“We need to do something,” Carter says. “She could throw up right here.” He backs off slightly, but holds on to Annie Laurie’s shoulders to steady her.
“Let me think, let me think.” Ellie exhales loudly.
“Take her back to her parents,” Ben says, with a goofy face.
Carter shakes his head. “No way.”
“I’m only kidding,” he says with a laugh.
Will just shrugs.
There’s a battle going on in my head. I do not want to take her back. I want to leave her right here and go happily to the game with Ellie. So why am I even considering it? Yeah, I suppose it’s the right thing to do, but Annie Laurie’s been such a jerk. The battle must have something to do with my mother. All the times I saw her like this, out-of-control-wasted on God knows what, barely able to walk a straight line. Like it or not, I don’t have a choice. “Okay. I’ve made a decision.” I look straight at Carter. “Will you help me walk her back?”
He tips his head back, sighs.
“I can’t do it myself.”
After another long sigh, he glances at the guys, then back at me. “I guess.”
“Okay, great. Ellie, you go meet your parents. Tell them Annie Laurie’s not feeling well and I walked with her back to the dorm.”
“That’s not fair. She’s my drunk roommate. We’ll both go.”
“There’s no point in both of us missing the first part of the game. Plus, your parents are waiting right now. Carter and I will get her back to Martin, and then I’ll text you when I’m at the gate.”
“I hate this, Cali.” There is genuine concern in Ellie’s eyes. I can tell she’s fighting her own battle between right and wrong.
“Me, too, but there’s no other choice. It’s the only way.”
“Could y’all take her?” Ellie says to the guys. “Since you’re not going to the game.”
“Excuse us.” Before any of them has a chance to answer I pull Ellie off tothe side, just out of earshot. “As nice as these guys seem to be,” I tell her, “the truth is we don’t know them. I think it’s better if I walk with Carter.”
Ellie gives me a halfhearted shrug. “You’re right. You’re so nice, Cali, and she doesn’t deserve it.”
It always comes back to my mom. I’m too nice. Even when I shouldn’t be.Sweet little Cali. How’d you get to be so nice when your mother treated you like dirt?“You’re sweet to say that, but I think it has more to do with my general distrust of humanity. It’s very unhealthy.” I laugh nervously.
“You’re still nice.” She gives me a hug, and we walk back to the group.
“Sorry,” I tell them. “We needed a short pow-wow.”
Ben puts his hand on his mouth and starts an Indian war whoop, to which Ellie reacts with such an intense eye roll that it looks like her pupils have rolled back inside her head.
“I’ll meet you guys back here in thirty minutes,” Carter tells Will and Ben.
“See ya around, Cali,” Will says.
“Yeah. See ya.” I hate telling this cute guy good-bye before we’ve had a chance to get to know each other. After I give him a look that must indicate how I feel, Carter and I prop Annie Laurie’s arms on our shoulders and begin the long walk back to Martin.
“Cali,” Ellie shouts. I turn to see her waving her room card. She runs over and slips it into the pocket of my dress.
“You should probably stop by and tell the Whitmores Annie Laurie’s sick,” I whisper. “They’ll be frantic with worry when she doesn’t show up for the game.”
Ellie squeezes her head in her hands. “This whole thing makes me madder by the second. I hate lying to people. Especially to my dad. He always figures it out.”
“I know, but it’ll probably save us a lot of grief in the long run.”
***
