Memory Lane

Chapter Twenty Five

"A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness." -Robert Frost

Memory Lane: Chapter Twenty Five

I jump back with a gasp as the cold liquid covers me. It splashes against my top, soaking everything from my neck down as it cascades from my shoulders to my legs. The sound of the rest of it splashing against the linoleum floor overtakes the sound of the crowds collective gasp. Everyone seems to have chosen now to come to the kitchen for a refill and I swear half the party is standing around.

A few feet away, Shay tries to hide a smirk behind her hand as if to feign surprise. But she bumped right into Freddie and I know that wasn't an accident. Her catlike eyes meet mine and she shrugs.

"Oops."

"Oh my god. Laura, I am so sorry!" Freddie quickly sets the now half-empty cooler down. "Shay bumped into me, I didn't mean to..."

He trails off, eyes outlining my body. I look down at myself and my heart gets lodged in my throat.

Why did I choose to wear a white top?

Now that it's soaked, it's almost completely see-through and everyone can see my bra and my stomach. My face heats up and I cover myself up, wishing to be anywhere but here. But my arms aren't doing a great job and I still feel exposed.

I'm unsure of what to do. I start to panic as more eyes land on me. It doesn't help that the alcohol in the juice apparently doesn't mix well with my medical lotion, because my legs are beginning to burn painfully.

Suddenly, a large protective figure looms in front of me and blocks me from view. I peer up and catch Jesse's gaze over his hard set jaw.

His anger flickers into worry when he sees the pure panic on my face.

"Breathe," he murmurs gently.

I realize that in my panic, my breathing has become ragged and painful, so I start to work on controlling it. Instantly, he takes off his hoodie to give to me to cover up, revealing a simple white t-shirt underneath. I hope he doesn't get juice dumped on him.

With shaking hands, I take the hoodie and cover my front. I don't put it on since I don't want to risk getting it soaked as well. My legs begin to sting so painfully that I barely keep in a whimper of pain, but fortunately I swallow it down.

"Thank you," I murmur quietly, too afraid to look away from him and catch the watching eyes of my classmates.

Honestly, falling off of the coffee table would have been less embarrassing than this.

"Come on." He places a warm hand on the small of my back, keeping me close as he directs me to what I assume is the bathroom to allow me to change out of my now useless top.

However, Shay steps in our path before we can even leave the kitchen.

This girl really has the audacity...

Her lip is jutted out in a pout as she stares at Jesse, feigning guilt. He clearly doesn't buy it, his worry completely disappearing into rage when he sees her. Meanwhile, I just want to get to the bathroom to check on my legs. The stinging is only getting worse by the minute.

"Jesse, it was an accident," she cries. "Freddie came out of nowhere and clearly I've had a little too much to drink tonight... I'm sorry!"

"Sorry that you got caught. Not that you did it," I mutter under my breath.

Still, she could honestly get an Oscar for that performance. I think she even has some tears brewing in her eyes. Fortunately, Jesse is good at seeing through bullshit and he levels her with his steely gaze.