Chapter 4: Drunk?

After sleeping for what seemed to be hours, I woke up around a quarter past seven in the evening with an empty stomach. My stomach began grumbling the moment I went into the bathroom to take a cold shower. After the shower, I changed into a simple dress before heading downstairs. There I found aunt Vicky watching a TV show on SatView while giggling. I couldn't help but smile at her. Just then my phone, which was with me, beeped. The sound drew her attention to me. "Laura is that you?" she asked and quickly proceeded before waiting for me to reply, "Your dinner is on the dining table" she apprised. "Okay, aunt!" I said as I checked my phone, it was a random message from my service provider about their new plan. I ignored the message and unhesitatingly headed to the dining table. I checked the warmers and found out it was my favorite meal. Spaghetti sauce and meatballs. How I loved it, so f*cking loved it. I quickly settled down, served myself, and began eating like a hungry wolf. I didn't even worry to ask myself about Jessica until I was finally done with the food. Then I began wondering where she could be. It was obvious she ate her dinner already, which means she could be in her room at the moment… right? I cleared the table, washed the dishes, and then went upstairs to check on her. Unfortunately, she wasn't in her room. I went downstairs and asked aunt Vicky where she is, to which she told me she went clubbing. "Clubbing? Jessica does that?" I asked wrinkling my brows and dropping my jaws in bewilderment. "Yeah, every damn night. The only time she doesn't go clubbing is when she's sick or exhausted" she replied. "Hmm, okay but..." I paused not even knowing what else to say. I just didn't like the idea of her clubbing, but it's her life. "But what, Laura?" Aunt Vicky asked. "Nothing, just wondering if it's safe out there," I said heaving a sigh. "Of course it is!" she uttered and then gestured to me to come to sit close to her, "Come here, let's watch this show together. I've been laughing since, it's just so funny" "Okay," I said as I sluggishly walked over to her and sat near her on the couch. The show was all about guessing at least the seventy percent ingredients used for a particular food, to which the winner would go home with ten thousand dollars. It wasn't really easy as it seemed to be, and as we continued watching I found the show more interesting. When all the participants couldn't guess seventy percent of the ingredients used in the food they were offered, the person with the highest guess-score or percentage amongst them was declared the winner. His name was Mike Bobby. Aunt Vicky was so happy for him, she even sent me to get some beverages from the fridge for celebration... to which I unhesitatingly did. "I knew the guy would win right from the start, he was such a genius!" she said. "Oh, yeah, I see" I muttered as Jessica's thought came into my mind again. So pathetic, what if something bad happens to her out there? I wondered. I was really worried, you know? Even though her mother said it was safe. I just didn't feel it was safe, probably because I wasn't used to it. I was an introvert and my father would never allow me to go out clubbing. Why would he even do that? Why would any sane parent do that? Anyways, people are different and I wasn't supposed to care about Jessica's clubbing but caring for people was something I was raised with…by my parents. Shortly after aunt Vicky left the sitting room to her room upstairs, I heard the sound of a vehicle as it parked closer to the house. I walked to one of the windows and peeped through the glass. There I found Jessica coming out of a Sedan. She blew a kiss to the driver of the car and waved at him as he drove away. Then she turned and began walking towards the house's main entrance like she was going to fall any moment. Was she drunk? Well, she obviously is. I thought to myself before shrugging and returning to the couch. As soon as she walked into the house, she belched crazily and chuckled, "Oops, you are still awake?" she said to me. "Yeah! How about you, are you drunk or something?" I asked to be sure of my hunch. "Well, it depends on who's asking," she said and began heading towards the stairs. "I am the one asking," I said trailing her. "Well, as you can see I don't even need to answer you. Of course, I am drunk!" she belched again, "It's good to be drunk" "It's not!" I protested, and that made her stopped halfway through the stairway. "Hey," she chuckled, "what's up with the rage? First, I own my life. Second, I didn't force any alcohol down your throat. Third, nobody is complaining except you. If it's wrong to consume alcohol, just report me to the police already" she said in what seemed like a whisper as she turned about leaving when she missed a step in the stairway. Hopefully, I was able to grab her before she fall down. "Thanks, big sis" she sarcastically said. It was clear she wasn't in her senses hence, I helped her to her room and laid her on her bed. She was smelling. She must have consumed a lot of glasses before coming back home. Was that what aunt Vicky considered safe, going to a club at night and coming back drunk? What if something bad happens to her? What if someone takes advantage of her? What if she gets herself into trouble? I shook my head and left the room to mine. I then took a photo album from my traveling bag and began going through the pages. I miss my parents.