42

Alexander Walters

Katherine continued crying, and I let her be and decided not to stop her. I wanted her to empty the content of whatever was bothering her and I didn't want to pry or ask any questions about it. But I knew that all wasn't good.

So we drove in silence — except for her sobbing sounds and sniffling that was heard, and suddenly stopped. I looked to see that she had fallen asleep, and I think I've said before that watching Katherine sleep was one of my favorite activities in the world. She always looked so peaceful so at rest and undisturbed.

It started to rain, not too heavily though, and we were almost home. She needed her rest, today had been a long day for her, and maybe eat too, I don't know if she's had anything to eat ever since.

"Alex…" I heard her call my name and I was snapped out of my thoughts. I thought she was asleep.

I faced her, her eyes were barely open and they looked so puffy and red from her crying.

"What's up?"

"I want us to go drinking." She stated and I was honestly taken aback. Katherine wants to go drinking, again? After what happened the last time, I'd be damned if I let her go drink again.

"Hell no." I simply refused and that was it, she wasn't going to bend my decision. I won't be taking Katherine drinking. She just got in her feelings for some reason, got sad, and wants to make the irrational decision of getting drunk.

Not on my watch.

"But why, Alex?" She whined with a pout and I rolled my eyes, not even that would make me change my mind.

"Because Alcohol is not the answer to our problems," I stated. "That, and the fact that I don't vomit all over my leather seats for the second time. No. Not. Never."

"Please! I promise I won't have too much and throw up." She continued to plead and I shook my head in naught.

"I'm taking you home Katherine." I stood my ground and took a turn down the road, it led to our neighborhood. We would soon be home.

"Don't be such a killjoy Alex, let's go have some fun, please. And you'll be with me, that way I won't drink too much. Please!" She unrelentingly begged, and I wondered at what point in time did innocent Katherine get so keen about alcohol.

Well, I guess she has a point. I'll be going with her and I'll make sure she doesn't have too much to drink so she won't get drunk. So, I don't see any way where this could go wrong. As long as I'm there, she'll stay sober and just have like two or three shots.

I sighed in surrender, "Fine." I agreed and she squealed, pumping her fists in victory. "But just three shots, nothing more, and after that, we head home. Deal?"

She nodded with a smile, "Deal. I promise I won't get drunk, okay."

-:-

News Flash: She broke that promise.

"How the heck did you get drunk over three shots!" I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Katherine just downed her third shot and was about to go for the fourth, but I stopped her. That's because this chic is drunk over three freaking shots!

Slurred and drawled speech, drowsiness, hollow eyes — man, she fits all the descriptions and it's just three shots. How is that possible?

I've had like four shots and I'm perfectly fine–ish. Okay, I am tipsy, but not bad enough that I can't drive or reason clearly.

But Katherine here is completely out of character, she's giggling, throwing her hands over my shoulders, drawing close to me and resting her head on me, hugging me. She's given me like twenty–five thousand pecks in the last hour and she's called me extremely good–looking, seven times. Yes, I kept count.

This is just proof that she's out of character. Katherine considers hugging a taboo and I know how many red seas we had to cross before she gave me hugs and talk less of pecks. But here she is just doing all of it willy–nilly without a care in the world. That's the biggest point that she's not thinking straight and needs to go home.

"Alright Kat, we need to start heading home." I decided and stepped down from the barstool.

She giggled and got a hold of my arm, halting me. "Have I told you that you look so handsome today?"

I sighed, "Yes, eight times now."

She pouted, "Okay, then I'll tell you for the ninth time that you're so handsome and I like the color of your hair, and your eyes and your lips, and I just wanna kiss you—"

"Nope!" I pushed her puckered lips that were inching close to mine.

Katherine just tried to kiss me. Oh, she's drunk alright. As much as I'd like to claim those pretty lips of hers, she's drunk and not in full control of all the shit she's doing or saying now. I don't want her to have any regrets tomorrow.

"But why?" She cooed with a frown.

"Because you're drunk and you need to go home and rest."

"But I want to stay with you." She replied with crossed arms.

"And I want to stay with you too, but I have to take you home. You've had too much to drink, surprisingly and you're drunk and about to make bad decisions. You need rest, young lady." I can't believe that I was the one lecturing someone about drinking habits when a few months ago, I was a regular at local pubs and would always drink myself to sheer stupor, that I won't even know the way back home and I'd pass out on the streets, only to be fetched by my friends.

But that was earlier. I'm trying to be better.

So I know more than anyone else that alcohol doesn't solve your life's shitty problems one bit, because here I am today with the same problems as I've always had. If anything, alcohol makes them worse.

And I do not want Katherine to develop that behavior.

"You sound like my mom right now, Alex. Controlling, strangulating, and choking. I hate her. "

I was shocked that those words had just left Katherine's mouth. Did she hate her mother? Was it the alcohol making her say that, or she really meant it?

They did have an argument a few hours ago that nearly led her to her death.

"She's the reason why my whole life is like this. She's the reason why I wanted to go drinking today so that I can spite her. I know she's not here to know if I've been drinking or not, but it just feels so good to rebel against her stupid laws." Katherine expressed, I could sense the hurt in anger in her tone.

So this was the reason for this sudden impulse to drink?

"All my life, I've tried my best to please her, do as she says, and make her happy. But it's never enough. She wants me to always study, and get the perfect grades so I won't end up like her — a woman who depended on a man in the name of marriage and got her heart broken by being abandoned by him."

I didn't know how to react. I knew Katherine's parents weren't together but I never knew this much and Katherine was crying now, saying what she has had deep buried in her for so long and I was unsure what sort of consolation to give in this situation but I remembered…

People in this kind of situation, people like me, people like Katherine, we don't consolation, we don't need pity or sorries, none of that. Right now, Katherine just wanted someone she can rant to and all that person has to do is listen, and say nothing.

I sat back on the barstool.

"I didn't want to disappoint my mother, since I was all she had after my dad abandoned us and I still don't know why he did, but he left when I was four. Since then, I've been studying ten times more than anyone my age. I haven't experienced the fun of teenagehood at all because I've spent it all reading and satisfying her."

"I wasn't really allowed to make friends, Katie just happened to be our neighbor when we were younger and that's how the friendship began. I never went partying, never took alcohol, and never was allowed to fall in love or have a boyfriend. My only companions were my books."

Her voice cracked, "My mother wanted me to be perfect. I wasn't allowed to make mistakes, because that defies the whole concept of perfection. And if I did make mistakes, she'd say the meanest of things too and she sees no problem with saying them. To her, she's being a good parent. And I tried my best all the time to live up to her expectations."

Katherine is so strong at being under so much pressure and keeping herself from crashing. From the way she's talking about it, she really was under a strangulating grip.

"But from now on, I refuse to live up to her own expectations." Katherine sniffled, wiping her tears.

"I'll be living by my own rules now. And do what I think is right for me."

Way to go, Katherine.