In the Middle of Nowhere (13 page)

The house was so huge, it seemed as if it
were actually three separate houses all connected. The only way I
could tell in the dark was from the glowing windows scattered
throughout the massive residence. What the heck was I doing here
and when was the appropriate time to text Erica and Taylor about my
adventure? As Tessa parked the car, I decided I’d wait and see how
the night unfolded before I told the girls all about it.

I followed Tessa up the cobblestone walkway.
The moonlit sky illuminated the expansive front lawn revealing
colossal contemporary sculptures made from bent steel and wood.
Some even seemed to stand taller and wider than my uncle’s tiny
house.

We stood and waited in an enclosed brick
entryway as Tessa rang the doorbell. We could hear loud music
coming from beyond the gigantic, weathered double doors.

Just when Tessa was about to ring the bell
again, the front door flew open and a very tall man greeted us with
a wave and a huge grin. I knew immediately it was Rocky’s father.
He was a handsome, older version of his son.

“Welcome to the Johnsons’, young ladies! I am
Mr. Johnson, but all the kids call me Johnny.”

Johnny stepped aside so Tessa and I could
enter. Rocky’s foyer was, for sure, bigger than my whole house over
on Juniper Drive. I looked around and saw kids milling about, boys
and girls. I recognized most of them from school and each of them
had some sort of drink in their hand.

As Tessa and I started toward the back of the
house, Mr. Johnson stopped us. He tapped Tessa on the shoulder and
pointed to a wicker basket he was holding.

“You know the drill,” he smiled.

Tessa smiled back and dropped her car keys in
the basket before continuing on her search for Rocky.

I pulled on her sweater. “Hey! How we gonna
get home?”

Tessa stopped and lectured me. “Willow.
Chill. Don’t worry about that now. Let’s have some fun first.”

I rolled my eyes and figured I had no other
choice but to stay with Tessa and follow her lead because I had no
idea about what I was supposed to do next.

• • •

After walking around for what seemed like an
hour, Tessa and I finally stumbled upon Rocky and his entourage
hanging out in a room with a pool table and arcade games. Tessa
pinched his very nice butt and he twirled around to greet us.

“Hey, Tess! What’s up?” He kissed her cheek.
“Glad you could make it.”

Tessa grabbed his hand and held onto it. “I
wouldn’t miss one of your kick-ass parties for the world.”

Rocky looked at me as I hung behind Tessa
like a baby monkey clutching on to its mother’s back for dear
life.

“Who’s your little friend?” he asked.

I wasn’t sure if I liked that he said
“little.” Did it mean I looked young, too young to be there or was
it a compliment, like I was little, meaning skinny? I quickly
reasoned it was better than if he had asked her, who is your
“enormous” friend.

Tessa turned to me. “Rocky, this is
Willow.”

Rocky checked me out, from head to toe, and
nodded his approval. He stuck out his hand.

“Nice to meet you, Willow.” His eyes sparkled
when he spoke and his smile lit up the whole room.

I shook his hand, which was very big and
sweaty. “Nice to meet you and thank you for having me.” I sounded
like a dork.

I couldn’t believe that I was not only
staring at “The God” for more than a few seconds, but that I was
actually exchanging words with him, too. I could feel my face
beginning to get hot. I closed my eyes and tried to think of
something sad so I wouldn’t embarrass myself in front of this
perfect human specimen. My dad’s face popped in my head and could
feel myself cooling off, but not for long.

“So, where do you go to school?”

Rocky Johnson was talking to me again.

Before I could answer, Tessa jumped in. “To
our school, you big idiot,” she said as she punched Rocky in his
muscular shoulder.

He grabbed his arm and pretended to be hurt.
“Ow, you little pisser. That hurt!”

Tessa leaned into him. “If you play your
cards right, I’d be more than happy to hurt you even more
later.”

Rocky threw his head back with laughter as
Tessa looked at me and smiled.

I half-smiled back, feeling really
uncomfortable.

Tessa scanned the room. “Hey, Rock? Where’s
the bar?”

“Behind the kitchen. My parents just built an
addition especially for it.”

Rocky looked at me. “Want me to get you
ladies a drink?”

“No, thanks,” Tessa answered. “It’s cool. I’m
gonna head over there and check it out myself.”

Tessa turned toward me.

“Willow, why don’t you stay here and talk to
Rocky about how much you love our school and I’ll go and grab us
both a drink.”

Tessa and Rocky stared at me. I felt
completely on the spot. There was no way I was going to let Tessa
walk away and leave me alone. With him.

“No, that’s okay. I’ll come with you. I need
to use the bathroom anyway,” I lied.

“Suit yourself,” Tessa said before turning
and walking toward the glass-paned, game room doors.

Before I followed her, I turned to smile at
Rocky as if to say thanks, but he was already engaged in a
conversation with all of his oversized football buddies. They
looked like a band of gorillas, as they horsed around and slapped
each other on one another’s backs. I guessed everybody acted like
members of the animal kingdom once in a while.

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

Something was vibrating and hitting me in my
temple over and over again. The room was dark and it hurt to open
my eyes. The vibrating came again. I didn’t know what it was and
sat up to find out. Immediately, my head throbbed and felt as if
someone whacked me on the side of it with a sledgehammer. As I
closed my eyes and laid back down, I smacked the back of my head on
something very hard. I forced my eyes open. Once they adjusted to
the darkness, I turned around, looked behind me and found myself
staring at an ornate, golden metal headboard.

I didn’t own an ornate, golden metal
headboard. I quickly shot up and looked around. Where the hell was
I? I was confused at first and then my memory came flooding back to
me. I was still at Rocky’s!

The vibrating came again and was hitting me
in the shoulder this time. I looked down and realized it was my
cell phone. I picked it up and answered.

“Hello.”

“Where the hell are you?” Tessa demanded.

“I have no clue.” I looked around, saw a lamp
next to me and switched it on. The light burned my eyes. “I’m in a
room with giant-sized red and gold flowered wall paper and a big
white chair in the corner.” My head throbbed.

“That doesn’t help me, Willow. Get your ass
outta there and meet me by the front door,” she snapped and hung
up.

Slowly I climbed off the pretty bed, where I
had crashed, and straightened the fluffy comforter. I left the
bedroom and tried to find my way around the maze of winding
hallways so I could meet up with Tessa. My head felt like it was
going to explode with every step. I never would have thought that
anything could hurt worst than a migraine, which I had had a few
times in the past. But this special kind of headache did.

I finally found the front staircase and
wobbled down it, holding on to the railing for support. Just as I
reached the bottom of the stairs, Tessa joined me in the foyer and
held two large water bottles in her hands.

She pushed one toward me and whispered,
“Here. You’re gonna need this.”

Tessa grabbed her keys out of the infamous
wicker basket and traipsed out the front door. I followed her as I
tried to unscrew the top to the water bottle. Even that was proving
to be too much of an effort so I gave up and just positioned the
cold, plastic bottle across the top of my pounding forehead.

• • •

Once inside Tessa’s car, I had a million
questions for her. Before I could even ask one of them, she turned
to me.

“You look like shit.”

I stared at her in disbelief. “You don’t look
so hot yourself.”

The car reeked of alcohol, but I wasn’t sure
if it was Tessa, me or both of us.

I was finally able to pry off the water
bottle cap and took a huge gulp. I couldn’t believe that I stayed
overnight at Rocky’s house and that my mother had no idea. I
assumed she didn’t know I was gone because I hadn’t had any missed
calls or texts from her. She definitely would have called me a
million times if she had realized I wasn’t home.

I finished the huge bottle of water and felt
some relief. I was ready to start firing away at Tessa.

“Why didn’t you tell me ahead of time that we
had no choice but to spend the night over there?”

“I didn’t really think about it.”

I was dumbfounded. “Didn’t think about it!
Well, did you think about how I was going to explain it to my
mother when I never returned home? When I was never even supposed
to be going out in the first place, leaving my brother alone!?”

Tessa got defensive. “How was I supposed to
know that? You didn’t tell me you were babysitting.”

“Whatever.” I laid my head back and closed my
eyes.

I thought out loud. “Now I’ve gotta sneak
back into my house. If I get caught, I am beyond screwed.”

“I’m not,” Tessa offered up.

“Why not?”

“I told my mom I was sleeping at your house,”
she said, matter-of-factly.

I sat up and shot Tessa a dirty look. “Why
didn’t you tell me that before we went out?! I would have told my
mom that I was going to sleep at your place.”

For once, Tessa was the rational one. “Think
about it, Willow. I must know your mom better than you do. Would
she have let you spend the night at my house? She’s never even met
me.”

I knew she was right, but I was still
pissed.

“That’s not the point. I wouldn’t have gone
to Rocky’s in the first place if I knew it was gonna turn into a
slumber party.”

Tessa smiled wryly and hit me in the
shoulder. “Admit it. You had a great time.”

I rolled my eyes and turned away. Even that
hurt my dehydrated brain. I couldn’t answer Tessa at that moment,
even if I had wanted to. I didn’t want to admit it, but I couldn’t
remember a darn thing that happened at Rocky Johnson’s party. No
wonder they were legendary.

• • •

I stood at my front door and fumbled with my
keys. I was more nervous now than when I had walked out the night
before. I needed to be quieter than I had ever been. I checked my
cell phone. It was only 6:30 A.M. Both my mother and brother should
still be asleep.

I gingerly opened and closed the front door
behind me. Thankfully, the house was still and quiet. I tiptoed up
the stairs, carefully maneuvering around the floorboards that
tended to squeak the loudest.

I made it into my bedroom, closed my door and
finally breathed a sigh of relief. I was safe. I stripped off my
clothes, rolled them into a ball and shoved them underneath my bed.
I would wash them later, unsure of whether the stench of alcohol
was coming from my clothes or my pores.

I climbed into bed and gulped down the rest
of an old water bottle that sat on my nightstand. I didn’t care
that it tasted horribly. I couldn’t believe how crappy I felt. So,
I thought to myself and concluded; I was in the throes of my first
real hangover. I had never gotten drunk before in my life,
ever!

One time when I lived back in Mass, Gabby
stole two of her mother’s wine coolers and we experimented by
splitting the bottles between the four of us. They tasted good, but
none of us felt any differently after drinking them. Maybe it was
because we didn’t drink enough, only half a bottle each, or because
we had just chowed down on all sorts of junk food beforehand.
Either way, I was totally unprepared for getting drunk, really
drunk, for the first time. It shouldn’t be called a hangover, I
thought. It should be called a deathover because I felt like I was
going to die.

At first I couldn’t even remember what I
drank; beer, vodka, a rum and Coke? I had no idea. As I lay in my
bed, I tried to recall the events from the night before. Most
memories were foggy, but I tried my hardest to remember.

I remembered arriving at Rocky’s house, Tessa
surrendering her keys and meeting Rocky. Tessa and I made our way
toward the kitchen and into the addition behind it. The bar room
resembled an authentic, old English pub with dark, mahogany paneled
walls and an ornate, tin metal ceiling. The lighting was low, so we
had to walk slowly through the crowd.

Tessa order two beers and handed me one. I
sipped it and didn’t like the taste at all, but didn’t let her know
because I didn’t want to seem un-cool.

I remembered drinking another beer and then
another one. Tessa and I went back to the game room and hung out
with Rocky and his friends. From what I can remember, we played
pool with the guys and actually had a good time. That’s where my
memory started to get fuzzy.