chapter 6

                                    

                                          
Chapter Song: Landlocked Blues by Bright Eyes
and the world's got me dizzy again
you'd think after 22 years 
i'd be used to the spin
and it only gets worse when i stay in one place
so i'm always pacing around or walkin' away


Billie and I didn't speak after that, and in April, I met Max. 
My drinking benders had gotten really depressing, so I'd started attending parties again. You know... just to be wasted near other people, for a change. 
My friend Lara started inviting me to visit her in Boston. I'd reached out to her on a lonely whim one night, and ended up snorting coke at her loft on a Tuesday at 4 am. It was something to do. 
Now my head was lolled back on the couch, feet pulled up on the edge of the seat, when a weight settled down on the spot beside me. I turned to look, and found something... pretty. 
"Hi," they said, and their image blurred hazily at the edges. "You okay?"
I couldn't nod. "Maybe."
They tilted their head. Long, crazy brown curls fell down around their face. They were extremely skinny, with caramel colored skin, bare at the shoulders. 
"You're not sure?"
I laughed, and it felt good. My heart felt like it was running a race, and my body tried to get up, but couldn't. It felt... fucking awful, too. 
"No," I giggled. 
The pretty figure in front of me smiled slightly, then reached out with a tentative hand. They ran their fingers down my cheek.  
"I'll get you some water. Don't move."
They were tall, and when they stood up I had to arch my neck further to look all the way up at them. I laughed. 
They crossed the large loft, past small groups of people talking, couples and throuples making out lazily. I watched them grab a water bottle off a counter, and come back, stepping over two guys passed out together in the middle of the floor. 
They reached me, pulled the cap off, and handed me the bottle. I held it. 
"Are you a boy or a girl?" I asked, confused. 
Their eyebrows raised, and a small smirk slid across their features as they dropped back down into the couch beside me. 
"I don't think you're allowed to ask that anymore," they chuckled. 
I frowned. I seemed to remember something about that. 
"Oh," I said, confused. "But... are you a boy or a girl?"
They laughed louder this time. "Technically... I have biologically female parts. But does that really matter?"
I shrugged. I liked both, so, I guess it didn't, not to me anyway. I would've been fine with whatever was in those skinny trousers.
"You're very... pretty," I said, in awe. 
They bit back a sexy laugh. "Thanks, Claire."
I gasped, clapping my hand to my mouth. "Do you know me?"
They shook their head, chuckling again. I'm very funny. 
"Not personally, no. But everyone here knows you."
I nodded, solemn. "I'm very famous."
"You're very high."
I gasped again. "I am not."
"Claire, I just watched you snort 4 lines of blow while smoking a blunt... you are most certainly high."
"What's your name?" I asked abruptly.