Five hours had passed, sitting in this car, wondering why Aaliyah would not think of showing up to at least check up on me. I was already feeling the effects of being left alone in a solitary parking lodge gnaw at me. Thus, I decided to enter the building.
It wasn't that I wanted to drink; if I were drinking, I would just have an energy drink. The reason being, I was driving. Driving alone wasn't an issue; I was used to driving drunk, but this time I was with Aaliyah. It would be bad to get Aaliyah home 'safe' when I'm drunk. I just wanted to observe the people and at least enjoy the music. That's all.
The pounding music almost irritated my eardrums as soon as I entered the door. It had been a while since I heard this kind of high-pitched music. It was good though. It was good.
The party was filled with campus students: some grinding against each other, others kissing in corners, some being intimate in the bedrooms as their actions could be heard downstairs, while others played drinking games. I didn't spot Aaliyah anywhere, so, since I didn't want to distract her by looking for her, I just went and sat in a chair near the bar counter. There was a young man there who seemed to be enjoying his work. He hadn't drunk anything; I could tell by the way he handled drunk men and women who approached for another drink.
"Give me an energy drink," I stated aloud, and he bent down as if the energy drink was in the lowest position of the counter, and then he came up with three cans of Red Bull. I thanked him and started drinking one.
I checked my wristwatch; it was already eleven, almost midnight. Thank God I wasn't at work. But somehow, it already felt boring not being at work.
As I thought, a soft hand caressed my slick shaved head. Yes!I had already shaved, in between Aaliyah leaving me on wait at her school parking lodge and her coming back.
"Not from around here?" a blonde girl asked me. She had a nice voice; that's all I could discern. This meant I wasn't at all interested...When I was not interested, I just shrugged a girl's voice, but I needed company.
"Yeah. I brought a friend," I clarified.
"A friend?" she asked sexily, making me raise one of my eyebrows—a habit I found myself doing when a girl was trying to impress me.
"Yeah," I clarified. "Want some Red Bull?" I offered, and she smiled.
"How about your Red Bull?" she replied, which made me chuckle and shake my head.
Before I could even process what to say next, I saw Aaliyah staggering towards the counter. She was really drunk, and her dress was barely holding on as she constantly pulled it downwards.
"I have to go," I stated quietly, seeing her look at wherever my eyes were and grunt in annoyance. I didn't care about the grunting; I just stood up and went straight to Aaliyah, who had already reached the counter area on the opposite side.
"Aaliyah," I said after arriving next to her. She had already called for another whiskey, and I felt a twinge to stop her. "You're too drunk," I added, placing my hand on the whiskey placed on the counter for her. Her eyes squinted as she looked up at me.
"What?" she slurred. "Are you my brother? Get off me!" she added, trying to grab the whiskey, and I let her. I didn't want her to feel overly protected even when she was with friends, so I just decided to follow her wherever she was heading—to observe her from a distance and make sure she didn't get hurt.
She headed straight to the shots area, and I knew she wanted to get more drunk. I wondered why she was drinking excessively today. My thoughts intensified, and I came up with the idea of carrying her away from the shots area, through the crowd, and out into the parking lot. I could come back for drinks if she really wanted them, but I couldn't watch her get wasted like this, especially with friends.
As soon as the idea came, I found myself taking each step towards Aaliyah. She had already downed five shots in the few minutes I observed her. I could tell her stomach was already uneasy. "One, two, three..." I counted silently in my head, and on the fourth count, I sprinted towards Aaliyah, swiftly lifting her onto my shoulder, her upper body hanging on my back as she hit me repeatedly. The crowd was surprised by my action but didn't stop me. I suppose that's how it goes when a girl is taken away at these kinds of parties—no one questions the person taking her or their intentions.
Without hesitation, I headed straight to my car, opened it, and carefully placed Aaliyah on the passenger seat, adjusting the seat slightly to make her more comfortable. After closing the door, I ran back into the party building straight to the counter.
"Hey dude, give me whiskey. Two bottles of the best," I stated, and he complied.
"You know she's Marine's sister, right?" the man behind the counter asked, and I nodded.
"She'll be alright," I assured him, unsure of how my reassurance would help him.
With that, I left the party, the coldness of the bottles biting into my hands. I didn't let the nerves pain distract me; I focused on getting to the parking area.
Upon arriving at my car, I opened the driver's seat, placed the bottles in the gap between the driver's and passenger's seats where Aaliyah still sat, then entered and closed the door, gazing at the sky through the windshield.
"I wanted to win that game," Aaliyah suddenly said, her voice slurred and distant.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, knowing that my decision to carry her through the crowd had been bizarre. "I brought some," I added, trying to lighten her mood.
"Let's just go home," she said, and I sensed her mood shifting.
"Is Elvis okay with you being drunk like this?"
"I'm not drunk," she shrugged. "Let's go to your house," she added after a brief pause.
Sensing her irritation, I quietly started the car, reversed from the parking spot, aligned it towards the exit gate, onto the tarmac, and left.
Neither of us spoke except for occasional glances at each other. I felt a nervous tension between us, even as I drove. I was anxious that she might come to hate me forever for that or something near to that. With these thoughts dancing and invading the very existence of my mind, I parked the car at the side of the road and waited for Aaliyah to say something. Still, she remained silent. So, in fear and hesitation, I let my hand extend slightly to touch her bare knee. I expected her to pull away, but she let me touch her, causing me to look at her.
"Your eyes..." she began, and I looked away when she mentioned them. "Why do they change color when you're with me?" she asked, leaving me at a loss for words. "Your hand is cold," she slurred. "And why did we stop just now?" she questioned, prompting me to start the car immediately and continue driving. "Do I make you nervous?" she asked again.
God! This was the alcohol talking, and of course she makes me nervous. Who wouldn't be?
"Hey Zen..." she suddenly asked in the softest tone, snapping my attention to her, my eyes still on the road. "Did you mean what you said last night? The 'I love you'?" My heart clenched, and I nervously tapped the steering wheel while driving. I didn't know if it was love, but I knew I felt terrible when she was with someone else, a feeling that intensified when I heard about her boyfriend. Lately, I had even started thinking about her at work. My mind raced, "Never mind," she added, "I don't want you to hurt me again."
"Hurt me again," those words echoed in my mind countless times. Of course, I had hurt her uncountable times.
"I'm so sor..." I wanted to apologize, but I had already said 'sorry' countless time that even when I would atleast put myself in her position I would literally never speak to this me ever. But I wanted to change, I really did.
We arrived at the residential area, into the underground parking lot, and I parked the car perfectly. Then, I turned to look at her, my whole body shifting towards her. Her eyes were still squinted, a side effect of the alcohol, likely to help her focus, I guessed.
"Aaliyah, every moment we've had, everything has been beautiful,..."
"Is there a 'but'?" she interrupted.
I shook my head. "I don't think there is a 'but',..." Before I could finish, she opened the door and walked away, stumbling as soon as she closed it.
"Aaargh!" I heard her exclaim in frustration.