(REWRITING) The Skylar Experiment : Coveting

Chapter Thirty-One - Exposure

TW : rape, sexual assault.

RILEY

THE BALL SPLOSHED into Jared's cup, and I whirled, throwing my arms up.

My third victory of the night. Boys lined up to test their luck, and Adam watched from the sidelines after he tired out, encouraging me with a BrewDog. He took a swig every time I landed a mark.

When things grew blurry and my arm weighed a ton, I amusingly discovered how to use my abilities to shift the ball into the goal. And it worked. It was a damn shame Tony couldn't witness this.

Several victories gone by, I lagged out and joined the swelling crowd in the living room. Some were toppled onto the carpet, laughing like idiots. Others shuffled a pack of cards over the coffee table and had geared themselves with tequila shots. A few lingered around the deck and staircase in small groups.

I don't remember there being so many people when we first arrived, but that thought quickly crumbled in a thick haze. Searching for Adam, I landed on the side of a card game where the first one to screw up had to drink. I strung along, clapping my cheeks and coming up with silly rhymes.

Time trickled without me able to locate Adam, so I played until it was hard to keep my head upright and my skull was pounding. A girl from the swim team sitting near, Seiko, looked as white as a bed sheet.

I recalled her getting worse at the game with the first shots and always screwing up after.

"Are you good?"

Boys at the table chuckled. One refilled the glass in front of her, and Seiko visibly swallowed.

"She needs the... the bathroom." I stopped, surprised at my own fumble.

"In the hall, three doors down on the right," David answered.

I managed to crawl over to the girl as she was maneuvering herself from the table, protecting her stomach. I offered her my arm, though my step was also unsure. The damn hall was reeking, busy with a line of kids that didn't seem to be in any better shape.

"I think I need a sink," Seiko whispered and leaned into me.

"Hang on, there has to be another bathroom upstairs."

Together, we cleared a path and stumbled through the bodies, arriving at another corridor that was much quieter and vacant. The whole way, I forced my chin up as if they couldn't tell how drunk we both were. Still, it mattered in my brain to draw steady, aligned strides.

I halted at the first doors and checked each of them, alas no bathroom.

But I did encounter it in the middle of the hall. Barely a second passed between my opening the door and Seiko collapsing over the toilet bowl, retching and heaving. Oh jeez...

Shoving down my own queasiness, I pulled the loose hair away. Poor girl kept at it for a few minutes. She waited for an upswing, huddled over the pink tiles as she finally peeked at me. A wrist covered her mouth.

"Sorry, this is so gross."

"It's okay." I relaxed my hand when she straightened. I slumped against the cabinet doors under a hot, dizzy flash, sighing. "It happens."

Seiko clutched the bathtub rim and groaned. "I need water, oh my God."

I watched her drag herself to the sink and open the tap, then slide back down. It was very quiet for a moment. The music pounding in the living room muted in exchange for my heartbeat. My head bobbed against the wood behind me. Floor was still waving.