Page 64 of Shattered

“Well, if I didn’t before, I definitely need alcohol now.”

“Same,” Sam agreed.

They ended up parking in between the liquor store and gas station.

“I think tonight calls for something a little stronger than wine,” Kristin announced as she headed in the opposite direction.

“We have class tomorrow. We can’t get completely wasted.” Sam attempted to redirect her to the gas station.

“Who cares? Besides, even if you get hungover, you can miss one class. It’s not the end of the world if you miss one class.”

Sam had no fight left within her and, for the first time in her life, she truly didn’t care.

“Fine.”

Kristin squealed so loudly that the attendant inside the store jumped in surprise.

“Tequila or vodka?” Kristin lifted up the two bottles in the air.

“Is that a real question?”

“Tequila it is!” Kristin agreed.

“This is not going to end well,” Sam said as Kristin wiggled her eyebrows and headed for the checkout.

******

“Oh my god. You have got to stay still. I’m going to pee myself,” Sam exclaimed when she couldn’t stop laughing at Kristin’s inability to successfully walk across the living room floor.

“I’m making another drink. You want one?” Kristin yelled out from the kitchen.

“Yes, please!” Sam screamed as she stumbled toward the bathroom.

She needed this. They hadn’t had a girl’s night like this in weeks. And, she had to admit the tequila was the right choice. This was the first time in…she couldn’t actually remember how long it had been, that she was not stressed and on edge.

Sam washed her hands and then stared down at her phone sitting on the counter.

10:58 p.m.

She wondered whathewas doing right then. It had been five days since he’d walked out of her room…well, since she’d kicked him out of her room. Knowing he had her number, she’d immediately blocked it after hearing his car drive off. A part of her desperately wanted to unblock it now. Now that she had alcohol running through her veins and thoughts of him began to creep further and further in, it started to seem like a good idea.

She hovered over that unblock button four times. The only thing that kept her from hitting it was the possibility of seeing his name pop up without a single notification. She so desperately wanted him to have tried to call her, text her…anything. But she couldn’t handle the further rejection and didn’t know what it would

do to her if she found out that he hadn’t attempted at all.

“What’s taking you so long?” Kristin slurred as she burst through the door. Privacy had apparently gone out the window along with her common sense. Kristin walked over to the counter and looked down at the name Sam hadn’t uttered since last week. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

“No.” Sam’s reply was immediate.

“Then what are you waiting for?” Kristin cocked her head toward Sam and slid the phone back in her direction. Her drunken response didn’t make any logical sense, and then again, it did.

It felt like forever before notifications started scrolling down the screen. But then they didn’t stop. One after the next, after the next.

“Holy shit. There are a ton,” Kristin said with her mouth wide open.

“Nine text messages and four missed calls,” Sam whispered to the static air between them.

“Are you going to just stare at the envelope, or are you going to open them?”

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