Simone's heels clacked against the sidewalk as she walked up to the Rhino House. A silly name for a bar. She should ask about it as she was curious each time she came here but kept forgetting.
Her feet were already hurting from the short walk. Not only did she rarely wear heels, but she had stomped the whole way here. Her mind was filled with her father's infuriating sneer. She touched her cheek. The pain from the slap was long gone, but her teeth clenched in renewed anger.
If only he were here in front of her right now. There would be no passive wimpy behavior from her. Oh no, not this time. She would give him a fitting response.
She reached for the door handle and yanked it open. The air inside was cool. She shivered. She hadn't thought to put on anything but the dress. It was late spring outside, but her anger had heated her up so much, she didn't realize how strange it was to be dressed so light. And exposed.
It was a Friday night and the place was packed. Voices, glasses, a soccer match on the tv and blaring music. It was symphony of noise which assaulted her ears.
The other times she'd come here, it had been relatively quiet.
The whole place was black. The walls, the tables the chairs, the ceiling, even the hanging lights.
Many eyes turned to her as she walked in. Men and women. She saw one guy raise his eyebrows. She didn't know if he was admiring or judging her attire. Given the season, probably the latter.
Her shoulders hunched a bit before she quickly straightened herself. She would not shrink now. She didn't put on this dress to still be an insecure mess. Who cared if her ass might be showing?
Strutting to the bar counter, she sat down on the swivel chair and ordered three drinks at once.
The barmaid eyed her up and down. "Three at once? You sure about that."
"Hundred percent. I just had to spend an entire day with my shitty father, one at a time is not gonna cut it." Simone propped her elbow. "Where's Kayla by the way? Doesn't she usually work the later shifts?"
"She's out of town," the barmaid replied, going over to open a new tab on the POS system.
Simone twiddled her thumbs before looking up at the tv. She watched with disinterest, turning her body out to the side and crossing her legs. She glanced down at her painted toenails. Her feet looked good in these heels. She should wear heels more often. She had six pairs which were effectively collecting dust in the back of her closet.
Tapping her finger on the bar top, she signed in misery. She tried to keep her mind empty, but she couldn't stop remembering. She hated how every time she interacted with her father, he always left yet another bad memory for her to ruminate over later. So much so that he always tainted her visits with Mina. She couldn't even think about the happy moments with her little sister without immediately being reminded by the sour ones that followed.
The bike ride and his scornful lecture.
The movie and him telling her to stop laughing.
The ice-cream and him calling her a fat slob. Followed by a slap.
Then the muddy water as an extra cherry on top.
"Here's your drinks."
"Thanks." Exhaling sharply, Simone sucked hard on the straw of her spiced rum. She did not even really like rum, but she savored the burn to her throat which took away some of her anger.
Moving between each glass of alcohol, she only took a break to breathe and clear her throat before draining all of its contents. Leaning back, she smiled even as her stomach felt a bit uneasy. She was finally drunk. Her mind had that heavy and disconnected feeling which made the space around her feel less real. "Can I get two shots of tequila? And another Long Island, but in peach flavor."
"Sure thing."
"Thanks darling," Simone replied, smiling as she leaned back, stretching her arms and legs. She yanked her dress down when she realized it'd ridden up past her thighs.
Clack! Clack! She downed both shots consecutively and her tossed back her head. Her nape was getting very sweaty so she she pulled all her hair to one side and fanned at it.
Picking up her drink, she drank it fast and once more leaned back as she felt it do its magic. Holy shit balls, was this ever a good idea! She should have done this sooner. But she'd been too concerned about damaging her kidneys. How absurd, she wasn't even 30. Getting drunk once in a while wasn't a big deal. As long as she didn't mix it with sleeping pills.
Oh shoot, were the pills she took earlier still effective? It'd been over 3 hours, surely not. Ugh, who cared!
She kept ordering drinks to the point the barmaid gave her a look and insisted on bringing her glasses of water as well. Arian complied, drinking everything that was brough to her until her bladder was pressed.
Sliding off the high stool, she felt a wave of dizziness. Taking a moment to steady herself, she walked to the washroom. It was at the end of a long hallway and she had to place her hands on the wall to keep herself upright. Her left leg buckled and she nearly hit the wall when a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back up.
"Are you alright?"
Simone held a hand to her head, squeezing her eyes shut. "I'm good, thanks." Her words came out in a slur. "First time I've been this drunk." She didn't look over as the stranger helped her to the ladies washroom. She muttered another thanks as she entered and went to the toilet.
Sitting on the toilet, she rubbed her temples and felt her body sway. Crap, how drunk am I? She stayed there for a long time. Until her ass felt uncomfortable from the toilet seat.
Getting up, she had to keep holding and leaning on every structure near her as she went to wash her hands. Looking at her face in the mirror, she saw that she was covered in sweat, especially on her upper lip. And her eyes had begun to turn pink.
Stepping out of the washroom, she nearly fell down again. The same stranger grabbed her and pulled her up against him. "Who are you here with? Why isn't anyone helping you?"
She was surprised. "Did you wait for me all this time?" She wasn't sure how she felt about that.
"I did. You're clearly shit faced and the barmaid told me to keep an eye on you."
"Oh." Simone leaned against him, he was very sturdy and smelled good.
"So who're you here with?"
"I came here alone. I wasn't planning on getting this drunk. Thanks again. I'll be fine though, I live 5 minutes away." Simone breathed in his cologne, it smelled familiar.
The stranger helped her to the nearest table and lowered her onto a chair. "You're far too drunk to drive, I'll call you a cab."
She slumped onto the table and rested her head on her arms, closing her eyes. "I'm 5 minutes away on foot, no need to call a cab. Can you grab me my purse? I haven't paid yet." She fell asleep.