Riptide

-9-

I walked down the long corridor of the hospital, peeking into each room I passed. She was nowhere to be seen. The echoing sound of a heart monitor beeped loudly in my ears; the faster I walked, the faster the machine wailed.

"Excuse me," I reached out to a nurse passing by. She didn't acknowledge my presence and continued to push past me. A feeling of panic rose in my throat.

"Mom?" I called, wincing at the tremor in my voice. I continued to call for her as I began jogging down the hallway. It seemed as if not matter how fast I ran, I remained in the same spot.

Suddenly, the heart monitor sped up at an inhumane rate. A few paces away, I saw several hospital staff surrounding the entrance to a room. I pushed my way past them, ignoring their pleading requests for me to leave.

The last thing I saw before everything went black was my mom's eyes, filled with fear.

My heart pounded loudly in my chest as I awoke in a cold sweat. Tears threatened to pour from my eyes. I forced myself to sit up in my bed and take a few shallow breaths. I had had this dream several times before back when I still lived in Connecticut. After moving to Boston, however, I had grown hopeful that they may have stopped.

I picked up my phone to check the time, groaning quietly when saw that it was already 8 o'clock in the morning. I was meeting my dad and his family for lunch at noon.

I hadn't noticed the dull pounding in my head until I exited my bedroom and was met with the sound of clanging dishes in the kitchen. Mara traipsed her way across the floor, humming slightly under her breath.

"Good morning, sunshine!" Emmy greeted me from the kitchen table, clutching a mug of coffee close to her chest. I glanced between my two friends and hunched down into a chair.

"Why are you guys being so loud?"

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Mara remarked.

"I mean, she did get mauled by a wild Avery last night," Emmy joked, "so I guess she has reason."

As if I weren't feeling nauseous enough, the mentioning of Avery only made matters worse. I placed my head on the kitchen table, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Oh, Danielle," Emmy murmured, running her fingers up and down my back, "everyone does stupid things when they're drunk."

I sadly glanced up at her, "I don't. I am arguably one of the most reasonable drunks on the planet."

Mara and Emmy exchanged an amused look.

"This wouldn't have to do with"-Mara's lips puckered as she held back a smile-"your feelings for Mason, would it?"

"Let that go," I grumbled, standing up from my chair and stomping back to my room. I slammed the door to the sounds of my friends' laughter. Once I was sure they weren't follow me through the door, I bit back a grin of my own.

>Any plans for this weekend?

I peeked at my phone from underneath the table. The screen showing Mason's text lit up in my lap. My dad and Caroline were currently consulting the restaurant's menu with Nolan, leaving them distracted.

>>Nothing too crazy, why?

To be quite frank, after last night's festivities I was almost determined to never drink again. Although I had nothing to really feel guilty about, I wasn't exaggerating when I told Emmy and Mara that I was usually one of the most reasonable drunks on the planet. I never did anything too reckless. Sure, I may have danced provocatively or texted someone I shouldn't have, but kissing a complete stranger was totally out of character.