Page 73 of Beyond our Forever

Her face is stiff.

“That’s what we’re doing, taking things slowly…”

I don’t want to delve much, this woman is the Facebook of the community, the less she knows, the better.

Another group of people arrive, without knowing it, to my aid. They wrap her in hugs and kisses, giving me the perfect opportunity to sneak out onto the patio, into a quiet place to keep trying to communicate with Bruce.

“We were looking for you,” says Emilia, who approaches me from behind, accompanied by Mikel.

“What am I good for?”

“We want to go celebrate somewhere else, to a place I know downtown, are you coming?”

“I’m waiting for Bruce, Emilia,” I reply reluctantly. “You go. Have fun.”

“At least have one last drink with us,” Mikel suggests and I accept immediately, albeit reluctantly.

Anything to get them off me.

I can do this.

Our new neighbor is walking away, toward the illuminated bar that they have put in a corner of the garden, soon, I am taking another shot of whiskey with them and my life begins to pass in front of my eyes like a movie in full speed.

I dance, I jump, I cry, and I continue drinking whatever they put in my hands.

What am I doing? I ask myself over and over, yet I can’t stop. Something drags me and I don’t have the strength to stop it.

What is happening to me?

This is not me.

Blip, blip, blip.

That sound is repeated over and over again. Silence and start again. My head is going to explode, I try to open my eyes, but that is impossible for me.

Blip, blip, blip.

My throat is dry and my body is sweaty, sticky. My limbs and breathing are heavy. It seems as if a heavy crockery is imprisoning my body, forcing me to stay in the same position.

In the distance I hear that sound again, until I can recognize it as the ringing of my phone. It sounds and sounds non-stop.

Someone shut it up, please.

I force myself to open my eyes, although my eyelids are heavy. I am in a room that I have never seen before. Fortunately, the phone is on the bureau on the side of the bed and when Bruce’s name appears on it, I answer immediately.

“Ilythia?” he asks alarmed. “Is it you, baby, where are you? Good God, you scared me to death. I’ve been looking for you like crazy all night, when I got to the party you were gone. Where are you so I can go find you?”

“At Emilia’s house,” I answer because it’s the first thing that comes to mind.

“But I just talked to her a little while ago and she said she hasn’t seen you since last night.”

Damn Emilia and her mouth, I’ll deal with her later. If she was the one who got me into this mess, she and her ideas.

Where was the female loyalty code?

“Because she was so drunk that she doesn’t even remember what her name is.” I took that one off my sleeve.

“I’m going to pick you up,” he says, and before I can answer him, something or, rather, someone next to me wakes up. Calling my attention.

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