Catch My Fall | ✔

03. Spaghetti and Sunshine

Indy forced a red cup in my hand. "Drink up."

We were in the kitchen, which was practically empty, a bulk of the people in the living room-slash-dining room area. The counters were sticky with spilled drinks and littered with empty chip bags.

My eyes darted from Romeo, who stood beside me, a can of soda in his hand, and back to my sister. "I can't get drunk. Mom will notice when I get home."

"I'm not trying to get you drunk," she said, a slight edge in her voice like I was a child she was trying to be patient with. "But you need to loosen up."

Indy and Romeo watched as I raised the cup to my lips and took a tentative sip. That wasn't my first time having alcohol. Indy and I tried her mom's wine once. We both spit it out as soon as it hit our tongues.

Whatever my sister put in the cup wasn't that bad. I mostly tasted peaches. Indy grinned when I took my second sip with her having to tell me to.

"Please stop staring at me like I'm a toddler that just took her first steps."

"But you are!" she cooed, pinching my cheek.

I smacked her hand away. "Is this supposed to make this the best night of my life?"

"No, this is supposed to prepare you for the night," she said, taking a drink from her own cup. "Once you're out of your head, you'll start having fun."

I stared down at the clear liquid in my cup. Did this really have the power to shut my brain off, if only for a little while, so I could enjoy the party? "What if I like it too much and become an alcoholic?"

"No worries," Romeo said, patting my shoulder. "I'll tie you down to bed and you'll sweat it out cold turkey."

"Doesn't that only work for drugs?" I asked, squinting up at him.

He shrugged. "No idea. The only drug I'm addicted to is Dino."

"Dino?"

"Yeah. He's the best flavor of my Flintstone vitamins."

I snorted. "But they all taste like chalk."

"Okay, stop," Indy demanded. Her brow creased, gaze bouncing between us like we were from an alien planet. "I need a break from--" She motioned to Romeo and me with a grimace. "--whatever this is. Day, when I get back, that cup better be empty."

She left the kitchen, leaving Romeo and me alone. Well, aside from the dude snoring under the kitchen table. I took another sip of my drink. Already, I was growing used to the burn.

Romeo watched with a furrowed brow and head tilted puppy dog style.

"Enjoying the view?" I teased, raising the cup to my lips once more.

"You're really going to drink that?" He asked. "Because you don't have to just because Indy said so."

"I know I don't have to." My words sounded sharper than I intended them to. I pushed away the need to defend my sister and gave him a reassuring smile. "It's actually good. Like peach cobbler."

He stared at me for a long moment. "Have you ever had peach cobbler?"

"Not since Thanksgiving when I was eleven," I told him, remembering the night. "Me and Indy stole a pan of it and hid in my room to eat the whole thing. We should've stopped halfway through when we'd gotten full, but Indy said we couldn't leave any evidence."

From the deep frown on Romeo's face, I assumed he knew where I was going. I spared him and left out the projectile vomiting that happened later.

"Anyway, I haven't eaten it since. But this," I said, holding up my cup. "Reminds me of it. Kinda. Once the burning stops. You should try it."