to the living room to dance. I miss this house. It has a lot of memories in here. Good memoires. When we were in middle school, we’d come here so Tiffany and I could gush over Joey’s friends. Declan and his group of friends were good looking but they were two years older than us. We wanted much older men to drool over. We were thirteen and older men where like gold to us.

I stretched my fingers out to grab the vodka but Tiffany pulled me harder
into her. One of Miley Cyrus’ songs played ten minutes later and I found that as my excuse to get a drink. I left the dance floor and went back to the kitchen for the vodka. The bottle was nowhere to be found. I looked in the fridge, the cupboards and the trash (I’m desperate) but I couldn’t find it.

“Looking for this, prom queen?” I turned around.
Liam was there, holding my vodka. I eyed it and it had been drunken from. Ugh. There’s no more in the house. “Sorry for drinking some. I saved you this.” He rocked the bottle back and forth.

“It’s not mine so you could have some if you
want.” I said. A girl I’ve seen around school passed by. She took the bottle from Liam’s hands and kissed him on the cheek, “Thanks, Liam. We’re looking for you, come by when you’re done.” Then she walked back were she came from.

“
I’m glad you didn’t need that. What would you like to drink, prom queen?” Liam asked walking over to the cupboards and looking for alcohol.

“There’s none in there.”
I said. He turned around and smiled.

“And how would you know that?”
He asked while he continued to search the cupboards.

“Sophie’s
parents hid everything. They don’t like having alcoho–” He turned around with a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of Bacardi. “Where did you find that?” I grabbed the Bacardi and got a shot glass from the cupboard holding the cups. I know this place in and out. “You want some?”

“Nah
, I’m more of a watcher than a drinker.” He said.

I poured some into the glass and drank. That hit the spot. I poured a few more glasses
for myself until I could feel the buzz starting. That was good. Now I can have some fun and just let go for a bit.

“That’s enough for me.”
I said grabbing a handful of M&M’s from a jar on the granite top counter next to the sink. The Woods’ still keep this lying around. Tiffany and Bryan call me M&M because how much I love them–especially the blue ones–and since they call me Em, it stuck and I don’t mind. Sophie use to call me M&M too.

Liam grabbed the whiskey and poured it into my
shit glass.

“I thought you weren’t a drinker.”
I said.

He thre
w his head back and drank. “Prom queen, you are a bad influence. I couldn’t watch you and not drink.” He winked at me then put the bottles back into the cabinet where he found them. They were hidden on the top shelf. Nobody could have possibly been able to see that. Liam’s tall and from the looks of it, he’s taller than every guy in this house, except Bryan. They look to be the same height.

“Yeah, I’ve been told that before.
You’re still calling me prom queen you know. My name is Emily.” I said.

He brushed past me and leaned
against a counter.

“I know
but a beautiful girl like you deserves to be called many things.” He said with a lazy smile. I don’t know if he’s trying to see if I’ll catch the bait but I’m not a slut. Just because I drink more than I should and I stare at men, doesn’t mean I’m easy. Zach knows that more than anyone. I only slept with him when I felt ready and there was no alcohol involved.

This conversation is now over.

“I know what you’re doing and it’s not going to work. I have to get back to my friends.” I said. I tried walking past him but he moved so he was positioned right in front of me. “Move.”

“I’
m not doing anything. I was just simply stating the truth. I don’t know what you think I’m trying to do but I’m not.” He said moving to the side and opening his arm, gesturing that the path is open.

I walked past him then I
looked back at him and for some reason he didn’t seem to be doing anything wrong. He wasn’t even checking out my ass like most guys do when I walk past. Yeah, he said that stuff but it could have just been something nice. “I’m sorry, but I’ve dealt with guys like that. Maybe you are different but I know what you’ve heard and they’re not true. So don’t think that since I’m drinking something will happen.” I said.

He nodded.
“Didn’t plan on anything happening besides talking. See you around,
Emily
.” With that, he walked over to the group of football players. Where Zach was. I pretended not to notice. Sophie would be close by. Oh wait, I think they had a fight. Someone was talking about it when we were dancing. I think it’s a serious fight this time. Apparently, they’re not talking and they might break up. Not my problem. But why is he here then?

“There you are.
Why did you take so long?” Bryan asked popping up in front of me. He’s never too far from me. Sometimes it’s like he’s a brother instead of a friend. He cares about me too much.

“Just talking to Liam. I was looking for th
e vodka but someone took it. We found Bacardi. Do you want some?” I asked.

“No
. Why didn’t you tell me?” Bryan asked with a look in his eyes. I looked over at Tiffany but she was busy dancing. She told him. Traitor.

“Tell you what?”
I asked acting dumb. He stared at me in disbelief. I can see what’s coming and it hurt. Fuck, he’s going to let me have it.

“That
you’re moving! Were you ever going to tell me? Was I going to go to school one day and not see you there? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Am I not important to you? You told Tiffany!” He said. He’s hurt. He doesn’t ask so many questions like that. Ever.

Bryan
shook his head and turned his back to me, making his way back to Tiffany. I put my hand on his arm and he stopped. “Bryan, please don’t. I didn’t want to tell you tonight. I wanted to have one last party with my friends.” I said. “I wanted to remember us…doing what we always do.”

It’s
my dad’s fault. The fresh start is because of him. God, I hate him so much. We wouldn’t be in this situation is he was just a normal, nice guy.

Bryan
put down his beer on a counter and grabbed my shoulders.

“Emily, we could still have a good time. I
t’s just that I thought we shared everything. I thought…” His eyes widened. “Shit, Em. Put your head back.” I didn’t know what he was talking about until he grabbed a paper towel and brought it to my nose. I looked down at it, cross-eyed and there was blood. Shit. “Come on, let’s go to the bathroom.”

I was starting to feel
lightheaded and a killer migraine was pushing its way through. Just great.

Everyone
was busy drinking so they didn’t notice the blood stained paper towel I’m holding up to my nose. Alex did though. He put down a red cup he was holding and pushed past people until he walked over.

“You okay?”
He asked.

“She’s fine.”
Bryan said.

I nodded my head and leaned
against the bathroom sink’s counter. I was left staring at both Bryan and Alex giving each other the I’m-the-alpha-here look. It was pretty sexy, actually.

A
few minutes later, the blood stopped but the migraine didn’t. “My head is killing me.” I said. I took a step and lost my balance. Alex caught me and a small moan escaped my lips. This is not how I envisioned being in his arms though. “I’m fine. Just need an Advil.”

Bryan
opened the bathroom door. I thought it was funny how both guys I like are locked in a bathroom with me. Can someone say awkward?

Alex held me up
and I noticed his arms were stronger than I thought. It felt nice…being in his arms. “You need to lie down. Did you drink?” Alex asked. I didn’t answer. Yeah, I’m a wreck. “Let’s find a bed.”