Page 13 of Catch My Fall (Catch)

Stiffeningmy back I said, “I already told you I can’t drink tonight since I’m the designated driver.”

“Aww,” he said with a smile that I could tell was just part of his act. “I’m here to take care of you, little sister. I would never let you drive drunk. Like I said, it’s a light drink, just a splash of rum. If you only have the one drink, you’ll be fine to drive in a few hours. You can relax here, Mia. It’s not like we’re trying to get into your pants.”

I flushed from head to toe, but I wasn’t going to back down about this. “I’m not drinking anything with alcohol in it. You go ahead and drink it, I’m not thirsty.”

His dropped the happy-go-lucky veneer andhis eyes narrowed for just a second, but he quickly got it back and smiled at me before turning around and taking care of making drinks for himself and Chad.

The giggling alien-esque imposter that had taken over my best friend’s body was telling them how good her drink was, and I took deep breaths as I assured myself that in just a few hours this night would be over and I’d never have to think about it again.

Setting another glass down in front of me, Brady smiled. “Here ya go, a virginCoca-Cola with tons of ice.”

I took the soda with clammy hands and downed more than half of it in less than a minute as I took deep breaths and forced myself to calm down.

As the minutes ticked by I noticed that Brady and Chad were being charming and friendly, and for the first time, I started to relax. Whatever Brady’s deal was, at least tonight he seemed to be on good behavior.

I was feeling so relaxed that when Macy fell off of her stool, I started laughing hysterically. Brady and Chad were smiling and laughing too and I thought that maybe I had been too hard in my stance on them. All of my worrying was for nothing and nothing mattered enough to be upset about.

Everythingwas great except for the fact that my head was too heavy for my shoulders right then. Leaning forward, I laid my head down on the cool copper top of the bar and let out a sigh of appreciation for how good it felt against my cheek. Just one minute of relaxing and I’d jump up and get everyone to play a game of pool with me.

Just. One. Minute.

Flash.

Flash.

Flash.

My eyelids feel as if they’re weighted down with something. Are there such things as eyelid weights?

Flash.

Flash.

Flash.

I’m seeingsparkly dots behind my eyelids… why is that?

Flash.

Laughter.

Deep laughter.

I am cold.

I can feel someone arranging my limbs. There is a head against my inner thigh. My ankle is being pulled away from my body.

This isn’t right. Something. Isn’t. Right.

Darkness.

My jaw hurts. I am choking on something.

Flash.

I hear the sound of smacking. Is someone being spanked?

Flash.

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