Living on Perfectly Remembered Memories

Matt

I watched as she downed drink after drink. All the times I tried to take away the cup in her hand, she growled and slapped my hand to the point where it stung harshly.

I want to know what happened just before she left to go to this party with me. Franchesa isn't usually the one who drinks when we go to a party. I'm usually the one drinks out of my mind until I pass out. Then, I wake up the next morning with a raging headache in her bed.

By the looks of tonight, she was going to be the one with a raging headache in the morning in my bed. Fran was already on her fifth beer. She wanted me to leave her alone, so I talked to one of my buddies from a distance. Out of my peripheral, I was still watching her though. I watched as she went from angry, to mellow, to pissed off, and sad all before the night ended.

"You know what Ivan, I think I'm gonna go. It's one and I think she's had enough to drink," I sighed, looking at the closest time telling device. That just happened to be the microwave.

He craned his neck over my head and looked at Fran; I just knew he was. He frowned slightly before nodding. "Yeah man, just go. She looks horrible."

We slapped each other on the shoulder and departed ways. I pushed my way through stumbling people and grabbed an unopened water bottle along the way. She finished whatever drink she was on and threw the cup behind her. It hit some girl; that was a nice shot.

I stood in front of her sitting frame, my shadow casting her vision. "Let's go home," I said.

The same swirl of emotions played in her eyes before she closed her eyes and shook her head while saying yes. Franchesa, you are indeed wasted.

We made it out the front door before she put all her weight against my shoulder, tipping me over a little at the sudden impact. "Carry meeee," she laughed, wrapping her arms around my neck.

All was silent in my house once I did my best to open the front door without causing any loud noises. I should have taken Franchesa to her house but I couldn't let her parents and above all, Kenny, see her drunk. Her parents wouldn't be able to take in the fact that their daughter isn't as innocent as they believed her to be. Kenny would follow in his older sister's footsteps and drink too.

It honestly doesn't matter. Her parents would know she was at my house if she wasn't in her room in the morning. We did this after party routine so much that both sets of parents stopped worrying where one of us was.

Halfway up the stairs, Fran decided to wake up and kiss my cheek. It took me by surprise and I almost fell when she did that. She spooked me!

"Your eyes are pretty, they aren't ugly at all," she whispered.

"Thank you?" I asked more than thanked.

When I stepped into my room, I finally breathed and relaxed a little. The coast was clear so we wouldn't get into any trouble if anything.

I closed the door with my foot and walked over to my king size bed. I remember all the times I had to sleep over at Fran's house from drinking too much. Her bed was always too small so instead of me getting sleep, we had a pushing war to get all the space on her bed. I always lost. Yes, it's sad. Yeah, shut up.

I placed her down on one side of the bed, taking off her sandals. I stood back a few inches and watched as she slept. She looked peaceful and happy in her sleep. That wasn't going to be the case in the morning.

It was close to three in the morning. That was my cue for an early shower. It would be easier to take all the time I wanted in the shower now before dad. He always fought with me for the bathroom in the mornings for no reason.

The hot water ran down the back of my neck to the rest of my body. For now, I was going to let the water smooth out my tense muscles. Then I re-thought what happened tonight.

Something had to have happened before I picked her up. She was so angry; her face was red. I doubt she had an argument with her parents. She would've told me if that was the case. And for the life of her, she could never get angry with Kenny. She loved him way too much and had too much patience with him.

The only person left that made sense was Rafael. Ha, I knew he wasn't the perfect knight in shining armor! If he is the cause of her anger, I'm going to have to teach him a lesson. No one upsets my best friend so horribly she has to drink to forget things.

I grinned to myself at all the things I could do to hurt the boy. What Fran doesn't know won't hurt her. I found her sitting upright on my bed, eyes half closed. I wiped my chest with my towel and threw it somewhere in the corner of my room.

"You should be asleep," I whispered, climbing into the bed. I folded my blanket to create a barrier between us since she was defiant on the touchiness.

"Hey Matty?" she whispered. I looked into her green eyes. "I'm in love with you," was what she said before her head hit the pillow and she went back to sleep.

I ran back into the bathroom to take another shower, a cold one.