On the Verge

Garrett really wasn’t one for parties. Sure, it was nice to let lose every now and then, but in his opinion, some people just took it way too far. He wasn’t much of a drinker anyway, so parties weren’t his favorite type of social gathering.

What had started out as a small group, drinking and laughing, had turned into a full blown house party. There were people everywhere and there was nowhere for Garrett to escape to. He had managed to keep Pat away from the alcohol, which was a task harder than it sounded.

Finally, he gave up on navigating through the over crowded rooms of the studio house. It was his night for a bed, yet he was slightly terrified to attempt to enter one of the bedrooms. He resorted to hiding on the back lawn.
He shoved his hands in his pockets as he stepped onto the cement patio. He let out a quiet sigh, looking around the confined space. He noticed Micah sitting in a beach chair in the far corner of the lawn. Her back was to him, but he couldn’t help but smile. He bit down on his tongue and started walking towards her. He took a deep breath and studied her as he approached.

She was wearing her heels again, her feet crossed at the ankle. The hem of her skirt was askew, a lot of skin exposed on her upper thighs. When he was a few feet away from her, she turned and smiled when she saw him. From what he could tell, she looked sober. She had applied a fresh coat of lipstick, her red lips contrasting against her relatively pale skin and her white teeth. She had a cup in her hand which she took a quick sip of as he got closer.

“Hey, Gare!” she said with another smile. She moved her feet and patted to the end of the chair, motioning for Garrett to sit down.

He let out a quiet laugh, sitting down with a sigh. “What are you drinking?” he asked, nodding his head towards her cup.

“Just a Jack and Coke.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “Can I just say that Em’s brother is crazy?”

Garrett’s eyes widened. “Oh God, what did he do this time?”

“He was making drinks for people, and he just kept adding more and more alcohol. I tried a sip of John’s and I think there’s a hole in my esophagus now. I spent ten minutes coughing,” Micah explained, rather enthusiastically. All of a sudden, she frowned and slapped Garrett’s arm. “Why aren’t you drinking?”

He shrugged. “Not much of a drinker, really.”

“Party pooper,” she said in a sing-song voice, giggling a bit.

Garrett rolled his eyes. “I am not,” he argued. “Where’s John? I’m surprised he’s not showing you off.”

“I’m not really sure. I kind of slipped away half an hour ago. He’s completely trashed and very handsy. I kind of ditched him,” she admitted, biting her lip.

Garrett smiled, his eyes flickering over her. Sitting this close to her, he noticed things. He noticed the lone freckle under the curve of her right eyebrow, and the chicken pox scar on the underside of her jaw. She turned her head, looking around the empty space of the lawn. She shivered, pulling her knees to her chest, smiling nonetheless as a breeze swept across her skin.

Garrett was, all of a sudden, very thankful that he was sober. He knew that if he was drunk, or even tipsy, he would have made a move, and it would have ended badly. He didn’t know why, but Micah drove him crazy in so many ways. Between the twinkle in her eyes when she smiled and the way her lips formed his name as she spoke, he was completely infatuated with her. He had endured hell when Em had walked in on him Googling her a few days before, and she forced him into admitting his attraction towards her.

“Gare?”

Her words pulled him out of his thoughts and he turned to her. “Hmm?”

“Didn’t you hear me?”

“No, sorry. Lost in thought, I guess,” he said with a nervous laugh. He rubbed the back of his neck, a heat rising to his cheeks. He pushed all thoughts of having her right then and there out of his mind and tried not to stare at her.

“I asked if you miss Arizona,” she told him, toying with the hem of her skirt. She looked up at him, her lips pressed together in a half smile.

Garrett didn’t answer immediately. “LA is definitely different,” he said with a soft chuckle.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Micah teased, her smile widening.

“Fine. I miss some things about Arizona.”

“Such as?” she interrupted.

“I was getting there,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I miss my family, and driving my own car. I miss my bed too. It gets really old trading off rooms every couple of nights.” He paused. “LA’s nice too. It’s a change of scenery. You and Jonah are cool too.”

“Oh, we’re cool, huh?” she asked with a giggle and he only sighed. Smiling at him quickly, she downed the last of her drink.

Garrett couldn't help but laugh and smile. “That's what I said, isn't it.” He grinned at her and she giggled again.

Maintaining eye contact with him, she rose to her feet, her knees shaking a bit as the alcohol flowed through her blood stream. She licked her lips, her eyes working their way over Garrett.

“Well, Mr. Arizona, my glass is empty, so I'm going to go get a refill,” she said, her lips forming a wide smile. She turned and started to walk across the lawn, stumbling a bit in her heels. She paused and turned to face him. “Don't get any cuter when I'm gone!”

“I'll try not too,” Garrett said with a laugh, blushing slightly. He sighed as she disappeared into the house.

Inside the house, Micah nearly had to fight her way to the kitchen. People were everywhere, and the entire house smelled like booze. She bumped into Em's brother, who's tongue was stuck down his girlfriend's throat. She apologized awkwardly, proceeding to the kitchen in search of more booze.

She cursed when she saw someone empty the last of the Coca-Cola into a glass before tossing the empty the empty two liter bottle into the trash. She sighed, looking at the rest of the alcohol selection on the counter. She clicked her tongue, reaching for the bottle of Grey Goose and pouring it into her cup. She returned the bottle to it's former spot and took a sip. She nearly jumped out of her skin when someone's arms wrapped around her from behind. She yelped quietly, spilling a bit of her drink.

“I was wondering where you'd slipped off to,” John whispered in her ear, his voice rough. She could smell the alcohol on his breath, and when she realized it was him, she let out a sigh of relief.

She turned around in his arms and smiled. His appearance was extremely disheveled. His cheeks were red and splotchy, his hair sticking to his forehead. He had a wide, crooked smile on his face and his fingers moved over the clothed skin of her lower back.

“I was in the back with Garrett,” she explained, taking another drink of vodka. He only nodded, looking her over like she was a piece of meat.

“Hey, uhm, why don't we go somewhere?” John suggested, his eyebrows raised and his meaning clear. Micah pressed her lips together, downing the rest of her drink with a quick nod. John winked at her, releasing her to lace his fingers through hers.

She set her empty cup down as he started to lead her through the kitchen and into the living room. They passed the set of doors that led out to the back lawn, and she thought of Garrett, who was still out there, alone. John squeezed her hand, glancing back at her as they continued towards the back of the house.

They reached John's vacant room and John slammed the door behind them quickly. Micah couldn't hold back a tipsy giggle as John pressed her back against the closed door. John smirked at her as she bit her lip, smiling nervously. He leaned down to her, pressing his lips against hers firmly. All she could taste on him was alcohol. He quickly pulled her tank top from the waist band of her skirt, moving his hands up to rest on the bare skin of her back. She could feel her pulse skyrocket at his touch and she tried desperately to suppress a moan as his hands moved higher. He moved her lips from hers, gliding down to her throat. He found her pulse point quickly and took her skin between his lips.

Her knees went weak and he wasted no time lifting her. He swiveled, placing her on the edge of the dresser, his lips still attached to the skin of her neck. She tilted her head back, gripping the fabric of his shirt. He pulled away to tug her tank top over her head and she took advantage of the few seconds and pulled his short off as well. He groaned at the sight of her before kissing her roughly. His hands were positioned in the crevice behind her knee, but they didn't stay there for long, slowly making their way up her thighs, under her skirt.

Swiftly, he moved her from the dresser to the bed, leaning her back gently. He paused to fumble over his belt, looking down at her with a smirk. She quickly slipped out of her skirt, a blush rising to her cheeks as he looked her over. She licked her swollen lips as he leaned over her. He unclasped her bra, pulling the lacy fabric away from her body.

Many hours later, dazed and confused, Micah woke up with a start. She sat up and immediately regretted it. She laid back down, her head throbbing. Her mouth was dry and she felt sick to her stomach. The light streaming through the open curtains was nearly blinding and she groaned, rolling onto her stomach.

She was nude beneath the blankets and alone in the room. She laid there for a few moments, allowing the nausea to pass, before sitting up again. She sighed, looking around the room. She wrapped the sheet around her body, leaving the bed in search of her discarded clothes. She dressed, feeling entirely grungy, and left the room, tip toeing down the hall to the kitchen.

In the kitchen sat Em and Kennedy, who both seemed to be nursing hangovers stronger than Micah's. There was a bottle of V8 on the table in front of them and they each had cups. There heads were in their hands, staring down at the table top.

“Hey,” Micah said, waving awkwardly. The couple only groaned in response. Micah laughed quietly, retrieving her bag from under the sink where she'd hidden in the night before. “Where is everybody?” She reached for the coffee pot, pouring herself a mug.

“Most of the guys are at the studio. Jobe and Cori are in the van...I think. Dree and Stephen slept on the lawn,” Em explained, barely looking up at her. Micah nodded, sipping at the coffee. “You look rough.”

Micah rolled her eyes. She hadn't even dared to look in a mirror after waking up. She was sure her neck was littered with hickeys and her make up was smeared everywhere. Her hair was surely in an ungodly state of disaster.

As Micah padded across the kitchen and slid into the chair across from Em, Garrett emerged from a bed room and entered the kitchen. She immediately slouched, fixing her hair to try and cover the hickeys that surely covered her neck. Garrett stopped when he saw her, frowning. He had a serious case of bed head and his eyes were a bit red. He was shirtless, his sweatpants riding low on his hips.

“What are you doing here? John told me you left last night,” Garrett said, his voice sleepy. She had to tear her eyes away from his frame.

“Uhm, no,” Micah responded awkwardly, wiping the make up from under her eyes.

“Oh,” he grumbled, reaching for a bowl from the cabinet, pouring himself a bowl of cereal. He grabbed a spoon and sat at the table, beside Micah, already taking huge bites.

“So, I honestly can't believe you fucked John Ohh,” Kennedy said with a cheeky grin. Garrett, who was in mid-bite, choked on his cereal and wound up coughing. Once he was able to breathe, he gave Micah a stare of disbelief.

Heat immediately flooded her cheeks, and she looked away from Garrett. Her throat constricted and she took a drink of coffee, trying to act normal. Even her ears were burning as she dared to look back over at Garrett. As soon as they made eye contact, he looked away. Ten seconds later, he stood up abruptly. He put his bowl in the sink, his breakfast half eaten, and walked back to the room from which he came as quickly as his legs would let him.

Micah's jaw tightened and she ran a hand through her hair. “I-I, uh, s-should probably get to the st-studio,” she stammered, rising to her feet. Em nodded to her, giving Kennedy a dirty look.

She grabbed her bag from the counter and made a rush for the door without saying goodbye. Outside, the hot air hit her and she felt nauseous all over again. She got in her car and felt like crying. She searched for her phone and called Piper, biting down hard on her tongue.

“Hey,” Piper said, sounding like she just woke up.

“Pipe?” Micah asked, her voice quivering a bit.

“Yeah, what's wrong, babe?” she questioned, sounding more alert.

Micah took a shaky breath, putting her palm against her forehead. “I made a mistake. I slept with John.”

“You didn't break him, did you?”

“Piper!”

“What, I'm just asking! I mean, the guy's about as big as my pinkie!” Piper said in her defense.

“I don't know why I did it. He just – I just, I don't know. And, and Kennedy mentioned it, and Garrett was there and he's mad,” Micah rambled, her breathing uneven as tears burned in her eyes.

“Mic, calm down,” Piper instructed her best friend. “Garrett's a big boy, and you're a big girl. You can fuck whoever you want, don't feel bad about it.”

“But I do! I don't know why I even did it. He just reminds me of Cain so much, and I was tipsy, and I'm a horrible person.”

“You are not a horrible person! It was a mistake, you admitted it,” she tried to reason with her. She paused. “Where are you now?”

“In the parking lot outside the studio house.” She wiped her eyes in frustration.

“Okay, okay. Just go home, go shower, then go to work. John is going to be there, just be cool.”

The pair talked for a few more minutes, to allow Micah to regain her composure. After hanging up, Micah turned on the car and drove away. She got back to her suite a while later and took one of the longest showers of her life.

Wrapped in a towel, she wiped the steam off the mirror and surveyed her neck. There was a hickey on the underside of her jaw, one on her clavicle, and one on each side of her neck. She sighed, reaching for her tooth brush. She brushed away to taste of old alcohol in her mouth and tied her hair up.

After dressing in a t-shirt and denim shorts, she looked at her phone. She reached for it and went through her contacts looking for Garrett's number. She hit send to call him, but ended the call with a sigh before it even went through.