Chapter 10 - Same Time Next New Year's

My new year doesn’t start very well when I get a call at 3:00 a.m. from Liz who is drunk and stuck between laughter and tears while asking me to pick her up.

“Where did everyone else go?” I demand, my voice heavy with sleep. I sit up from my bed and stand clumsily to look for my shoes and purse.

“They wanted to go to another club, but I didn’t want to,” she mumbles drunkenly.

I give my face two little slaps to help clear the fog from my brain and attempt to wake myself up completely. “So they just left you there?” I ask, getting immediately angry.

“I told them it was okay,” she slurs.

“You’re obviously not sober enough to be making those kinds of decisions. And your friends should really see that,” I seethe, walking towards my front door and taking my jacket off the coat rack. I shrug one arm in while unlocking my door. As I’m walking down the stairs, I put the other arm in and then zipper it up as I open the outside door. I’m blasted with the cold night air.

“I’m so sorry to bother you, Jojo,” she cries, falling into tears again. “I’m sorry.”

I sigh. “It’s fine, Liz. I’m on my way.”

“You’re the best big sister in the world,” she gasps between sobs.

“Are you in a safe place right now?” I ask her, speed walking towards my car. I look around, scanning my surroundings to make sure no one is going to try and attack me. I live in a pretty quiet and normally safe neighborhood, but I’m still a woman who’s alone. I don’t see anyone, but it’s also pitch black.

“I’m sitting inside,” she hiccups. “There’s still people here, and I asked the security guard to make sure no one tries to take me.”

“Okay, just stay inside. I’ll be there soon,” I tell her. “Stay on the phone with me.”

“Okay,” she says and her word breaks off into what I’m pretty sure is a yawn.

“Who all showed up tonight?” I ask, driving just a few miles over the speed limit.

“The usual,” she tells me. “Oh, Jo, they played my favorite song!”

“Oh wow,” I say, feigning interest.

I listen to her drunken prattles, asking her questions here and there to keep her from either falling asleep or hanging up. When I finally pull into the parking lot of the club, I park in the closest spot before shutting the car off, getting out, and walking inside.

“I’m walking inside now, Liz,” I tell her, a little out of breath.

I open the door and I’m assaulted by a loud techno song playing and a smell that tells me there were way too many bodies in this building today. I ignore the urge to plug my nose as I see Liz sitting on a bench just inside the door. Her long dark hair is tangled and her mascara is running down her cheeks in chaotic streaks.

“Geesh, Liz. What the hell did you guys do?” I mutter.

“Jojo,” Liz sings when she sees me, standing unsteadily to her feet and thrusting her hands in the air as if she’s celebrating.

I sigh. “Hi, Liz.”

“This is Jerry,” Liz says when I reach her, motioning to the large man standing a few feet away scanning the room beyond the waiting area. “He kept me safe.”

“Thank you, Jerry.” I give him a tight smile, and I also mouth an apology to him. He smirks and lets out a snicker before giving me a nod and turning away. “Okay, party girl, let’s get you home.”

“Can I sleep at your place tonight?” she whines as I put my arm around her and lead her outside and towards my car.

“Yep,” I tell her, struggling to keep her standing upright.

“Sleepover,” she cheers and trips, almost bringing both of us to the ground.

“Please stop drawing attention to our vulnerability right now,” I hiss at her.

Her eyes widen, even though I know she doesn’t fully understand what I’m talking about. “Oh, I’m sorry!”

I open the passenger door and put her inside before closing it and rounding the front of the car to my seat. I quickly get in and lock the doors. “Liz, this is so dangerous and dumb.”

I look over to see her pressing her cheek against the cool window. “I know, I’m so sorry,” she says lazily, her eyes heavy with sleep.

I roll my eyes. “We’ll talk about this more tomorrow.”

“Okay, Jojo.” She turns her head and smiles at me, which just makes me glower at her. I take a deep breath, willing all of the strength and patience to cover me. I hit the button to turn the radio on, raising the volume just a little bit.

She sings under her breath to the music as we drive home. In the moments where her soft singing slows or stops, I reach across to smack her leg. She wakes up every time with a little grunt and jump. I’m not carrying her unconscious body up the stairs to my apartment.

Time crawls by and I’m trying to stay awake myself. When I finally see my street sign, I let out a breath of relief as I turn onto it and then pull back into my parking space.

“Okay.” I turn the car off. “Let’s move quickly please.” I get out of the car and go around to help her out.

We move faster than I was expecting, which is nice, since I’m trying to play it cool with how nervous I am to be out alone with my drunk sister in the middle of the night. We finally make it up the last step, and I pull her along to my door. I unlock it and drag her inside, sighing when I finally close the door and lock it behind me.

“You’re going to give me a heart attack, Liz,” I scold her.

“Can I sleep in your bed?” she asks, already kicking her shoes off.

“No, I’m not going to risk the highly probable possibility that you’re going to puke in my bed,” I tell her, guiding her to the couch. “You can sleep here. I’ll get you a pillow and a blanket.”

She plops down as I turn to walk to my linen closet then the kitchen. When I get back to her, she’s already fast asleep and lying awkwardly on her side. I let out a sigh as I gently pick her head up and tuck the pillow under and then drape the blanket over her. I lean over to set a bowl on the floor, hoping she won’t have to use it.

Just as I finish tending to my sister, I stand up straight and am hit with a huge wave of tiredness. I stumble back towards my bed and the last thing I remember is Liz’s grunt of a snore right before my head hits the pillow.