Numb

I walked up the damp walkway, my flip-flops barely protecting my feet, and pushed open the familiar door. The house was moderately loud, and I looked for a familiar face as I clicked the door closed behind me. As I scanned the crowd, I saw Stephen sitting on the arm of one of the couches talking with some friends, and I decided to approach him. The smile on his face quickly faded as we locked eyes, and he excused himself before walking up to me and practically dragging me outside.

“Stephen, what the hell?” I asked tearing my arm from his grip as he shoved me outside.

“You can’t be here,” he said shutting the door behind him, “You need to leave, and not come back.”

“And what gives you the right to say that?” I asked giving him a look like he was crazy, “This isn’t your house!”

“John told me everything,” he said causing my face to falter, “And he’s currently inside, and you shouldn’t be here to ruin his night.”

“And by everything, do you mean how he attacked my lifestyle and treated me like shit?”

“More like he tried helping your druggy self, and you slapped him,” he said giving me a death glare.

“Just because he found cocaine in my purse makes me a druggy? Who says I do it often?” I said standing up straighter.

“Maybe the 20 or so pounds you lost, and your protruding bones,” he said giving me a once over, “So please, just leave, I don’t want to have to ask you again.”

I shook my head, looking down at the ground almost ashamed, and started walking away. I toyed with the sleeve of my seafoam green hoodie, and barely heard the footsteps in front of me. I stopped when I bumped into the mystery person, and muttered a small apology.

“Sorry, I was just leaving,” I said not bothering to look up from the familiar shoes right in front of mine.

“I heard Stephen tell you to leave, you don’t have to,” John said making me look up, “That doesn’t mean I want anything to do with you, but I have a feeling that you’re not doing any drugs tonight, and if staying makes one night drug free, then you’re allowed to.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but he shook his head, merely putting a hand on my shoulder to push me back towards the front door. I finally found my strength, and started walking ahead of him, ignoring the death glare coming from Stephen as I passed, and the harsh whispers he sent in John’s direction. I re-entered the house, and basically booked it towards the kitchen. I smiled at the familiar brothers standing with their backs to me. I walked up behind them, and smacked their butts, causing them to jump in the air.

“Delaney!” the pair practically shouted in unison, before Travis got me in a hug and picked me up off of the ground.

“Travis!” I said hugging him back.

“Awh, what about me?” Terrence asked with a fake pout on his face.

“And my Terrence!” I said jumping into his arms once I had been put down, “So how are you guys, it’s been forever!”

I looked up at the insanely tall brothers, and smiled that they were happy to see me. After we had met at Justin Garza’s house during a party last year, we had become really good friends. They were the people I went to when I was down, and John was out on tour with the band. They pair were also in a band, The Season Premiere, but it was still small enough that they weren’t gone touring for nine months out of the year.

“Just writing, recording, and school,” Travis said earning a nod from Terrence, “What about you? We never get to see you anymore.”

“Just work and school, they keep me pretty busy,” I said with a laugh, “Any new songs for me to hear eventually?”

“Our EP comes out in August, so you’ll definitely be hearing new stuff soon,” Terrence said causing me to smile, “Now, the real question is, are we going to make this one of our normal party nights?”

“I just think it would be wrong if we didn’t,” Travis said with a smirk, reaching for the bottle of tequila, “Shots to a night we won’t remember?”

“Those are my favorite,” I said watching as he poured the liquid into individual shot glasses.

When he was done, he distributed the shots, and we knocked them together before downing the harsh liquid. We all made ridiculous faces after we had swallowed, but it didn’t stop us from deciding we needed another one right away. I rinsed the cups out, placing them on the rack again so other people could use them. I grabbed a beer from the fridge, enjoying it’s easy taste compared to the harsh aftertaste in my mouth and leaned against the counter as I caught up with the Wilson brothers.

I had just polished off my beer, when my phone started ringing in my pocket. I excused myself quickly, and snuck out the back door placing the device to my ear.

“Where are you?” I heard Aubrey’s voice say before I could even say a greeting.

“I’m at an old friends house party,” I said feeling a few drops of rain fall on me, “Why?”

“I thought you were coming to Doug’s with me tonight,” she said, the anger apparent in her voice.

“I just got stuff from him yesterday, so I’m good for a few days,” I said hoping she’d drop the subject.

“Whatever, fuck you,” she said ending the call abruptly.

I looked at the call ended flashing across the screen, and turned my phone off completely, before putting it back in my back pocket. I ruffled my hair a little, before walking back inside, and grabbing another drink from the fridge. I had just put the can to my lips, when Terrence grabbed my hand and excitedly drug me to the living room telling me that we were going to play Just Dance: Michael Jackson on the Wii.

“I think I’m too drunk for this,” I said as we all took our spots.

“Psh, as if,” he said waving his hand, “I’ve seen you dance drunk, it’s better than when you’re sober.”

“And I’ve seen you dance, and it’s not pretty, ever,” I said playfully shoving him.

The two others playing with us told us to stop messing around and that our song was starting. We composed ourselves, and I tried my best to follow the dance that Michael Jackson was doing. Terrence and I kept saying how the moves showing up were a lot harder than what was previewed, and it wasn’t long until our bars went completely red.

“Wait, why does it say back up dancers failed?” I said pointing to the screen, “I thought were Michael.”

“So did I,” Terrence said before both of us burst out laughing, “Are we really too drunk to remember which dancers we picked?”

“Apparently,” I said doubling over while still laughing, “But, I think this calls for more shots!”

He just nodded, still laughing and we stumbled towards the kitchen. I grabbed the familiar green bottle, and poured the black licorice smelling liquid into two of the shot glasses we had used earlier. In our hurry, we didn’t even knock glasses, before throwing the liquid down our throats, followed closely by a shot of whiskey.

After I put the glass down, I could feel my head spinning causing me to lean against the counter for support. Once I could see straight, I made my way to one of the empty chairs in the living room, next to Travis, and started talking to him aimlessly. I wasn’t sure what we talked about, but I know it wasn’t long until I had fallen asleep mid-sentence.