Page 14 of Shattered Mind

“Yeah, Sav?” I whisper back.

“I’m… so… drunk,” she hiccups between each word, and I dissolve into a fit of laughter.

“Sav?” I whisper.

“Ye-yeah?” she hiccups.

“You have two heads,” I deadpan, and she throws her head back with a cackle.

We successfully make it into the taxi with only a few worried glances from the driver and Savannah lays her head on my shoulder. “I think I’m in love,” she sighs wistfully.

“I think you are, too.”

She looks up at me through heavy lashes. “I can’t believe you kissed Grayson, and he froze.”

“Don’t remind me,” I groan, earning another quiet laugh from her.

The drive is a blur and in just minutes we’re pulling up in front of our house. The driver opens our door for us and for reasons unbeknownst to me, I curtsey. “Thank you, kind sir.”

The man shakes his head at me with an amused smirk and Savannah howls as she reaches for my hand and drags me towards the front of the house.

My legs turn to jelly as I look between the house and Savannah with squinted eyes and a tilted head. “Is it just me or is the house reaaaally far away?” I slur.

Savannah stops, looking back at me and then at the house. She walks back towards me before turning around and crouching down. “Climb up.”

I pick up what she’s putting down and take a running jump onto her back. She catches me around the back of my legs and takes off towards the house, our loud laughs echoing in the silence of the neighbourhood.

We reach the bottom of the porch steps and Savannah takes a deep breath before putting her foot out in front of her, but in her alcohol induced state, she misjudges the distance, completely missing the step.

“Shit,” Savannah giggles and the world tilts for the second time as we go tumbling sideways towards the bushes, landing in a heap of tangled limbs.

We’re both stunned into silence for a second before bursting into laughter. Tears stream down my face as I search for purchase, trying to grab onto something, anything, to pull myself up. I come up empty, dropping my arms and falling back into the dirt.

“Heeey, Cowboy.” Savannah slurs, and I squint one eye open, finding Hunter leaning over the porch railing.

“Sav?” His amused voice penetrates the air.

“You’re so pretty.” Savannah mumbles and I nod in agreement.

“So pretty.”

I hear a deep chuckle in response. Something warm is pressed against my face, and I wrap my arms around it, nuzzling closer to the warmth.

“You’re upside down,” Savannah giggles.

“No, baby. You’re upside down.” Hunter replies and my heart swells at the endearment.

“Aww, he calls you baby,” I coo.

The two of them exchange a few more words that I don’t pick up on, before the warmth is pulled from my arms and everything goes silent.

I peek through a heavy lid, finding myself alone in the bushes and an overwhelming sadness consumes me. I spread my arms out and stare up at the sky.

They left me all alone. This is how it’s going to be from now on. Me, all alone.

Before I get the chance to spiral into self-pity, Hunter is back, hooking his arms underneath mine and hauling me up. “C’mon, Liv, let’s get you inside.”

I stumble against him, and he rights me. “I like you, Hunter. You’re good people.”

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