Page 10 of Life of the Party

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay.” I struggled to control my voice, to swallow my hysterics, speaking softly and soothingly, like my mom did when I was sick or sad.

I went to him and put my arms around his shoulders, but he jerked away, startled. Feverish, hot to the touch. “What can I do? Tell me what to do.” I pleaded.

“I don’t know. Make it stop. Pray. Pray for me.”

Pray? I reached for him again, holding his trembling form as tightly as I could. I didn’t want to mention that prayer wouldn’t do anything for him, and I’d never prayed a day in my life and wasn’t entirely sure how it was done.

Riley shut his eyes then, his lips moving silently. Petitioning God, begging Him for this to stop. “Please, Mackenzie. Pray. Pray for me.” His eyes were hauntingly desperate, completely void of colour in the dim light. Filled with terror.

“Okay, okay.” I nodded, hugging him to me. “Lord…” I didn’t know what to say, what to even ask for. Help Riley have a good mushroom trip? Make him…not high?

“Lord.” I started. “Please save my friend Riley from Hell.”

I awoke the next morning to a horrible kink in my neck. Slowly I strained to turn my head, rubbing the aching muscles with a stiff arm. Riley slept next to me, his face pale,but calm and peaceful now. He had thrown one of his arms around me during the night. It lay heavily around my waist, warm and comforting.

I was relieved our rightful roles had been restored—that he was taking care of me again. I sighed contentedly and snuggled against him. There was no safer place in the world than Riley’s arms. None I’d found yet, anyway.

I studied his face while he slept. Dark smudges lay beneath his eyes, a tribute to the horrible night we’d spent. For hours we sat together, and I tried to comfort him as best I could, but there wasn’t much I could do. He had to ride it out by himself. I don’t think I’ll ever understand what he went through. He tried to keep it mostly to himself, but at times he trembled so violently I thought he was seizing. Other times he paced the room, muttering incoherently, trapped in the utter torture of his hallucinations, at the total mercy of his mind.

Eventually, like Grey said it would, the terror faded. I’d felt Riley’s body gradually relax, the tension unwinding as the mushrooms wore off and the delusions finally dwindled. Exhausted from the ordeal, I’d passed out sitting up, unable to keep my eyes open once I knew he’d be okay. My body ached from the uncomfortable sleep in such an unusual position, but I didn’t regret it. Not for Riley.

“…Mackenzie?” He asked, his eyes closed in a grimace.

“I’m here, Ry. How you feeling?”

“Not good.” He opened his eyes, slowly, and looked up at the roof. “Gut rot.”

“I would imagine. Among other things.” I smirked sympathetically. “You okay?”

He hesitated. “Yeah. Let’s not talk about it. I wish I’d never put you through that.” He shook his head, sighing regretfully. “I think that’s the last time I’ll ever do mush.”

“I should hope so. I will personally kick your ass if you ever do them again.”

“Deal.” That brought a smile to his lips. “How was the X?”

“Pretty awesome. Yeah, I definitely loved it.”

“I thought you would.” Riley nodded, but I noticed he looked…worried, almost. Like the thought made him frown. “Sorry to ruin your night.”

“It’s okay; you can make it up to me. Guess how? You’ll never guess.” I prodded, excited to share my plan with him, the one I’d hatched during the long night.

He smiled at my exuberance. “How?”

“Do you think…could you still get me a job at your restaurant?”

“What, really?” His eyes brightened. “What made you change your mind?”

“Well…” I looked away, feeling a blush of heat sweep my cheeks. “That’s where Grey works, right?”

Complete silence. I glanced over at Riley, but the look on his face was totally indiscernible. His eyes were flat and emotionless, but his face seemed hard.

He looked up at the ceiling again. “Mackenzie.” He gulped, thinking his words out carefully. “Do you think Grey would be good for you? I mean, he’s decent, but he’s not really someone you bring home to Mom.”

“You think it’s that easy, like I’d even stand a chance.” I scoffed.

“I think you’d be surprised.”

“Okay, let’s say I do. What’s so bad about him? He has lots of friends. And his band is amazing.”

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