"I cornered her near the stereo." Kim replied quietly, "She was playing the wallflower if you will, and I wanted to bring out the sweet funny side of her." She took in a breath and looked at the faces of her audience, "I thought the vodka would work in her drink, she was only drinking juice anyway."
Mechelle closed her eyes and bit her lips while her short fingernails dug into the back of her laced hands. 'I can't believe this.' Her mind fought to convince herself, she couldn't accept that Kim would do this to her. Not her best friend!
Zac watched her display of emotions from his chair, his elbows resting on his thighs and his hands clenching into fists repeatedly. Gritting his teeth he fought the urge to glare at Kim for causing such turbulent emotions for her.
Noticing the crackling tension in the room, Kim licked at her suddenly dry lips. She knew this would not be a friendly chat, and though there were likely to be tears, they would not be ones of joy, nor hugs of gratitude and love between them. She cleared her throat, ready to accept that she was about to lose a great friend. "I guess we had given her too much. I had already had too much and knew it, but Shells didn't." Her head shook, "When we heard the neighbor complaining about calling the cops, I got scared and new it was time to go."
Frowning and biting her bottom lip savagely she watched Mechelle carefully, as she slowly absorbed the new information. "I was going to make Shells drive, but when I saw her, so unsteady and giggling," her head shook, "I knew I had to do it myself. No one was even close to being sober, and I didn't want to call a cab and leave my car there for the police to find."
"So," She said breathing out heavily, "I took the matter into my own stupid hands, and dumbly got behind the wheel and tried to drive Shells and I home."
Mechelle jumped to her feet, "Stop!" She cried out, her voice thick with agony. "I was driving!" She shouted, the tears already flowing down her cheeks as her arms hugged her midriff, "I was the one who did this to us!"
Closing her eyes with the painful truth, Kim shook her head roughly. "No." She whispered hoarsely. "No! I caused it. You were sleeping in the passenger seat," Tears choked her throat, but she continued on, her voice thick with emotion. "It was dark and I was so nervous and scared I'd get in a wreck that when I saw an animal, raccoon maybe," she said shaking her head in uncertainty.
Lowering her head she continued, "I got scared, slammed on the breaks, and swerved." Her voice breaking there and she painfully cleared her throat, "We hit a dead tree." Hysteria started crawling up on her as her arms hugged her midriff like Mechelle still was. "It seemed like forever before having the accident sunk in," she murmured softly. "When it did I started panicking and checked on Shells, her forehead was bleeding where it had hit the dashboard."
Her head started shaking and her upper body trembled as she relived the terrible moment. "I couldn't be caught behind the driver's seat. I was head cheerleader, vice president of the student council, head of the dance committee." A cry escaped her throat, "I was so selfish and worried about myself that I shoved Shells into the drivers seat and jerked myself into the passenger's."
Raising a tearstained face she stared at her friend, "Without knowing it, I had broken a vertebrae and when I moved so roughly it chipped at a nerve." A slow breath eased passed her lips, "So I did this to myself, and allowed Shells to take the fall, and the guilt of it all."
A silence strengthened and filled the room, becoming almost deafening to their sensitized nerves and hearing. Without warning, Mechelle was jumping up, her heart heavy with an ache she couldn't place. Her eyes searched the room wildly, though she couldn't see it.
Zac laid his head in his hands, his eyes staring blankly at his fingers. He had blamed Mechelle this whole time. Questioned her, doubted her, and all because of something she didn't even do. What did that say about him?
Summer watched as the scene unfolded, she wanted to comfort them all at once, but that wasn't possible. So whom did she go to first? Zac, her longest known friend? Mechelle, the one she had just met but still sympathized with? Kim, who was hurting over the whole ordeal from her own silence? Or Jakob? Her eyes turned to him; he seemed to be as confused as her.
Then it all seemed to change; the expressions on Mechelle's face softened as she turned and felt for Kim's chair. Dumbly her fingers found the metal and she pulled it towards her as she bent in half, awkwardly enveloping Kim in her arms.
"I wish you knew, I wish you could see how bad I feel about this, Shells." Kim cried out as they both wept in each other's arms.
Pulling back slightly, Mechelle clumsily ran the flat of her right hand down her friend's face slowly. Feeling the frown marring her forehead, the wetness of tears, and the trembling of her mouth. "I see it." She murmured, "I see you."
Zac knew then, it was going to be all right.
Getting up Summer walked over and grabbed his hand in comfort, smiling gratefully, he walked over to Jakob with her in tow, and patted him on the back.
Jakob smiled up at him in relief, yes, it was going to be all right now.
