Page 21 of Voices

You’re such a fucking loser. Just go out and be a normal college student.

Maybe you’d have more friends if you ever left this place.

Fucking grow up already!

Yeah, I need something more than tequila to shut these fucking voices up.

Walking out of my room I spot Lily standing by the island in the kitchen looking…sad? Disappointed?

“What’s wrong?” I ask as I grab my keys, wallet, and phone off the island and shove them all in my hoodie pocket.

“When’s the last time you went grocery shopping or placed an order for food?”

“A few weeks ago, I think. I’ll be fine.”

Why does she care so much?

“Charlie, you can’t live off cereal, chips, and peanut butter. There’s nothing to drink in your fridge. Why didn’t you ask me or Noah to take you. You know we don’t mind.”

“I was going to go out tomorrow.” I lie. “I-I just have to find a grocery store that’s not super busy…on a Saturday.” Damn, I suck at lying.

She doesn’t believe me with the look she’s giving me. “Fine, you better. Call if you want one of us to go with. I know we’ll be hungover as shit, but I’ll be good once I eat.”

Nodding, I tilt my head towards the door.

She side hugs me as we head for the elevator. “Want the rest?” She asks holding out her flask. She doesn’t have to ask me twice.

I grab the bottle and drink down the rest. I hand it back to her as the elevator doors open. I lean on the side wall and close my eyes, letting the liquor settle on my empty stomach.

“And just as the wave breaks, I see it, a huge gray fin! It was coming right for me…”

Noah is telling one of his surfing adventure stories about how he almost became shark bait. He’s high out of his mind but these people seem to believe every word that’s coming out of his mouth. I would too, if I hadn’t already heard five versions of this story.

I take a sip of my drink Lily made. It’s sweet, but I can taste the whiskey. I’ve lost count of how many I’ve had, and I don’t care. The weed man came by a bit ago and hooked me up withsome strawberry shit that was fucking delicious. I ate a whole baggie full of gummy bears a few hours ago, and now my damn head weighs a million pounds, and my eyes won’t stay open.

I lean back in my chair and look up at the dark sky. There are only a few stars, but they keep moving around like they’re dancing to the awful music that’s blasting through the open windows of the crowded house. My phone buzzes with what I think are texts, but as I pull it out of my pocketFWYTYKby I Prevail gets louder and louder as I hold it over my face.

“What?” I answer, closing my eyes.

“Charlie, where are you?” Comes a nasally voice I hate.

“What’s it matter to you, Josh?” I hiccup. “Ouch.”

I worked with this guy last year on a project. Exchanging numbers was my first mistake with this one. He calls at random and acts like we dated. Dumbass.

“Are you drunk? Let me take you home and take care of you.” His words go in and out as I try to concentrate on what he’s saying.

“Huh? No, I’m fine. Don’t both-ther me,” I slur and hiccup again. “Go away. I don’t like you.”

“But baby...” I try to hit the end call button so I don’t have to listen to his annoying voice anymore, but I miss. Fucking thing. I end up using my pointer and middle finger together to hang up. It lights up again, so I hold down the side button to turn the damn thing off.

“Well, that was entertaining.”

I try to pick my head up to see who’s talking to me, but it won’t cooperate.

“Over here beautiful,” comes from my right. I turn my head without raising it from the back of the chair. That hot hockey player with a backwards hat is sitting in the chair next to me with an amused smirk on his sexy face.

How long has he been there?

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