Chapter 15: The Accident
Nina The hockey game ended early after the fight. As it turned out, the player who attacked Enzo was on steroids to be bigger and stronger, and he took too many of them. When Enzo scored a goal, the other player flew into a fit of rage. He had a seizure while I was tending to Enzo, but I heard from Tiffany that he turned out okay — but he would be disqualified from participating in hockey for the rest of his time in university and was on probation at his school.
Even though the game ended early, our team still won since we had several more points than the other team by the time Enzo was attacked, which meant two things: the hockey team would be moving onto the next round of the tournament, and the party would still be held.
I didn’t want to go to the party. I was planning on going home, but before I could get away, Jessica and Lori cornered me and talked me into it.
“C’mon!” Jessica whined, pressing her hands together in a prayerlike gesture and pushing out her lower lip like she usually did when she wanted something. “All of the hot guys are gonna be there.”
I finally caved and agreed to go, but went home and changed into something more appropriate for a party. Just like the last party, I couldn’t help but want to look good… it felt like my feminine instincts were coming out and making me want to impress Enzo, even though I wanted no part of that romance. I put on a tight-fitting top and skinny jeans, along with my usual leather jacket and a bit of eye makeup.
We arrived at the party a while after it had already begun. Of course, Justin and Enzo were there. They seemed to be avoiding each other. Lisa was there, too. I didn’t dare to go anywhere near any of the hockey players after I saw the evil look she gave me.
“Here,” Lori said, grabbing me a beer from the cooler. The party was in one of the frat houses since it was still raining and chilly outside, although some people hung out on the porch.
I gratefully took the beer. We clinked our bottles together and drank. After everything that had happened lately, I just wanted to forget about all of it… so I drank more. And more.
The alcohol soon took over me and let me loosen up, so I felt comfortable dancing. I could feel both Enzo’s and Justin’s eyes on me as I danced, but I didn’t care. I decided that tonight, I would just ignore them and have fun.
At one point, Lori, Jessica and I stumbled out of the living room onto the back porch for some fresh air. We were laughing, our cheeks rosy from the alcohol.
“That Matt guy from the hockey team always looks at me at these parties,” Jessica said as she pulled a cigarette out of her purse and lit it up. “I kinda feel like hooking up with him tonight.”
Lori didn’t say anything. I knew that she never really cared for guys too much, and preferred girls. One night, after smoking weed together last semester, she told me her biggest secret: she had feelings for Jessica. But Jessica was straight, so it was never happening. I promised never to reveal Lori’s secret, but it did always make my heart ache for her when things like this happened.
After smoking for a bit, Jessica primped her hair and pushed her breasts together. “How do I look?” she said. ” Hot enough for a hockey player?”
Lori and I both nodded — I could see Lori’s face turn even redder, but I pretended not to notice. “Yeah,” I said. “Go get em, tiger.”
With a grin, Jessica pranced back inside, leaving Lori and I alone. Lori sighed and leaned on the railing, letting the ash from her joint fall onto the ground. Her black hair, with purple streaks in it, fell in her face. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, rubbing her back. “I know it sucks.”
She simply shrugged. “It’s alright. It happens. I’m just feeling extra lonely tonight, that’s all.”
I bit my lip, hurting to see my friend feel this way. Just then, a drunk girl stumbled out onto the porch. She was short and curvy with brown hair that was cut in a boyish way and a nose ring.
“Oh, sorry,” she said when she saw Lori and I. She turned around to leave, but not before Lori looked up and caught her eye. They stared at each other for several seconds. The girl’s face turned red and her eyes practically glowed with attraction, but then she turned around and went back inside.
Lori stood and brushed herself off, putting out her joint on the railing before looking at me with a smirk on her face. “Go get em, tiger,” I said, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her inside.
I was alone now on the porch. I walked over to the steps and sat down with a sigh. While my friends were having fun, I admittedly felt lonely, too. For a moment, I wondered if I should risk talking to Enzo. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad hooking up again… but no, that was just the alcohol talking. That was a really bad idea.
I heard the door open behind me. “That was quick,” I said, assuming it was Jessica or Lori. But when I turned around, it wasn’t either of them; it was Justin.
He was extremely drunk, swaying back and forth with tears in his eyes and a bottle in his hand. He took a step toward me and stumbled, and out of instinct I jumped up and caught him.
“I love you, Nina,” he said with a hiccup as he leaned on my shoulder. ” Why won’t you take me back?”
I didn’t know what to say. He was clearly too drunk to understand what he was doing. I should’ve said something, though. Anything to get him to go away… but I didn’t and he took it the wrong way. He kissed me.
I pushed him away quickly, but it was too late. He had already kissed me deeply, and when I looked over his shoulder as he stumbled backward against the door, I saw Enzo’s glowing eyes looking at me from inside.
Before I had the chance to explain what happened, Enzo was gone. I heard the front door slam and the sound of a motorcycle starting up, all while Justin continued to sway in front of me and mumble drunken nonsense..
Justin lurched toward me and tried to kiss me again, but I quickly stepped out of the way, which caused him to lose his balance in his drunken state and stumble forward. I didn’t have the chance to catch him before he fell down the porch stairs.
It was only a few stairs, and he tell directly onto the grass, but he fell hard. Someone shouted from inside and a few people on the hockey team came running out to see what happened.
“Oh my god!” one of the hockey players said, running down the steps and helping Justin up. “Nina pushed him!”
“I didn’t-”
No one was listening. I heard a woman scream, and out rushed Lisa. “My poor Justin!” she shouted dramatically, running down the steps and cupping Justin’s face in her hands. “Are you alright?”
He nodded drunkenly, but that wasn’t enough. Lisa pulled him into a hug and glared at me over his shoulder. “You’re a psycho!” she screamed in her shrill voice. “Get out of here, you freak!”
Tears welled up in my eyes, and I didn’t bother to defend myself against Lisa. I just wanted to go home. I stormed through the house and out the front door, and started walking back to campus.
When I finally arrived at home, I threw myself down into my pillow and sobbed. Why couldn’t these boys just leave me alone?
After this, I had had enough. I didn’t want anything to do with these people anymore. All I had to do was get through my shift with Tiffany on Monday, and then I would go to the dean and demand a reassignment.
