Maddie rarely drinks.

Okay, maybe not rarely. But, honestly, she doesn't drink that much.

There's a lot of stories, and sure, it seems like any noteworthy time lately has involved her drinking, but still, the truth remains that Maddie doesn't drink that much. At least, not as much as she used to.

At parties, she tries to limit herself to one, maybe two drinks, and usually that's enough; usually she's satisfied with one or two. But sometimes, her conscious evades her by the second drink, and she has no mind to stop her from indulging further, but that itself is a rare occasion.

The problem is: she's a lightweight, and every time there's a reason for more than one or two drinks, she's carried away in the grandeur. She knows she'll regret it in the morning, clearly visualizing herself hunched over a toilet bowl and gripping onto it for stability while throwing up every food she's consumed prior to the drinks. But sometimes, she just doesn't care. Sometimes she chases the promise of a good time, or the notion that a drink could be a distraction or a vice, without any care at all.

Maddie doesn't drink that much. But when she does, it's usually a shit show.

*

"Okay, we're here," Dylan huffed, as he pushed open the front door and shuffled into the house. He was fully sober. Not that he minded. He didn't really like drinking all that much. However, being sober tonight was a burden, trying to lug everyone else to the house on their walk back from the beach.

Jason and Luna hurried in and moved to the side to hold the door open for everyone else. The tell-tale signs of a good night shone on their glowing faces. Luna's hair had been wildly thrown out of the perfectly neat bun she had slicked it back into earlier, and Jason's shirt had been half-untucked from his trousers, while one of his bronze shoulders remained bare where the shirt fell.

Zach stalked into the house next, his eyes red and glassy, not fully focusing on anything, just wandering placidly around the room. His nose was a sunburnt pink that gradually grew more vibrant throughout the dark night, and it stood out drastically from the rest of his much-paler skin.

"Come on, Maddie," Carson's tired voice echoed as he emerged just outside the door, pulling his overexcited and very giddy girlfriend with him. He had one of his arms hooked tightly around her shoulders, and the other gripping onto her wrist, doing his best to keep her from toppling over or turning back in the direction of the beach once again.

She let out a long string of laughs that sounded unusual coming from her as she stumbled through the doorway. Dylan looked her over from where he stood a few paces away. Her hair was quite recklessly tousled, and although her shirt was just as it was before they had left earlier that evening, her jean shorts were still unbuttoned from her attempt to take them off at the beach.

All six of them could agree that tonight was the wildest party they had ever attended, easily outdoing all of Jason's house parties, and giving him quite a few ideas for his next one.

All of them seemed to have lost any self-restraint that night– their last night in Hilton Head– with the understanding this would be the last party before their last year of high school. The beach had already been packed when they arrived; the entirety of the crowd was made up of strangers– mostly high schoolers and some college students– all tourists on vacation, celebrating their final nights of freedom.

The six could still hear the music a quarter of a mile away at their Airbnb, promising that the party was still raging on in their absence, regardless of the time.

Maddie and Jason had wasted no time getting lost in the crowd, dancing in the sand with already-gone strangers. Luna was also quick to furiously throw back some drinks and grab a body, after Zach got led off by some girl.

"You want any help?" Dylan asked, as Carson struggled to pry Maddie away from the entrance hall, as she constantly turned around to face Luna and occasionally sung out lyrics to a song that had been playing earlier that night.

Carson sighed as he let go of Madeline once he had brought her far enough into the house, hoping she wouldn't have the sense to notice. Dylan quickly glanced over his best friend's shoulder to ensure that someone had closed the front door.

"It's alright," Carson answered Dylan. He too was completely sober, only that wasn't his intention. However, after arriving to the beach party and watching his girl immediately toss back shot after shot, he determined it was in everyone's best interest if he didn't join in.

Luna let out a tired yawn as she trudged passed Dylan, heading to her own room, in a similar fashion to Zach's departure, not bothering to say goodnight to anyone.

"Dylan, carry me?" Jason practically demanded, holding out his arms like a toddler.

"J, you're seventeen. You can walk," Dylan groaned.

"But my feet hurt."

"Whine to someone who cares. I'm not your mother!"

Jason let out a dramatic sigh, crossing his arms over his chest. Dylan rolled his eyes, but giving in, made his way over to Jason. Instead of picking him up, he pushed him to the floor, grabbed hold of his arms, and began dragging the boy in the direction of their room. Jason didn't seem to mind.

"I'm hungry," Madeline announced, turning to look at Carson now that everyone else had deserted the room.

"You'll throw up if you try to eat," He reasoned.

"I'm hungry," She said again. He rolled his eyes as he scooped her up in his arms and walked off toward their bedroom.

"God, you reek, Madeline. What the hell were you drinking?"

She chose not to answer and let her head fall back, letting her hair dangled below her, just brushing the floor. Carson grimaced at the feeling of her damp clothes; she had tried to go swimming tonight and managed to make it to where the water level was just above her navel, before Carson and Dylan had rushed in after her, putting an end to her attempt and an end to their night at the beach.

Carson had mostly dried off, but the remnant smell of salt and something fishy lingered on the both of them, and it meshed with the pungent alcohol scent oozing off of Maddie.

In honesty, he was beyond his level of patience with her tonight. He couldn't remember any other time he had been so tired of Maddie and her antics as he was right now. She wasn't calming down either; she was still as hyped up as she had been all night and it was physically draining him.

Carson placed Madeline down once they were in the comfort of their bathroom.

"I thought we were getting food," She said, looking around with a frown. "This isn't the kitchen."

He didn't respond. Instead he tore off his shirt, and threw it to the floor carelessly. He made his way over to the shower, turning it on, and running his hand through it to test the temperature of the water. Occasionally, he glanced out of the corner of his eye to make sure Maddie wasn't doing something stupid.

After the water was adequate enough, he turned back to Maddie, who stood exactly where he had left her, now with a dazed expression on her face. As annoyed as he was with her, he couldn't help how beautiful she looked like this.

Maddie loved to be in control. That's one of the reasons she doesn't drink that often. Right now, Maddie was anything but in control. Any voice of reason had left her long ago, and she acted completely on whim tonight.

She had a closed-lip smile and a look of content on her flushed face that displayed her ease. Her shoulders were relaxed–not all tensed up like usual– and covered with her tangled brown locks. Maddie's eyes were glossy, and sparkled like two emeralds as she looked upwards at the bright, white bathroom lighting.

Carson found it hard to suppress a smile as he made his way back over to her.

"Can I?" He asked, as he took the hem of her shirt in his hands, pulling on the fabric slightly.

Madeline's eyes snapped back to him, and then behind him to the shower, as if just noticing now he had turned it on.

"No thanks," She answered. "I'm already wet."

Just like that, she stripped away the last morsel of his patience, and any ghost of a smile on his face was certainly gone now.

He rolled his eyes as he grabbed onto her hip and practically pushed her toward the shower. Once there, she started moving on her own, and, before he could stop her, had gotten into the shower, despite her protest just seconds before.

"Madeline, you're making this so much harder than it has to be," Carson sighed, trying his best not to scream at her for getting into the shower with her clothes still on.

She smiled as she let out another one of those high-pitched laughs that sounded nothing like her.

He ignored her as she began mumbling more nonsense and toying with the hem of his pants. While she was distracted, he pulled her shirt above her head, and tossed it away. As Maddie attempted to unbutton his jeans, he grabbed hold of her wrists, and used the other hand to unclip her bra.

"Are we going to have sex now?" Maddie asked, an eagerness to her tone, while Carson bent down to yank her shorts and her underwear off in one motion.

"No," he responded gruffly, pushing her towards the stream of water.

"Aw. Why not?"

"Because you're fucking plastered, Madeline."

Maddie turned away from the water and grabbed onto the open doorway of the shower.

"You're going to shower with me, aren't you?"

"Yes, Maddie."

Carson looked away from her to take off his own pants as Maddie continued speaking.

"Carson," She said. He ignored her.

"Carson," She repeated, dragging out the last syllable of his name. Again, he ignored her.

"Carson," Maddie called once more, this time much sharper.

"What?" He asked, exasperated and returning his eyes to hers. She was already staring at him.

"I love you."

He stilled. Time stilled. This one second seemed to stretch on to give time for his heart to stop, his brain to disconnect, his stomach to flip, and a weird fluttering sensation to tickle his insides. I love you.

In this one second, he relished it. He indulged in how sweet and serene the words sounded coming out of her mouth, like sweet cough medicine or syrup. He breathed her words in, like oxygen he could live off of forever without ever having to breathe again. He ingested the words with a large swallow, like they were food for his soul. I love you.

He held onto them, like the words were a prophecy and not just some unconscious, drunkenly mistaken mutterings. I love you.

In this one second, the words seized him, and attempted to imprint themselves on his heart and his skull. But the second ended, and he shook away any impression that the words had effected him. He looked her over again, her expression unchanged.

"Turn around, Maddie. The water's that way."

He nudged her gently again in the direction of the water, stepping into the shower behind her and closing the door.

As much as he tried to wash off her words and forget they existed, just as she would forget she said them come morning, he couldn't. They rattled around in his brain, screaming for his attention, calling him back to the possibility that Madeline loved him... too.

He was only half-there while showering with Madeline. The rest of him was swirling around in this fantasy that tomorrow would come, and Madeline would remember what she had said, and not only would she remember it, she would say it again. She would mean it.

He was only brought back by a loud sigh from the girl in front of him, and the feeling of her bare skin against his as she leaned back against his chest. He watched as her lids starting closing, obviously lulled by the warmth and the rhythmic patter of the water hitting the shower floor. As her body relaxed against him, any thought of her remembering tonight come morning rushed away from him, slipping down with the water droplets chasing the drain.

* * *

He woke up to the sound of retching.

Carson rolled over onto his stomach, and looked into the bathroom. He could make out Madeline, crouched by the toilet.

He sighed as he pushed himself off of the bed and made his way into the bathroom. He leaned on the sink counter just above Maddie, analyzing her for a few seconds before gathering up her hair in his hands and holding it back.

"Morning sunshine," He greeted sarcastically in the deep, raspy voice that always lingered after sleep.

Madeline only groaned in response as she lifted her face away from the toilet, done vomiting for the moment. She had large dark circles under her eyes, and she was noticeably more pale than normal.

"How long have you been awake?" He asked.

She shrugged, "It feels like I've been throwing up for hours."

Carson grabbed a tissue from the box behind him and wiped the corners of her mouth. He threw the tissue in the can before sitting down behind Maddie and pulling her back against his chest.

"Why'd you let me drink?"

He ran his hands over her shoulders soothingly, "Babe, I don't think anyone could have stopped you."

"I can't remember a thing that happened last night."

Carson stilled for a moment, a slight pain hitting him in his gut. He closed his eyes and tried to reason with himself that he knew this would happen.

"You smell like vomit," He said.

"Thank you."

A moment of silence past between them. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it allowed too much time for Carson to dwell on last night's events.

"Why were you drinking like that?"

Maddie shrugged, "It was our last night, I figured go big before you go home."

"Madeline."

She sighed and hesitated a moment before responding, "Carson, we're going to be seniors. Seniors. That means hard classes and college applications and SATs and essays and finals and graduating and picking a college and-"

He kissed her temple as if to tell her to slow down, and she understood. She paused and took a deep breath, relaxing against Carson and listening to his heart, beating against the back of her shoulder.

"Aren't you at all stressed out by the notion that we're seniors this year?" She asked.

No. Honestly, he wasn't. This place had nothing left for him anymore, and he was ready for the change. He was ready to leave and never have to think about this place again. The idea that he might be trapped here forever stressed him out more than any stupid test or silly decision.

"Madeline, you're taking it all at once. Breathe for a moment and remember you have the entire year to space out everything that you're stressing about right now. Take it day by day. And don't put yourself at risk of alcohol poisoning simply because you're stressed out. Talk to me. I'll listen."

There was another lull, so Carson took it upon himself to speak again, "You still smell like vomit."

He could practically feel Madeline rolling her eyes, even though he could not see it.

"You give me a headache," She mumbled.

He let out a small chuckle, "Do you want help getting up?"

She shook her head, "I just want to sit here for a bit. With you."

Carson wrapped his arms around her, slumping back lazily against the wall. His mind had slowed down as he concentrated on Madeline in front of him. They sat in silence, aware that they both smelt awful now and they both had yet to pack their things for the trip home.