Chapter 7

I get up but as soon as I do a wave of nausea hits me, forcing me to run to the nearest available bathroom to throw up for the first time tonight. I wash my mouth out thoroughly and exit the bathroom that is currently covered in urine, alcohol and vomit — the latter being caused by myself. Since the air is quite stuffy inside, I begin to make my way outside to cool down and to hopefully not throw up again.

I step outside, the cold air nipping at my exposed skin. I already feel better, fresh air really helps. I feel a shiver run down my spine but I pay it no heed as I continue to walk down the patio, tripping now and then due to the amount of alcohol I've consumed, until I walk into a hard wall. Ouch. Since when does Jordan have a random wall in the middle of his garden anyway? Who does that? Is an artistic statement or something?

Suddenly, the wall moves, huh? Strong arms wrap around my waist, steadying me. So it's not a wall, it's a person.

Duh Ari, you really are stupid when you're drunk. Shut up. Even when I'm intoxicated my conscience still manages to make jabs at me. What has my world come to?

I slowly lift my head upwards only to be met with the most gorgeous electric blue eyes I've ever seen in my entire life. They are so vivid and intense yet for some reason, I find comfort in just staring at them. They're like deep ocean pools that I could just get lost in for hours on end. There is something else though, they seemed to be hiding something like there's a storm waiting to destroy the calm waters. I ignore the thought and begin to study the person's face.

That's when I recognise him. This is none other than Wyatt King, the bad boy — for lack of a better term — at my high school. Oh hell no.

I can't get involved with this boy, he only leads to trouble. He's supposedly extremely dangerous and always getting into trouble, not someone I should be around, even in my drunken state I know that. From what I've heard he's also a fuck boy, I don't want him to take advantage of me, I've no idea if he'd do something like that but it's best not to chance it. I need to get away from him as soon as possible.

I immediately jump away from his touch and take a big step back. He seems a little shocked by my sudden movement — most likely expecting me to thank him — but is quick to cover it with a blank expression.

I'm about to walk away but my big mouth decides that I have to make some sort of comment. I blame it on the alcohol because let's be real, if I wasn't intoxicated there's not a chance in hell that I would even dare to open my mouth and speak to someone I don't know, especially someone like Wyatt King. "Watch where you're going," I hiss at him.

His blank look quickly morphs into one of confusion followed closely by irritation. "Me? You're the one who walked into me!"

"What? No, I didn't," I lie. Now I'm lying just to prove a point, god I've no clue what I'm doing anymore.

"Yes you did," he counters, anger rising in his voice. Is it just me or is his voice sexy even when he's angry?

What? I did not just think that. The alcohol must really be affecting me. Stupid alcohol. Stupid subconscious.

I throw my hands up in exasperation. "Whatever. Just look where you're going from now on," I snap at him rather harshly and try to walk off.

'Try' being the keyword. Me being the drunk idiot I stumble during my sassy exit, ruining the whole effect. I look more like a stupid, drunk, lonely teenage girl than anything else — it's true that that's what I am but it sounds kind of pathetic when you put it that way. Stupid alcohol.

I'm ready for my face to hit the freshly cut grass but the impact never comes, instead, arms circle my waist, hoisting me upwards. Okay then?

"Careful there clumsy," Wyatt chuckles, his mood instantly changing. Our faces are now inches apart, him holding me by my waist tightly, preventing me from moving, our chests pressed together.

He brushes a strand of hair out of my face, placing it behind my ear. My breath hitches as he moves his head down until his mouth is right by my ear. "Next time, watch your step," he whispers to me in a husky voice before letting go of my waist, twirling me and walking off. I feel slightly cold now that his touch is gone but I shrug off the feeling. Stupid subconscious.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts and begin to make my way back inside, my steps careful so I don't trip.

I can't see any of my friends currently so where better to go than the kitchen? Once I'm in said room I go straight to the island that is currently covered in bottles of liquor. I'm already drunk so I'm sure a few more glasses won't hurt and by a few I mean a lot.

Even though this stuff tastes horrific it's really addicting, maybe it's the euphoric feeling I get or maybe someone's put something in it. Either way, I don't care, I carry on like there's no tomorrow. It's almost as if it's a drug, using my mind against me and making me continue against my better judgement.

As I'm about to place the umpteenth cup to my lips it's quickly snatched out of my grasp. I snap my head to the left to see none other than Wyatt throwing my cup away. He has the nerve to snatch my cup?! MY FUCKING CUP?!?!

"Hey that was mine," I snap in a very harsh and irritated voice.

"Yeah, 'was' being the keyword. Now it's the bins." He smirks after saying that, cheeky bastard.

"Why'd y-you do th-that," I hiccup a bit while speaking.

"Because it's clear that you're drunk off your arse and it didn't look like you had any intention to stop on your own. I did you a favour green eyes."

Green eyes? Oh right, that's my eye colour. Duh, Ari, you idiot.

"Puh-lease, I can handle myself thank you very much." He just shakes his head in response. "You're infur-iating d-do you know t-that? Why can't you j-just mind your own goddamn b-business" I snap, getting more angry by the second but my hiccuping rids my words of any seriousness. Stupid fucking alcohol, no one takes you seriously when you drink it.

He looks pissed off now. "I'm trying to do a good thing and how do you thank me? By getting mad. I'm sorry for trying to be a nice person," Wyatt snarls, clearly annoyed by my reaction. Bitch please, what did you expect? Me to come running into your arms, thank you and call you 'my knight in shining armour' or something? Cause that's not happening EVER, you need to get that through that thick skull of yours.

No one dares to speaks to me like that. Letting the alcohol take away my better judgement for the umpteenth time tonight, I walk up to him and jab my finger at his chest. "Don't you dare speak to me like that. I w-w–" I stop midway through my sentence as my eyelids start to feel heavy. The ground starts to shake and wobble, then the movements become more violent, making my legs turn to jelly. A yawn escapes my lips and because I'm unable to control my legs, I start to plummet forward towards the floor. Just as I'm mere centimetres from the tiled ground I feel something catch me, saving me from a painful fall.

"Fuck." I hear him curse under his breath in my half-conscious state as his arms wrap even more tightly around me, cradling me to himself.

There was definitely something else in that alcohol or I could have just had too much, maybe it was both. If I was going to pass out anyway I wish I could've had more though because I'm already losing the buzz due to my drowsiness.

I feel myself being lifted up and my head is now next to a hard chest. I nuzzle myself closer to the warm body and block out the outside world. This is surprisingly very comfortable. I feel something rumble close beside me; it's probably the person asking me something but I'm too far gone to make out what's been said let alone to reply.

I wish I could stay like this forever. The warmness feels so comforting and reassuring. I let myself fall asleep in this person's arms, I don't know why but I feel safe in doing so, somehow I know no harm will come to me. I feel protected you could say. For the first time in what feels like forever I don't think about the consequences of my actions, I just go with the flow and let my eyes close, leaving my problems for a later date.

Just before I'm at the point of no return I let out a sigh of contempt as the darkness takes over. I haven't felt this peaceful in a long time.