Take Me To Another World

As I sat on my bed trying to calm down, I heard the trail of mutters flitting through the crowd through my open window. After about an hour, I heard some guests leaving. When I checked that everyone had left, a few hours later I crept downstairs. I found my dad in the garden clearing away the barbecue. I looked around the house for my mum, but it wasn't until the second time that I'd checked the garden that I found her on the hammock, talking to Zac. What was he still doing there? He had a house of his own five minutes down the road! I thought he would have been the first to leave. I looked at him through the glass kitchen doors with disgust. No one noticed me. I took the key off of the hook and opened the door in the corner of the kitchen that no one knew what it was for. I slipped down the creaky stairs and into the basement which we used as a wine cellar. I picked out a big bottle of coke, some Vodka and a bottle of red wine. I grabbed a glass and sat on the back room sofa. No one usually went in there. We had a lounge with a TV and plenty of space for everyone to sit. In the back room, we had a TV and a small sofa, that we originally had in there when me and Ty were younger, to have the PlayStation and other consoles. I picked out a old Bridget Jones DVD. I enjoyed watching those, a bit of Hugh Grant always cheered me up.

As it started playing, I poured myself a glass of wine. It smelled quite strong, I tasted it, and I was right by the smell. It was quite strong. I leant over the side of the sofa and opened the old cupboard next to the furniture. I chose the biggest box of Thornton's Chocolates to eat while watching my film. I curled up on the sofa and watched the film intently.

I'd soon finished the full bottle of wine within the first half of the film. I started on the Vodka, at first diluting it with Coca-Cola, then giving up and having it in shots. When the film had finished, I went to pour myself another shot with an unsteady hand. I
'Whoopsie! All gone! Better go and get more!' I giggled.
I swayed on the spot and started laughing again. I took my glass into the kitchen and almost dropped it on the side with my blurred vision. With the sound of the bang I laughed some more. I fell on the floor laughing hysterically at nothing funny. Whatever it was I was laughing at, I found it hilarious. I ended up on my back, clutching my side.

'Tia?' came a voice.
'Harry!' I cried out. 'Hello! What are you doing here? Hello!' I was slurring badly and still laughing.
'Come here!' he said, sounding quite aggravated. He scooped me up inn a bridal fashion and he started walking.
'Where are we going?' I slurred.
'You're going to bed,' he announced.
'Oooh, what are we going to do up there, eh?' I giggled, poking him playfully in the chest.

He dropped me down on my feet in he bathroom. He held me up tenderly, and gently washed my face and practically brushed my teeth for me. He led me to the bedroom and sat me on my bed. He got some pyjamas out of my bag and laid them on my bed for me to change into, and waited outside my door until I'd done. He came in and made sure that I was in bed.
'Goodnight Harry. I love you!' I called.
'Night Tia,' he said, slowly shutting the door and leaving me to fall asleep.

* * *

I woke up the next morning to a pounding in my head that made me feel like someone was trying to drill my head open. I groaned and clutched my head in my hands. I squinted to look at the clock on my wall. The light burned my eyes as I checked the time. It had just gone eleven. I felt incredibly sick. I jumped up and ran too the bathroom. I'd made it just in time to hold my hair back throw up in the toilet. I washed my face and brushed my teeth. I wondered downstairs trying to remember anything that had happened after the first hour of the film. I took a paracetamol with a glass of water. Within twenty minutes I felt better. I thought that if I had a shower and got dressed I would feel slightly better. It worked, but not by much. I text Harry;

'Morning, love xxx'.

I found my mum and dad with Zac in the dining room.
'What's he still doing here?' I asked with a bitter tongue.
'He stayed the night. His parents aren't home. They'll be back today though. He'll be home by three. I'm going to go and do some gardening. Joe? You coming to mow the lawn?' my mum asked my dad.
'Yeah, okay. You two have a nice chat,' my dad said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes at him.

When they'd left the room I looked at Zac with the deepest loathing I'd ever felt.
'How's you're hangover?' he asked, not making eye-contact.
'What hangover?' I spat, trying to hide the fact that I really did have one.
'What do you mean 'What hangover?'. I'll be surprised if you didn't. You were off your face last night. After a full bottle of red wine and a full bottle of vodka, I'd be shocked if you didn't have
a splitting headache,' he replied.
'How would you know that I was that drunk. I watched a film, had a drink, went to bed. That's it,' I scorned.
'Went to bed? That's one way of putting it. I found you laughing your head off at nothing on the kitchen floor, you thought I was your precious boyfriend, Harry, which sort of pissed me off, and then I had to wash your face and brush your teeth for you, get your pyjamas out of your drawer, and wait for you to change before making sure you went to bed without being ill. It was more like you got put to bed,' he glared.
'Shut up. I don't care how drunk I was. Why do you think I wanted to get that drunk? Eh? After you kissed me, hugged me ad tried to hold my hand in front of all those people? I've had enough trouble with Harry the past few days thanks very much. I only wanted to spend four days with my family, then you ruin it on the very first day! I've only got three left, and unfortunately, you're down the road the whole time. And since when have you and my parents been such great friends?'
'A while. Especially since the newspaper and interview. They took sympathy on me because everyone was having a go at me in the street,' he said.
'You deserved it! You're the one who sent in the pictures and started it all! And the interview was the worst day of my life. Don't mention it,' I warned.
'What are you doing today?' he asked, completely changing the subject.
'Going into town. I'm going to get Ty and Jess's baby a toy and some clothes or something. I'd better replace the wine and vodka I drank last nice I guess,' I replied.
'How you supposed to get there?' he enquired.
'Walk? Take the bus?' I said.
'Don't be stupid. I'll drive you.' I looked up sharply.
'No you will not!' I objected.
'I'll take you now. Come on,' and he grabbed my arm and pulled me to his car.
'Get off me! Will you get off!' I hissed, slapping his hand every step we took. I climbed into the car, seething.
'You dare touch me again and I tell you what -'
'What?' he said with a false sweetness. I snarled at him. I plugged in my seatbelt and we drove to the centre of Birmingham, without saying another word.

I climbed out of the car and tried to make as much distance between us as possible. Unfortunately, he caught up. As we stood in Mothercare, choosing baby-grows for the baby, he stood watching. In the queue, he placed his hand on my lower back.
'I'll pay if you like,' he offered.
'No thanks. Ty's my brother, not yours. And get off me!' and I threw his hand off me. As we went into several shops looking for a toy to give the baby, and something to give Ty and Jess, he kept doing the same thing. I kept throwing him off, but every time I saw someone with a camera, I felt a strong urge to hide. I grew more and more paranoid throughout the day. By the time we left, I had three bags of baby-grows, a bag of stuffed animals and a car seat. It may have seemed a bit much for my unborn niece or nephew, but Ty had done so much for me when I was younger, that I thought that this was the chance to pay him back.

We stuffed everything into the boot and climbed back into the car. We drove home in another silence.
'Don't bother coming in. You're parent's should be home now, It is five. Bye, and don't come round tomorrow either,' I said, and I got out of the car, collected my shopping from the boot and took it into my parents house. Ty and Jess weren't there, and wouldn't be down again until the next day. I said Hello to my parents who were beside the pool (yes, it was a big house for Birmingham, but my parents had good jobs, so we had enough money, and it wasn't in the centre of the city). I changed into my two-piece swim wear and went out to the pool with a towel around my shoulders. I slipped into the cool water and went under a few times. I emerged from the water and floated on my back for a while.

After about an hour, I lay on the sun lounger at the pool side in the warm summer evening sun, with my hair in a plait to one side, with my sunglasses on, reading a magazine. My mum came out a few minutes later and started asking me how my day was and what I'd been doing. I told her and told her exactly what I'd told Zac.
'You know why he wants to do all this though right?' she asked.
'Did you not hear us last night by the hammock? Of course I know why! I don't see why he couldn't have just told me rather than -' but I stopped there, remembering that she didn't know about the photos.
'Instead of what?' she questioned.
'Nothing. But he knows I'm happy with Harry! I absolutely hate him! He kissed me!' I burst out.
'How did it feel?' my mum asked.
'What? What do you mean how did it feel? How would you feel if your ex kissed you and you were with dad?' but she raised her eyebrows at me. I knew that wasn't what she'd meant.
'I...I guess I never thought about that...Mum, this is insane! I'm with Harry, I love Harry! Not Zac! I...' but now she had me thinking...how had it felt? Surely I couldn't still have feelings for him? I knew how angry I'd felt when he had kissed me, but why hadn't I pulled away sooner? Did I want it to last that long? Or was it an accident that it lasted as long as it did? I tried to shake the questions out of my head, but it didn't work.
'I'll leave you alone,' she said, getting up to leave.
'You don't know what you've done, Mum!' I called after her. I sat with the magazine in my lap staring into mid-air, questioning myself. I looked across the low fences and hedges and a few gardens down, I saw Zac in his garden. I watched him with his little sister for a while but tore my eyes away. I refused to let anyone make me think that I could still have feelings for that. The amount of times I'd cried over Harry in the past year and a half was more than I did over Zac in three years. I loved Harry, and the reason I cried over him so much was because I didn't want to let him go, but I was afraid that I would have to because of his career.

I went to bed that night just thinking of Harry.