Page 27 of Almost Ours

One hand is scraping along the wall as she tries to keep herself upright, but her knees suddenly give and she drops heavily onto the floor. She doesn’t even seem to really notice she stacked it. She just sits there against the wall, staring ahead with this completely blank expression.

I crouch down in front of her. She’s a mess up close, silver glitter smeared across one cheek, mascara running underneath both eyes and lipstick all over the place. The smell of vodka and sick is so strong I have to breathe through my mouth.

“Hey.” I wave a hand gently in front of her. “You alright?”

She blinks at me a few times, squinting as though she's struggling to bring me into focus. "I don't feel very good."

"Yeah." I soften my voice. "What's your name?"

It takes her a worrying amount of time to answer. "...Jess."

"Hi, Jess. I'm Ruby. Do you know where your friends are?"

“I don’t know.” She slurs, her face falling. “I think I’ve lost them."

"It's okay. We'll find them."

"I've only known them a day," she sniffles, looking close to tears. "What if they don't even like me?"

"You were hanging out with them for Freshers, right?” She sadly nods. I give a despondent smile. “I'd say that's a pretty good sign."

She stares at me blankly for a second before nodding to herself. "...Yeah."

"Can you stand up for me?" She nods again and I take both her hands, gently pulling her to her feet. She sways so violently I have to grab her before she falls straight back down again, wrapping an arm around her waist as she leans almost her entire body weight against me. "There we go," I murmur, struggling under the weight of it. "You're doing brilliantly."

She’s seriously fucked.

Her head drops heavily against my shoulder, and I realise she's barely keeping her eyes open. "Come on." I adjust my grip, trying to take a little more of her weight. "Let's get you somewhere quieter."

She shuffles forwards beside me, taking small, clumsy steps that are more enthusiastic than coordinated. Then her legs suddenly stop cooperating altogether. Her knees buckle without warning, and she folds into me so quickly that I barely have time to react.

"Oh—" I catch her beneath the arms before she can hit the floor, but the movement throws me completely off balance. My back collides with the wall with a dull thud as I desperately try to keep us both upright, my trainers slipping slightly as I struggle to find any leverage.

“Oh, shit.” I sound winded.

“Sorry,” she slurs, slumping into me even more.

“Jess?” I breathe, trying to haul her back onto her feet. “I need you to help me a little bit.” She gets two steps before her legs give out completely and collapses into me. “Fuck—” I catch her badly, slamming back against the wall while her full weight drags at my arms. “Jess, help me. Come on.”

She tries, but her knees fold again and I’m seconds away from ending up on the floor with her when a hand closes around her arm beside mine.

“I’ve got her.”

I look up and my heart nearly falls clean out of my arse. “Josh?”

“Yeah.” He ducks beneath Jess’s arm and takes most of her weight from me, shifting her against his side while I stand there trying to understand where the fuck he came from.

“Where did you come from?”

“Toilets. Saw you struggling on my way back.” He looks down at Jess, who is barely holding her own head up now. “What’s going on?”

I blow out a shaky breath and flex my aching fingers. “She’s really out of it. I don’t know if it’s just drink or something more.”

“Did you ask her?”

I gesture at Jess. “Well… no?”

Josh nods, like that’s a fair point. “What’s her name?”