“Where are you, are you okay?” I could hear moving.
“Can you get your Devils to turn the lights on?” I shouted and then hiccupped.
“It’s not Mayhem, the lights went out.” Ava sounded like she was moving closer. “Jesus, Mee, where are you?”
“Come on,” Shane grabbed me again, and I yelped when he twisted my arm.
“Will you quit it,” I shouted and pushed harder, so hard that I fell backward and landed hard on my ass. “Ow!” I cried out. “Ow ow ow.”
“Mia!” Ava cried out. “Mia!”
“I’m okay, I fell flat on my ass.” The whole thing was suddenly preposterous, and I laughed out loud, and lay my head on the floor, feeling all of the aches from Shane’s hands and my fall. “Ow.”
“She’s wasted?” I heard Quinn say over the noise and the push of bodies.
“She’s going to be crushed if we don’t pick her up,” Ava snapped. “Hey, whoever you are, have you got a phone?”
Moments later, I had the bright light from a phone searching for me. “Ava?”
“Jesus, Mia,” Ava criticized me as she shoved the phone at whoever owned it and bent to help me up. “Are you wrecked?”
“No,” I giggled nervously. “I’m just tipsy. Well, I was.”
“We’ll take you upstairs,” Quinn said to me.
“No, Shane wanted to take me up there. I don’t want to go,” I resisted Ava’s hold on my hand.
“Mee?” Ava was in front of me as I was pulled to my feet. “Sweetie, it’s me, I’m not going to hurt you.”
And it was suddenly too much.
“You already hurt me,” I told her as I pushed away, my eyes filling with tears at my outburst. Ugh, this wasn’t what I wanted. This wasn’t the time to have this conversation. “This party blows, I’m going.”
The lights came on with sudden brightness, and I jumped, but I saw the door, and I knew it was best to go home.
“Mia, please! Can we talk?” Ava called behind me.
I snapped. I was so tired of feeling like this. Thisoutsider.
“Mia, please,” I mocked as my arms flailed around wildly. “Mia, do this; Mia, do that. Mia, don’t talk about this. Mia, don’t mention that. Mia, sing. Mia, don’t sing. Mia, don’t sleep with the drummer. Mia, don’t sleep with the manwhore. Mia, don’t get pregnant, it ruins lives. Mia, I’m leaving you. Mia Mia,Mia.” I screamed out my frustration. “I am sosickof being told what to do. I’m not listening to anyone else.”
I yanked the door open so hard I lost my balance at the ease in which it opened, and stumbled, dangerously close to falling over again. Regaining my balance, I cleared my throat. “I’m fine, see, I’m good. You don’t need to worry about me.”
I stopped and stared at my hand and my chipped nail polish. “Fudge balls. I just painted them.” Straightening, I yanked at my top to pull it down. It was several times before I remembered I was Sandy Slut. I heard a shocked gasp and realized I’d spoken out loud.
“What’s a Sandy Slut?” someone asked, someone whose voice I knew.
“Ugh, of course you’re here,” I mumbled as I made my way out of the house. “I need to go home.”
Someone coming up the stairs didn’t move to let me pass, and I half fell down the stairs, but I didn’t fall completely, and that was awesome, because my pride wouldn’t cope if I fell in front of them all. At the bottom, I dared not look behind me, and I started to walk home.
A warm hand caught my elbow, and I turned quickly, my hand up and ready to slap. “I told you, Shane, stop touching me!” My hand was caught, and I looked up at Ash. “Oh. It’s you.”
Ash looked me over and then raised an eyebrow. “Red, are you wasted?”
“No.” I tugged my hand from his, but he held tight. “I’m pleasantly buzzed.” However, the fresh air wasn’t helping me much.
“What are you doing?” he asked me.
