The Space In Between(49)

Where was Michelle?
“Bobby, stop it…” I heard hissed from a young girl’s mouth. The voice sounded afraid of the situation before her, and as I turned towards the bathrooms, I saw Michelle pinned against the bathroom wall with Eric’s best friend standing over her.
It looked like he was begging her for something. Asking her for something. It looked shady as hell and I forcefully ripped him away from her.
“Is everything okay, Chelle?” I looked at my cousin, who was so wasted with her mascara smeared under her bloodshot eyes. I wasn’t sure if that was due to the tears, the alcohol, or a mix of both.
She nodded towards me as I watched Bobby run his hands through his hair. “Hey, man, I’m not sure if we actually met during dance rehearsal. I’m Bobby.” He held his hand out towards me. I denied it.
“Yeah, Eric’s best friend, right?” I pulled Michelle towards me and whispered, “You’re drunk. Go sit next to Andie at the bar and get some water. I’ll be right over and then we are going home, all right?” Her doe eyes stared at me, but she nodded in understanding and wandered over towards Andrea with the best drunk-zombie walk I’d ever witnessed. I gave Bobby a short look before heading towards the restroom.
This was one f*cked up town.


Chapter Thirty-One

MY EYES WERE trying their best to stay open as a hot mess Michelle was sitting next to me. She stared into my eyes and for a while there appeared to be two of her…then three…okay, back to two. I apologized to her for not noticing she was engaged, and she informed me that she didn’t want to throw it into my face after the accident. I shrugged and told her I was happy for her and Eric. It was about time, actually. They had been dating since middle school like Derrick and me.
They were meant for each other—everyone knew it. So there wasn’t much of a different road they could have traveled down.
Or so I thought.
“How did you know, Andrea?” she whispered as she laid her head against the nasty, sticky bar countertop. She didn’t care. I didn’t try to stop her. Her eyes were looking at me with real concern and I smirked towards her.
“Know what?”
“That he was the one. That you were ready to spend the rest of your life with him? I mean heck. Am I really ready to settle down for the rest of my life?” She was looking at me, but she wasn’t talking to me anymore. It was as if she were looking through me. Her eyes were heavy with sadness and I couldn’t help but sober up a bit. Tears started falling from her eyes and she was quick to wipe them.
“Michelle…Are you okay?” I was concerned. I’d never seen her in such a state of un-perkiness. Something was seriously wrong.
She blinked and came back to me. She shook her head, put on her bright smile, and laughed loudly. Her typical Michelle laugh. Tossing her hands up in the air she looked towards Colin and yelled, “Two more shots!”
“No more shots. Time to go.” I turned in my chair and stared at Cooper standing over me. He tossed Michelle’s coat to her and held mine up to help me into it. I was still so embarrassed—drunk, but embarrassed nonetheless—by how he had rejected my soda pop offer. I snatched my coat from him and rolled my eyes.
“I can do it myself.”
I watched him frown as Eric stumbled over to us with his arm wrapped around a drunken Ladasha. It appeared he had sobered up quite a bit, but Cooper still said he should drive us all home.
Piling us three girls into the backseat of the car, Cooper and Eric sat in the front. I was lucky enough to ride bitch, also known as sitting in the most uncomfortable seat positioned between Michelle and Ladasha.
“Questions!” Michelle drunkenly screamed. I knew exactly what she was referring to when she said it. I remembered taking many drunken walks, drives, and runs with Michelle where we would always play the game of Questions on our way home. I explained to Cooper and Ladasha that Questions involved asking any question you would probably not ask if you were sober.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Cooper murmured from the driver’s seat. He was really determined to be a party pooper.
“It’s a great idea!” I yelled. “You go first, Michelle.”
“Okay. Question. Is it normal to smell your breath in the palm of your hand and then lick the air to taste it?”
I burst out laughing at the random, stupid question from Michelle. And, all of us except Cooper, cupped our hands, blew into them, and licked the air. Gross.
“My turn.” I smiled and shifted over as Michelle rearranged her body in the car. “Would you rather have a soda pop or a sour lemon?”
Eric smirked. “Who the hell calls it soda pop?”
I glanced at Cooper through the rearview mirror and knew he was looking towards me. He was giving me a stern look—warning me to not push the subject. My heart skipped a beat as I broke eye contact. “I don’t know. Some people.”
Michelle giggled, yawned into my shoulder, and closed her eyes. “That’s the stupidest question ever.” She was fading to sleep—probably the best idea.
“I think this is the stupidest game ever,” Cooper huffed. I’d never seen him in such a bad mood. I wondered what the hell was wrong with him.
“Okay, my turn.” Ladasha turned towards me, smiling as I kissed her nose.
“Could a stripper who was a bit wacky and a teacher who was handsome and smart and charming ever have a shot with one another?”
My heart sank into my stomach as I placed my hand on my chest. “Oh Dasha…” I felt so awful for her, and I looked as Eric turned to stare at her from his seat. Luckily Michelle had fallen asleep. Otherwise this had the possibility to be an extremely awkward situation.