Four Doors Down(8)

Charlie reaches out and tugs me over to him. The sudden movement makes me dizzy and I crash into his side.

Ryan narrows his eyes. “How much have you had to drink?”

I ignore him.

“Seriously, Becca, you’re wasted, you should go home. I can give you a ride if you need one.”

I’m distracted by Charlie leaning into my body and whispering in my ear. “You know, we probably should go and find a bedroom.” I can’t help a smile crossing my face, and I let him lead me away, turning away from Ryan.

“Becs?” This stops me in my tracks. No one calls me Becs anymore. In fact, the only person who ever did was Ryan back when we were little. I look back at him.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I can’t read his facial expression.

I nod, then follow Charlie up the stairs.




I’m lying on the front lawn of Zara’s house, staring up at the sky. Wow, there are a lot of stars out tonight. I try to stand, but everything seems to start spinning, so I give up and sit back down.

“Becca?”

I look up to where the noise is coming from and see Ryan standing in front of me, staring down at me. I look away, too drunk to even bother responding.

“What are you doing out here on your own?”

“Go away, Ryan.”

“Where’s your boyfriend?”

Ah yes, Charlie. Right after we’d finished upstairs, he got a phone call from his band who had managed to score a last minute gig in the next town if Charlie could make it. He immediately agreed and asked me if I could find my own way home. To be honest, I’d actually been expecting to go with him and had been a bit surprised when he’d made it clear I wasn’t invited. I’d just nodded and then was suddenly left on my own. I’d made a half-hearted attempt to find Sam but had soon realized the time; it was past her curfew and she was probably already at home. I even vaguely remember her trying to say goodbye when I’d been wrapped around Charlie. So I decided to do the sensible thing and go sit in the garden and try not to fall asleep.

“Becca? Are you even listening to me?” Ryan asks, sounding frustrated.

“Go away, Ryan,” I manage to mumble. It’s actually pretty hard to concentrate when you’ve drunk as much tequila as I have tonight.

“Are you on your own?”

“Yes!”

He holds his arm out toward me. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

I glance at his arm and look away. “I’m fine.”

“Come on.”

“Go away! I don’t want you anywhere near me!” I snap venomously. I really cannot be bothered with him right now. I have zero time for him at the best of times.

I see anger flash in his eyes, but he doesn’t move. “How else are you gonna get home?”

Good question. I hadn’t really thought about it. “Jake?”

“Jake’s pretty busy right now,” he replies smirking. Ew. I don’t want to think about what Jake’s busy doing.

“I’ll get a cab,” I state decisively.

“You’ve got cash?”

Right, money. I haven’t got much cash on me and I don’t even know where I am to call for a cab.

“I’ll call my parents.”

Ryan actually laughs out loud at this. “If your dad see’s you like this he’ll ground you for a month.”

He has a point. My dad can be pretty strict, especially where underage drinking is concerned. I sometimes forget that Ryan knows my parents. Still, I’m not going with him. No way.

He sighs at me in annoyance. “Come on,” he says impatiently. “I can’t leave you here.”

I shake my head and can feel my eyes starting to close. They soon fly wide open because before I know it, Ryan has knelt down and hoisted me up onto his shoulder in a sort of fireman’s carry.

“Okay, okay,” I say, struggling to get out of his hold. “Just put me down.”

He complies and I scowl at him. Was that really necessary? We reach his car and he opens the door for me, practically shoving me into the seat. He reaches into the back seat and pulls out a bottle of water. “Drink this,” he demands, shoving it into my hands. I sigh but do as I’m told. Settling into his seat, he starts the engine and quickly pulls away from the curb.

We drive along in silence, mainly because I don’t like him and have no desire to get into a conversation with him, but it also occurs to me that I haven’t had a proper conversation with Ryan in years. I don’t have a clue what to say. That, and the fact that I’m concentrating hard on keeping my head still so that the spinning will stop.

“How long have you been seeing that guy for?” he eventually asks.

I shrug. It’s been nine weeks and four days, but I’m not about to admit it.

“I just thought you were smarter than that is all. Running off to a bedroom with some random guy that dumps you at a party when you’re in this state.”

Random guy? He’s my boyfriend! Well if he thinks that’s dumb, I probably shouldn’t mention that all the bedrooms were full so we ended up doing it in a large closet next to the bathroom. “Um, he didn’t dump me. He thought I had a ride,” I snap.

“Well, he clearly didn’t bother to check.”