I Am Invincible

It was fairly warm when I woke up. I was lying in a massive bed in a room that was flooded with sunlight. I didn’t remember being woken up to be taken into my uncle’s house, so I assumed that I was carried in by either Max or Craig. It’s not like it would have been a huge task for them. After all, I’m not exactly heavy; a six-year-old could probably lift me. I rolled over onto my stomach and whined when I felt a pressure on my bladder. I wanted to go back to sleep; I did NOT want to have to get up and find a bathroom when I was still practically a zombie. I tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling for as long as possible until it became unbearable and I jumped out of bed. Glancing at the clock, I realised that it was 11:20am and from what I’d heard from mom, 12:00pm is usually the earliest Max gets up on weekends when he has nothing on (which isn’t often). I groaned, but opened the door of my bedroom anyway and walked out into the wide hall. I had no idea where anything was because I’d never been here before so I wandered a little way down the hall and came to a winding staircase. I didn’t know whether to go downstairs because I had no clue as to where my uncle would be so I stood thinking about it for a minute until I decided that I had to go to the bathroom then otherwise I would’ve been very embarrassed.

“MAX!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. My voice echoed through the whole house.
“What?!” I heard back from somewhere.
“Where’s the fuckin’ bathroom? I gotta pee!”
“You have an ensuite, dumbass.”
“Yeah, but… wait, what? An ensuite? Really?”
“Yes, it’s the other door in your room. You didn’t notice?”

“No…” I muttered before hightailing it back into my bedroom. Sure enough, there was another door about half a metre away from the one I used to exit my room. I flew into the bathroom and relieved myself, sighing in liberation when I was done. I considered going back to bed for a while, but then I realised that I was much too awake to even think about getting more sleep. I grumbled to myself as I looked around my room for my suitcases.

Finding them, I dropped to the floor and searched through them, I dragged out a pair of ripped, white jean shorts from one and a black t-shirt that said “…and your point is?” from the other. After removing my pyjama pants and spraying deodorant under my arms, I threw the clothes on and made my way out of my bedroom, not bothering to do anything with my hair.

Coming once again to the winding staircase, I decided to actually use it this time and I almost fell down the stairs because I wasn’t used to having to twist and turn as well as concentrate on not missing any stairs that would make me fall flat on my face. After getting downstairs in one piece, I wandered around until I found the kitchen, where I saw my uncle sitting at a table with a cup of coffee and doing something on his iPhone.

“Hi, Max,” I said, joining him at the table.
“Hey… find the bathroom?” he teased, and I stuck my tongue out at him and he grinned. “I didn’t know you had your tongue pierced,” he said conversationally.
“Yeah… I got it done the day of my wake-up call. It’s kinda the reason why Zach found out about the drugs…”
“Mm… at least he stuck by you though, I lost a lot of friends when I was using. Your mom was going to knock the shit outta me when she found out… You haven’t had any urges to get back on, have you? With everything that’s happened lately?” I shook my head and he nodded with approval, “Good. Don’t. Stay clean.”
I nodded, and it was silent for a few minutes.

“So, what’s happened with you and Zach? You too were like, inseparable and now all of a sudden you’re not talking. Your parents didn’t tell me anything, just that you need to get away from him…or something.”
“Yeah, we broke up,” I said quietly and Max’s jaw hit the table (not literally, he has a big mouth, but it’s not that big).
“What the fuck? Why?”
“He cheated at a party, got a girl pregnant… yeah,” I told him, looking down.
“Oh my god… So, now what?”
“I don’t know. I still love him, but…”
“Well, if you love him why the hell did you break up? That seems like a pretty dumb move.”
“Thanks,” I replied sarcastically, and then I sighed. “Emilie’s been saying that the whole time, I just haven’t been listening, I was so convinced I was right…”

“You’re a stubborn little bitch, aren’t you? From the way I see it; if you love him, you forgive him… if you don’t love him, you forget him. So which is it?”
“I-I love him.”
“Then forgive him, you’re hurting yourself as well as hurting him,” he said as if it were obvious. “I think you should go home after Christmas – oh, by the way, your mom, dad and Declan are coming here, and so is Jacob – and sort out your relationship with Zach. Besides, you’re going to have to go back to B-more in January anyway; I’m going on tour on the 15th.”

I nodded, and then sighed. “I just don’t know if I can forgive him…”
“Stop being so fucking stubborn, you’re exactly like me. Push your pride away for once and just do it. You’ll be so much happier when you do. I promise. This is going to sound so corny, but you two are meant to be together. I’ve only met the kid a few times, but I can see how he feels about you. Why would a one-night stand change his feelings?”
“That’s exactly what Emilie said,” I said glumly.

“She’s smart. Listen to her,” Max told me. I nodded, defeated. “Now, let’s stop talking about your boy troubles… do you want to go explore California?”
“Yeah!” I shouted, excited.
“Alright. Are you going in that?” he nodded at my body and I figured he meant my clothing ensemble.
“Well, I gotta put shoes on and do my hair, but essentially, yes.”
“Okay. Hey, you want me to call Craig and see if he and Leila want to come?”
“Lei is still at Craig’s house? I thought she would’ve moved out ages ago.”
“She’s only twenty-two, Cameron. There isn’t some law that says you have to move out as soon as you turn eighteen, you know,” Max said teasingly.

“Shut up,” I mumbled and stood up. Max did as well and walked over to the phone that was on the kitchen wall and dialled. I turned and found my way back to the stairs with minimal difficulty. Bounding up them two at a time, I pushed all thoughts of Zach out of my mind. When I found my room, I dug in my suitcase before pulling out a pair of zebra print Converses and shoving them on my feet after putting on a pair of white ankle socks.
I flew down the stairs and was waiting at the front door (when I found it) before Max even got off the phone.

He grinned at me, “Ready? We’re picking Craig and Lei up.”
I nodded enthusiastically and he laughed, opening the front door for me and allowing me to pass. I waited impatiently at the passenger door of his car before Max finally opened it up and allowed me to get in.

I was grinning like a maniac. I couldn’t wait for a day in the sun, thinking of nothing but how beautiful California is, even in the middle of Winter.