Once Jackson and the other guy are gone, Avery rushes over to Cameron and gives him a few soft pats on either arm.
"Are you okay?" she asks. "What happened?"
"I'm fine," he insists, shrugging her off. "Jackson is fucking insane is what happened."
"What was he doing here?" she continues. "I've never seen him at one of these before…I didn't think we knew anyone who knew him."
"We know tons of people who know him," Cameron scoffs. "Usually they're just smart enough not to invite him."
"Mm..." Avery murmurs cautiously, still looking concerned.
"It's fine. He's just a crazy asshole."
I'm feeling a little nosy right now, but it's none of my business, so I don't say anything. Cameron shakes Avery off and crosses his arms.
I stand up, ditching my mostly-empty cup on a side table and saying, "I want to leave… I think I'm going to head out."
"Same, we can leave together," Avery says, glancing at Cameron, who simply nods. "I'll get us an Uber."
The mood's pretty much dead. It's good we're leaving. I'm kind of getting the spins and I just want to be in bed. I feel so drained, physically and emotionally.
Avery pulls out her phone and starts tapping around on it. Cameron and I stand there in silence and he looks fucking pissed.
I want to say something to him but I'm not sure what. That whole experience was terrifying. I wonder if he's scared...or embarrassed. I feel like he must be. He doesn't like people messing with his plans and that was a serious derailing of what he had in mind for the night. Not to mention that half a house full of people saw him get screamed at.
"Are you all right?" I ask quietly, trying to be considerate of the fact that he might not want people overhearing.
"Yeah," he says coldly. "You?"
"I'm fine," I murmur.
"Don't listen to him," Cameron adds, which I guess is about as reassuring as he's going to be.
I don't even know what he means by that. He must not want me to keep my distance, right? He must like being around me if he's telling me not to listen to that threat. I wish he'd just come out and say it, though. I don't feel like he likes me very much at all.
"Okay," is all I say.
He gives me a light clap on the back and then Avery turns to us.
"It's going to be a bit of a wait," she mumbles.
"Naturally," Cameron bites out.
"Wanna wait outside?" she offers. "I need a cigarette anyway."
"Sure," he responds and we bundle up before heading back out.
It's weird to see Cameron like this. Usually, he's confident and talkative and so sure of himself. Right now, he doesn't seem like any of those things.
I zip up my jacket and wrap my scarf around my face as we walk out onto the front porch. Avery lights her cigarette before offering Cameron one out of her pack, which he gladly accepts.
"Do you guys want to just want to go back to my house?" she suggests. "It'll be cheaper than paying to be driven all over the place."
The proposal shocks me. I wasn't expecting to sleep anywhere other than my own bed tonight. I didn't bring any sort of overnight gear, not even my toothbrush.
"Sure," Cameron shrugs, nonchalant about the whole thing. "My apartment would be too small for the three of us."
I feel an immense amount of pressure to say yes, even though I don't really want to. My head hurts. I don't know if I can keep up with this social charade.
"Uh, okay," I agree after a moment.
God damn it. Why can't I just say no? I'm going to be so hung over in the morning. Being at someone else's house is going to make it so much worse.
I stay quiet for the next little while. Avery and Cameron smoke in silence. None of us are really in a great mood, I can tell. I'm going to need to ask for a glass of water as soon as we arrive at Avery's place. My mouth is starting to feel dry.
I hope I don't throw up. I don't think I will, but I might. I haven't drank since I was eighteen and I had a bad record of going until I made myself sick. Sick enough to be emotionally numb. It's hard to concentrate on other shit when you're puking your guts out with a massive migraine.
The wind blows some of the cigarette smoke into my face, but I don't mind. My dad smoked, but not cigarettes, cigars. That's what he always smelled like. They were part of his nightly ritual.
Eventually, a car pulls up and Avery says it's our ride, so she puts out her smoke and sticks what's left back in the pack. Cameron just tosses his in the snow as we walk down the front steps.
Avery sits in the front and gives the lady her address which I guess is in St. Paul. I get out so little that I've actually never been there even though the two cities are literally connected. Cameron climbs into the back seat with me and leans his head against the window. He doesn't seem like he wants to talk. That's fine with me. I don't really want to talk either. None of us make an effort to chat with the driver, which I feel kind of guilty about but also just don't have the energy.
After what feels like an uncomfortably long time we finally pull to a stop in a neighborhood that I don't recognize.
"Thanks," Avery says before climbing out of the car and whipping out her phone to pay.
Silently, the three of us walk up the stairs and into her home. It's pretty big, so I'm guessing she has roommates. It's nice, though. I wonder if she likes living with other people.
"You guys can share my bed," Avery tells us as we pile in through the front door.
"All right," Cameron agrees.
"I feel bad stealing your bed…" I say.
"I don't mind the sofa. Plus, no way am I sharing a bed with him," she adds, jabbing a thumb at Cameron and laughing. He wrinkles his nose but doesn't bother replying.
Cameron closes and locks the door behind us and once all our shoes and coats are off, we head into the kitchen. Avery gets a water jug out of the fridge and pours us all a glass. She hands one to Cameron and one to me and then picks up the third glass for herself.
"I'd give you the tour but I'm too tired," she sighs.
"That's fine," I say. Everything is too blurry anyway. I just want to lie down and be still.
We follow her up to her room where, to Cameron, she adds, "Promise not to screw around in my bed."
Jeez!
I give Cameron a nervous look, but he doesn't seem bothered. He lets out a throaty laugh.
"I'm not making any promises."
What!?
Avery just rolls her eyes. "You guys can borrow some pants to sleep in if you want. They're in the second drawer of my dresser," she stifles a yawn with the back of her hand. "Anyway, I'm gonna settle downstairs on the sofa. Let me know if you need anything else."
"All right," Cameron catches her yawn mid-word.
"Thank you," I say to her.