The Rest of the Story(87)

“Isn’t this AWESOME?” Taylor shouted in my ear a little while later. We’d started dancing just by ourselves, then pulled in the other two girls who’d been moving solo as well as April, who was now doing the bump with vigor. The room suddenly felt packed with sweaty, moving bodies, the music barely audible, even though the speaker was right there.

I nodded—it was too hot to speak—taking a swig from my third (fourth?) beer before pressing it to my temple. The taste wasn’t bothering me anymore: really, nothing was. There was just the music and Taylor swaying in front of me, barefoot now, her own hair sweaty and sticking to her neck. I closed my eyes, thinking of my dad on the boat that day, shouting out orders to me when he knew I hated sailing. Telling Bailey my name was Emma, not Saylor.

“Whoa,” I heard someone say, just as I realized I was stumbling and had bumped into the person behind me. I opened my eyes, but still felt dizzy as I stopped where I was to get my bearings. So hot. So loud. I pressed my can against my face again, but it was warm. And empty.

“There you are,” said another voice from behind me, but this one was familiar. That said, I didn’t realize it was Bailey specifically until I turned around to see her there. She had on a black maxidress, her hair pulled back, silver hoops hanging from her ears. “I’ve been looking all over!”

“We’re dancing,” I said, grabbing her hand. I went to spin, still holding it, feeling a flush creep up my neck—it was so hot—but then got tangled as she just stood there, elbow rigid, looking at me. “What?”

“Are you drunk?” she asked.

“No,” I said automatically. “I just had one. Or two.”

“Still two more than I’ve ever seen you drink,” she replied as I dropped her hand, moving into a shimmy as Taylor did the same beside me. “Let’s go get some air.”

“I’m fine,” I said, making a point to e-nun-ci-ate this carefully. “I’m just having fun, like you have basically every time we’ve gone out.”

“Yes, but that’s me,” she said, eyeing me as I stumbled. Wait, was I drunk? Suddenly I wasn’t so sure. “Saylor. Come on. Now.”

She sounded strict, like a mother. Although not my mother. If anyone could understand blowing off a little necessary steam, it was Waverly. “I’m fine,” I told her. “Since when are you the party police?”

“Since I found you drunk for the first time, like, ever,” she said. And then, without another word, she grabbed my wrist and started to literally drag me toward the back door. Immediately, I resisted, surprising myself, yanking my arm from her. A bit too hard, as it turned out, because it flung back behind me, whacking Taylor, who was doing some low-down twist move, right in the face. I felt her eyebrows.

“OUCH!” she yelled, over the music and all the noise.

“Oh, sorry,” I said, “I didn’t mean—”

“Saylor.” Bailey had me again, this time so tightly I knew there was no point in fighting her. “Let’s go.”

I went, although I told myself it was my choice. When we neared the kitchen, where Roo and Hannah were, I tried to stop, wanting to collect myself. But the momentum worked against me, suddenly and surprisingly, and just like that, I was down.

“Oh, shit,” Bailey said as I hit the floor. In the next beat, a wave of dizziness hit me, just as I was trying to get up again. Maybe better to stay where I was, I thought. The tile was actually kind of cool. Above me, I heard Bailey say, “Can I get a little help here?”

“What’s wrong?” a boy’s voice said. Roo. I needed to get up. Off the floor. I was on the floor, right?

“Drunk,” Bailey said flatly. “Help me get her outside.”

After all of Bailey’s dragging me and literal arm twisting, what happened next was smooth and quick: I felt hands beneath my arms, and then I was on my feet. But only briefly, because they didn’t seem to want to hold me. Luckily, I collapsed into someone’s side. Oh, right. Roo.

“Careful there,” he said, locking an arm around my waist. “One foot in front of the other.”

“I’m fine,” I said.

“I know.” Then, loudly, he said, “Make way, you guys! Coming through!”

Somehow, we got to the back door. I wasn’t sure of the specifics because I kept my eyes closed, due to the fact that this was super humiliating. Also, I was suddenly feeling a tiny bit sick. I just need air, I told myself, and a second later, like a wish granted, I felt myself surrounded by it.

“Where are we going?” Roo asked before pausing briefly to scoop up my legs so he was carrying me outright. “Just on the porch?”

“Let’s go down to the dock,” I heard Bailey say. She sounded far away. “Just so we have some space to think.”

At first when I got outside, I could hear voices and music, the party still close by. Now, though, we were moving away, all of it condensing to a distant hum beyond Roo’s footsteps. Finally, he put me down.

“Ah,” I said, spying the water nearby and reaching out to dip my hand in. Again, though, I misjudged my own weight and felt myself starting to tumble, until someone grabbed me by my hair. “Hey, OUCH that hurts!”

“Too bad,” Bailey said, pushing me into a sitting position. Then she bent down in front of me. “What are you trying to do? Drown while we watch?”