Island Vibes

13. everything

"Friends. Colleagues," Brie repeated. "Sure."

I didn't like the way she said that, and I didn't like the way she was still looking at me. She had a smile on her face that was pure trouble, and I started to second-guess my re-evaluation of her. Maybe it was possible that she could be nice enough to bring me water, but still awful enough to be incredibly annoying about this – because that certainly seemed to be the case.

"That totally explains the dopey, embarrassing moon eyes you have when you look at him," she frowned appreciatively and nodded exaggeratedly, all of it sarcastic. 

I rolled my eyes before gesturing vaguely to my face. "I'm not really in the mood to talk about this, Brie," I mumbled, shuffling up to my knees before hoisting myself to my feet by steadying myself on the rim of the bath. 

"Sure, avoid the topic. That makes you seem like you're telling the truth." 

I suppressed the need to groan, frustrated with her again already. So she'd brought me a glass of water – she clearly still wasn't a saint. She was making me feel all prickly. I was pretty sure that was her, anyway, and not the way the lukewarm beer chugging had upset my overly-delicate stomach. 

I grunted as I leaned over the bath, peeking down at the former contents of my stomach. Yikes. It looked almost entirely liquid – that wasn't a good sign. I tried to think back over what I'd eaten earlier that day, only to come up empty beyond a fruit salad for breakfast. I definitely needed to eat something, because my empty stomach was probably what had triggered this whole mess. I thought about the potaje Noah had made for me: there was still one whole tupperware of the stuff remaining, and it was beyond yummy. That would've totally hit the spot... but I had to make it home first, and out of Brie's clutches. 

Brie was pushing herself to her feet too, beside me. She also peered into the bath, and pulled a face. "You're so lucky Noah wasn't here to see this," she chuckled. 

I mmed non-committally in response, because I agreed but I wasn't sure if I wanted to be on the same side as Brie yet. Something about her still set alarm bells off in my head. 

I turned the water on and let it run for a second, dumbly expecting it to wash everything away – but the stream of water was nowhere near where it needed to be. 

"Here," Brie said, as she stretched up to the shower head and put it into my hand. She pulled up the little device on the tap, and let me aim the water where it had to go. "You can deal from here, right? There's probably some disinfectant lying around here somewhere, but," she shrugged. "I'm not cleaning up, and you don't really look well enough to deal with anything right now," she laughed. 

I shot her a weak glare, rinsing away the last of the vomit and turning the water off. 

"I'll just tell Noah some rando barfed in here, he'll clean it up properly tomorrow," she said, shrugging again. "Unless you want me to tell him it was you?" Brie added, eyebrows flicking up dangerously. 

"God, no," I managed to spit out. 

Brie grinned. "Cool," she said, winking conspiratorially at me. I started to think winking ran in the family, because just as Noah could pull it off and not look totally dorky, Brie seemed to manage it too. Only, she didn't come across as charming or playful – instead, she seemed weirdly powerful. Like I didn't want to cross her. "It'll be our secret," she added, before turning on her heel and leaving me alone. Finally. 

Just because I was alone didn't mean it was peaceful, however. The music and sounds of the party still permeated through the wall, and I was wondering how I could get out without attracting too much attention. Everyone here had been pretty nice to me so far, and they all knew I was the New Girl, so they'd been looking out for me on some level. I'd had recommendations about the best places to eat, the best sights to see, the best times to surf... I felt so weirdly welcomed, I was sure it would be impossible to make a covert escape. 

Upon steadying myself for a moment and leaving the guest bedroom behind, I was almost immediately proven correct as a voice cut over the background noise. 

"Hey! Let me know when you're ready for round two," Noah's girlfriend said, beaming at me as she passed by with two dark-haired girls, all of them giggling together. I managed a small smile, and tried to stop thinking of her as just Noah's girlfriend. It was a weird knee-jerk thought that came before her name – Melissa – would rise up in my memory. It seemed almost as if my brain wanted Brie to know I really, really totally knew all about Noah's relationship status, even if I was trying to gloss over that fact myself. 

The three girls continued on down the hall, heading back to the kitchen. I watched them go for a second, wondering idly where Noah was, since he wasn't with Melissa. I thought about trying to find him so I could say goodbye, but the prospect of sneaking off undetected was way more appealing. I knew I didn't look cute, and I wasn't feeling fun. I'd be miserable company. I just wanted to be at home with some garbage to watch on the ancient TV my parents had put in the house and Noah's potaje there to fill the hole in my stomach and soak up any of the remaining alcohol. 

I pulled open the front door, feeling the breeze wash over me, and tried not to be too impressed with the island. The night sky was mesmerizing in the way it tended to be clear enough to actually see the stars, and the fact that it was dark out and still pleasantly warm was something that was taking some getting used to, as well. 

I was blinking up at the stars as I tried to quietly close the door behind me, and only then did I notice that the breeze was carrying over the thick smell of smoke. 

"New girl!" Matt, if I remembered correctly, greeted me with a smile. "You sneaking off early or out here to smoke, too?" 

I glanced over at him, but wound up staring at his companion instead: Noah. 

"Hey, don't corrupt her," Noah grinned. "Pretty sure she's a good girl. I don't want you ruining her," he teased, jostling Matt's shoulder lightly. 

"She can do what she wants, Flores. You're welcome to one if you want. Don't let your old man here stop you," Matt laughed, flipping the lid open casually on his pack of cigarettes. 

"I don't smoke," I said, wondering how my luck could be so bad. No one looked good after puking their guts out, and it just didn't seem fair that I'd bump into Noah even after deciding to dip out quietly. 

Noah smiled and tipped his head back, looking up at the sky as I had before. 

"You're both goddamn goody-goodies," Matt tutted, dropping his cigarette butt to the ground and stamping it out almost delicately. "Now I gotta smoke enough for the three'a us. How's that fair?" he teased, shooting me a smirk before he opened the door up. "You guys comin' back in?"

Noah looked over at me, but I just shook my head at Matt. Noah then shook his, too. 

"We're good," he said. 

"Suit yourselves," Matt sighed, as if it was a huge burden on him, as he shut the door behind himself. 

Noah looked back up to the sky, his smile growing to a grin. His hair was being lightly blown out of place, but somehow it only added to his overall everything. 

I did my best not to fixate on how I'd been at my least attractive, throwing up in his bathroom, within the past half an hour. It was like I didn't even deserve to be in his presence.