When the Party's Over

It was Monday morning and it still felt like I had a hangover from Saturday night. I couldn’t remember how many pain killers I took this morning, but I didn’t die yet. That was a good thing I guess.

I walked through the halls past the classrooms as I headed to the cafeteria to get something to eat before I left for the day. I only had five classes this semester, which meant I got to leave early before anyone else. Lately I had been getting food before going home because I knew that once I got there, I wasn’t going to make anything. It was easier.

I reached into my backpack and pulled out the water bottle I had been sipping all day. Before I could even take a sip, it was snatched out of my hand.

“What the fuck?” I looked up at Miles as he held the bottle to his nose and sniffed it. “What are you doing?”

“Making sure you’re not being an idiot still.”

“Fuck you, Miles. Jesus Christ, what are you? My dad?”

I took the bottle back from him and faced the line as I waited to get food. I was craving a burger, but pizza would have to do. I reached into my pocket and turned up the music coming through my headphones. Miles took one of the earbuds out. “Can you listen to me for one second?”

“Why? What do you want?” I ripped my other one out and faced him. A couple students stared at me as they stood behind him and I gave them a look. Miles sighed and pulled my wrist so we could move out of the line. “Let me go. I’m trying to get food and you just let all of those fuckers budge me!”

“Can you not make a fucking scene right now? Just this once? I know that’s hard for you.”

I scoffed and pulled my wrist out of his grasp before walking away. I guess I would have to settle for something stupid to eat like soup. I walked out of the cafeteria and toward the front doors of school. Miles was calling after me and I didn’t care to turn around. I signed myself out then pushed the door open and walked out into the misty day. Looks like I’d be walking home in this shit. My eyes widened at the grip under my arm from Miles as he came up behind me and dragged me toward the student parking lot. “Let me go, Miles!”

“I’m not doing this with you so let’s go.” He clenched his jaw and pulled me toward his car, opening the passenger’s side door to make sure I got in. I groaned, throwing my head back as he opened the back door on his side to throw his backpack in. He sat in the driver’s seat and started the car, turning his wipers on and the heat. “Can you put your seatbelt on?”

I rolled my eyes and stared out the window as it fogged up. I didn’t want to be near him when all he was doing was pissing me off. “I do not want to be in this car right now.”

“Stop being a child, Harley.” He reached over for the seatbelt and buckled me in. It made me feel like a child. Miles pulled out of the spot and drove away from school. I put my headphones back in to avoid any sort of conversation. I hoped that he was just bringing me home. Of course it wasn’t that easy because he had other plans. He stopped at our restaurant and I didn’t move. Miles took the earbud out again. “Come on. Let’s get something to eat.”

I shook my head along with the lump forming in my throat. “I’m not going in.”

“Alright,” he sighed and got out of the car.

It felt like I froze after he left. The heat that he had on left my fingertips and my eyes began to water. I put my earbud back in as the water traveled down my cheek. I let the tears flow freely as I listened to the music coming from my phone. It didn’t take long for Miles to come back and I rushed to wipe my eyes under my glasses before he could make it back to the car. He carried a brown paper bag with him and set it on the backseat. I kept my face out of sight from him even though there was no trace of moisture on my skin.

Miles drove to his house next and for some reason it was easier to go in there than it was the restaurant. Maybe it was because I was starving and I knew there was more than just one burger in that bag. I got out of the car on my own, leaving my headphones and my backpack on the seat. As Miles unlocked the front door, I read a text from Jill, asking what was going on. Maybe she saw Miles dragging me outside in the parking lot. I ignored it and shut the door behind me.

Miles’ house was very open. The walls were all painted white and every piece of furniture was either a very light tan or pure white. The curtains didn’t even fully cover the windows from peepers. It felt like I didn’t belong. And yet, here I was. The kitchen was all redone with marble countertops and white cabinets. His parents brought the dining room walls down and made the kitchen bigger so they could have relatives over more. I sat at the island as Miles grabbed a couple plates for us and took everything out of the bag. He unwrapped all of the food and made me a plate. He sat beside me and I stopped rubbing my chin as he placed the food in front of me.

We ate quietly and it felt awkward to me. What exactly was he trying to do? When I finished, he took my plate and set it in the sink with his. He threw away the paper bag in the trash and I watched him as he moved around the kitchen.

“Miles?” He looked over his shoulder at me then turned the rest of his body. “What are you trying to do? Why did you bring me here?”

“I’m just trying to look after you.”

“Don’t. We don’t need to do this.”

”You’re the one who called me, remember?” I looked down at my lap. I definitely regretted doing that Saturday. It was a dumb thing to do. Miles sighed and walked back over to sit down. “I know you better than anyone else, Harley. You need someone to look after you.”

“Miles, you broke up with me and now you want to look after me? Does that make much sense to you?”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head and covered his face. “I fucking miss you.”

“That’s a bad idea.”

“Sorry, I’m not begging at your feet with flowers.”

“That’s not what I mean,” I rolled my eyes and turned toward him in my seat. “Why did you break up with me?”

“Because I thought you were a fucking alcoholic,” he laughed incredulously. “Every party we went to, you were drinking more than you could handle and you were passing out. I can’t count how many times I had to carry you to my car. You have a problem, Harley.”

“I’m not a fucking alcoholic, Miles. I don’t drink every day and I don’t bring anything to school. I’m not an idiot.”

“Well, you were scaring me and I didn’t think I could help you, okay? I couldn’t deal with it anymore.”

“What makes you think you can deal with it now?”

“I don’t know! I miss having you as my girlfriend, okay? I miss not getting sleep when I brought you home because you snore when you’re passed out. I miss going to our spot. I miss taking your glasses off because you don’t even need them.” One of his hands touched my knee while the other reached forward to slide my glasses off slowly. I watched him as he did, a feeling settling between my thighs. My legs felt weak and I swallowed as Miles folded the glasses and set them on the countertop. We stared at each other for a long moment and my heart felt like it was aching. I wish I didn’t feel that. The feeling between my thighs only grew more intense. Miles broke first, running his hand up my thigh as he moved toward me. I wanted it too and I’m sure he could tell that much as I held his face against mine when our lips met. I had missed this feeling more than most and deep down I knew that wasn’t good.

Things happened fast and before I knew it, my jeans were on the floor and Miles was on his knees in front of me. My head was thrown back as I gripped the chair so my knuckles turned white. His hands gripped my thighs and held them down as I moaned. At least Monday ended on a good note.