Chapter Seventeen

ALL THE THINGS I'VE YET TO DO (9): GO ON A HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE

“Fuck this colonizer holiday,” huffs Ariel as she smooths out her denim skirt.

“Agreed,” laughs the instructor. “Are you all ready for lift off?”

Everyone nods as he opens the door to the giant picnic basket. As I approach the contraption, my nerves start to get the best of me. “Do you guys really think this is a good idea?” I let out a shaky laugh.

“Maya, shut up,” Justin rolls his eyes from behind me. I turn back with a sheepish look, struggling to contain my anxiety about being up in the air. Sensing my hesitation, he glides past me with Ariel in tow and climbs into the basket. “See? It’s fine.”

I watch as Adrian follows their lead. Suddenly, I feel a large hand grasp the small of my back. When I look up, Eli flashes me his famous grin and warmth flows through me. My inner voice gives me a quick pep talk while I allow Eli to guide me to the rest of our friends.

It takes a while before we actually leave the ground, but when we do, I’m sure that I’m five seconds from a panic attack. “I can’t believe this was my idea!” I all but yell.

Once again, Eli’s arm slinks around my shoulder for comfort. As I hide in the crevice of his armpit, I can hear Adrian’s harsh laughter while he calls me mean names. I stick my tongue out at him before turning to his sister.

Ariel gives me a thumbs up as we rise higher into the air. She clings to Justin when the basket begins to shake and it’s my turn to let out a chuckle. I’m about to yell at Adrian for trying to spit over the edge, but for the first time, I’m able to take in the view.

The midafternoon sun shines with a ferociousness, claiming the sky as its own as zero clouds get in the way of the hot rays. Below us, everything begins to shrink; I can barely make out which car from the lot belongs to us. I take a deep breath and the air almost feels fresher and more nourishing.

A smile breaks onto my face, so big that I can’t contain it. Excitement rushes through my entire being, but there is something else swimming alongside it: love. For the first time in a while, I’m genuinely happy to be here with all of my friends. This summer has brought us all closer together and I can’t deny the feeling of bliss that radiates off of everyone in this moment. Slowly, a tear falls from my eye, and I try to commit this feeling to my memory.

The second we return to ground level, excited chatter fills the air. We all begin to recap the ride as we walk to our cars.

Of course, this doesn’t last long because Adrian decides to take a jab at me. “No Christian and no Ace? What happened, Man Eater?”

Just as I’m about to lunge at him, Eli steps between us. “Hey, hey. You two be nice to each other.”

“Your friend just saved your life,” I sneer over Eli’s shoulder. “If you must know, me and Christian aren’t talking anymore.”

Adrian raises his dark eyebrows as his face falls to an expression of sympathy. “Actually?”

I nod and continue my way to the car, already over the situation. Before I can open the passenger seat door, someone grabs my arm.

“When was the last time you spoke to Christian?” asks Justin once I turn around.

“The night of the carnival, why?”

Returning his hand to his side, he continues, “You guys didn’t fix whatever was going on with you two?”

I shake my head.

“Listen, I don’t really understand what happened, but he’s been going through a lot these past few weeks. I’m not sure if he told you about the situation with his dad, but… yeah, things have been intense. Not to defend him if he hurt you, but try not to take things too personally,”

Nodding, I take my seat in the car. Honestly, I have no idea what Justin is talking about. The last I heard, Christian’s dad is in America taking care of his grandmother. Did something happen? Is this what he wanted to talk about when I was ignoring him?

Our ride home is silent, save for the soft humming of the radio.

“Does that mean you’ll give Ace a chance?” asks Adrian once we pull up to my house.

Shrugging, I unbuckle my seatbelt. “I have no idea what’s going to happen with me and your brother. I honestly don’t think a relationship is something I need right now, with anyone.”

We say our goodbyes and I head inside. I’m immediately greeted by Mango and I can’t help but think about the day that I met Christian. When we saw him at the shelter, I had no idea that he would end up being someone to bring drama to my life. As I skip up the stairs towards my bedroom, I also think about Ace.

My head hurts.

I lay in bed, scrolling mindlessly through my phone. There are a couple hours of free time that I have to kill before meeting up with everyone again in the night. For a second, I contemplate messaging Christian, though I decide against it. He probably wouldn’t respond anyway. After switching between social media apps for some time, I slide out of bed and proceed to get dressed.

After showering, I slip into a short red dress and a pair of beige strappy sandals. My hair hangs at my shoulders as I finish my makeup and text Ariel that I’ll be ready soon. When she arrives, I say a quick goodbye to Mango and hop in the car.

“So, where are we going?” I smile, pulling her in for a hug. “Also, where’s Adrian?”

She shifts the car into drive and takes off down the street. “Justin’s throwing a party. Super last minute, I know, but I sort of convinced him after I dropped you off earlier. As for Adrian, he went with Eli to pick up Zoe and Maddy.”

My breath hitches in my throat, and she smiles sheepishly, knowing that I’m about to ask, “Is Christian coming?”

“Most likely, but there will be so many people around, you won’t even have to talk to him,” she reassures.

I shake my head and take deep breaths. “No, I think I need to talk to him. Time to be mature about it.”

She beams a smile at me as we arrive in front of Justin’s house. He opens the door for us, pulling us both in for tight hugs and I can tell that he’s already been drinking. Music booms from behind him while groups of people are scattered around the place.

“It’s mostly people I went to high school with,” he states as he locks the door behind us. “The guys are in the kitchen.”

We nod and continue further inside. An upbeat rap song plays throughout each room, with people drinking, smoking, and dancing in different corners. In the kitchen, there’s fewer people and the music is a bit muffled. I easily spot our friends pouring drinks and laughing.

“Hey you!” Zoe exclaims. She runs up and almost knocks me over trying to embrace me.

I chuckle and hug her back. “Hey Zoe, hey Maddy!”

Maddy hands me and Ariel each a cup, followed by two thumbs up. Immediately, I down the liquid and go in for another. After shot number two and three, I place my cup on the counter behind me. For the first time, I notice a person standing near us but off to the side in isolation.

Shakily, I weave through my friends and end up at his side. “I’m sorry,” is all I say. He huffs and is about to make a run for it, but I grab his arm. “Christian, I’m really sorry. I know I’ve been an asshole lately but I didn’t stop to think about what was going on with you. Did something happen with your dad?”

“I’m going to kill Justin,” he breathes out. “Listen, I’m trying to forget all of that right now, so if you’ll excuse me.”

Sighing in defeat, I take a step back and allow him to leave. My eyes follow his form as he walks a few metres to the left and fills his cup with tequila and barely a drop of chaser. To my surprise, he fills a second cup and before I know it, he’s back at my side.

“Is this a peace offering?” I laugh as he hands me one of the red cups.

He scoffs and takes a sip before saying, “I’m still upset with you. I’m gonna need to be drunk if I have to deal with your wishy washy ass all night.”

I pout at his words, not knowing if he’s serious or joking. Nevertheless, I take a sip, my face scrunching up. “How are you drinking this right now?”

“Go add more juice to it, if you want,” he says before a small smirk appears. “Pussy.”

I scoff at him and take another sip, this time able to keep my face in a nonchalant expression. His smirk transforms into a smile as I go in for another sip.

______

a/n

it's taken me almost a year to write this chapter and i still hate it lolololololol