Anomalous

Chapter 6

Him pushing me on the swings. Him teaching me how to skip rocks. His screams when Mom would beat him which caused him not to wake up until next day. The door was always closed.

It was all coming back to me now. All of it.

His grin gave off happiness and delight; though his stormy hazel eyes held a thunder that looked unfamiliar.

"And now, I would like to bring to you the most talented, the most amazing, and the most sharp-teethed performer that I have ever met. Please give swarm welcome to, Ryder Jaxx!"

My eyes stayed on 'Mick' until I saw him wink at some girl at the bar with blue hair in pretty curls. She blew a kiss his way as she took puff of her cigarette.

The smoke surrounded her head like a halo as she swiftly exhaled. Her dark eye makeup against her pale skin made her look even more gothic and exotic.

It was like I was in a trance; I didn't even feel the crowd of girls pushing me out of the way to get to the stage.

One last look at the dark and mysterious girl, and I was faced with the worst luck.

First, I see someone who might not be my brother but could be; and now, I'm seeing the man from the bookstore who complimented my underwear.

Well look what the devil brought in.

Cami and every other person in the concert hall were so excited that I could see their hearts beating out of their chests. The guy hadn't even said a words yet.

Rolling my eyes, I decided that I needed a drink.

"I'm gonna go to the bar!"

I had to yell in her ear, but she still completely ignored me.

Not wasting another holler from my lung, I left the happy girl with the other happy girls. Including the vengeful and nasty: Amelia Mitchell.

Successfully not getting trampled, I make it to the bar safely and sit on one of the three wobbly stools.

"An old fashioned, please," I announce to the waiter. Laughter coming from beside me suddenly made me feel self conscious.

Never in my life have I ever had a sip of alcohol. Yeah, Mom drinks it all the time and there's full bottles everywhere, but Dad always told me not to and drinking was never going to solve my problems.

Also she never left her glass until it was completely empty.

"Identification?" The middle aged man behind the counter asked while cleaning a foggy glass.

Shit. I forgot about that.

In the the process of me stuttering like an i***t, the woman who laughed spoke up.

"Two tequilas. Lime and salt on the side, will ya?" The girl with the blue hair's New York accent was super thick.

"I can't give either of you anything if I don't see a proper ID," he went to serve another customer, but the girl grabbed his arm and leaned over the counter.

"Will you be a kind sir and give us two tequilas; with lime and salt? And keep 'em coming."Her voice got deeper like something took her over.

"Coming right up," the man sat two shot glasses in front of us and began to fill them with the clear gasoline. Then came the lime and salt.

I'm too shocked to form words.

"How did you-"

She sprinkled a little salt on the top of my hand and put the lime in front of me.

"Salt, shot, and then lime. Drink up, little birdy," she immediately did the steps and I tried to follow her lead.

The salt was fine, but when the tequila hit the back of my throat it felt like hell quadrupled.

"Lime! Lime!"

I did what the mysterious blue haired girl said and sucked on the lime.

Damn. No wonder Mom is so addicted to this stuff.

After a breather, I looked at her and we cackled like old ladies in the movie theater.

"Another?" She questioned wiggling her eyebrows.

I didn't hesitate.

"Another!"

The bartender poured us 5 more after that and kept the limes coming.

Luckily the concert was loud enough to drown out our noise. Not gonna lie, this band wasn't that bad. Or maybe it was because I was drunk?

I'm surprised Camila hasn't come to find me yet. Even from my seat I can see her short blonde hair shaking in the air.

"You know, for the thirty minutes that I've known you, I still have no clue of what your name is." I even sound drunk.

The bartender poured us our sixth one fit the night. We picked up our glasses.

"Facts. I'm Lucy."

"Eve." We clanged our glasses together and I naturally downed it like I'd been drinking for years.

Now I want to ask the question that's been burning in my brain since I'd seen her.

"So, the drummer. You guys know each other?" I nervously played with the rim of my lime anticipated her answer.

She raised a brow and lit another cigarette.

"Yeah. For a while now," she inhaled from it and blew the smoke through her nose.

"What, you know him from somewhere or something?"

"No! No, he just looks familiar. Maybe because of the popularity." I strayed away from her question and kept asking mine.

"Again, where did you guys meet? How did you meet?"

"Wow, you're persistent," she put her cig in front of me, "you want a drag?"

Along with the thousand other things I haven't done, this was on top of that list. I agree with my parents about drugs. They are addictive and they could lead the future diseases and problems.

However, I've already had the taste of tequila. More than once. Why not taste a little tobacco too.

Fuck it.

I took the cancer stick between my fingers and tried to copy what I'd seen her do for the past hour.

I held in the deadly smoke and slowly let it out through my mouth.

Laughing like a crazy person, I took another hit.

A rush of exhilaration and euphoric went through me as I held each puff I took in longer than the last.

Is this what heaven is supposed to feel like?

I completely forgot that I had asked her a question.

"Easy, tiger. I thought you were gonna say 'no at first' but now you draining my blunt." She shook her head and chuckled. I continued to smoke not giving a care in the world.

"Back to your question, I know Mick Oz because we went to high school and college together. Though her went by an entirely different alias. Him and Ryder started as a small, kiddie band, but look at them now." She pointed toward the stage and Ryder pulled out an electric guitar and went on his knees to play an ear-bleeding solo. Made the girls go wild.

Wait.

"A different alias? What was it, if you don't mind me asking," my last drag made me kind of dizzy and a bit more smoky.

I started to see two cigs and 3 Lucy's. My eyes were getting heavier and my body became weaker.

"I'm sorry, but I won't be able to tell you that. It's been real."

She snapped her finger in front of my face and then the covers were over my eyes.

I didn't see the tequila. My beloved cigarette. Nor did I hear the screams of Parker behind a closed door. I felt at peace.

Is this heaven?