The third chapter... keep commenting and voting. There is no way I can improve if you don't let me know what I'm doing wrong.
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The next few days went by slowly. My thoughts only on the man who held me so tight, the man I longed to hold. Every time the phone rang, my heart would be leaping in my chest. All I wanted was to hear from this man, the man that made me feel so special inside. Stupid as it was, since he told me he loved me, I couldn't think about much else. It was a day long relationship. Three times I had seen him, did I really care.
The more I thought about his love for me, the more I began to hate him. Was it some kind of sick joke? Who would tell me they loved me after three meetings, how could he do this to me? Did he think I was a fool? Through his absence, I started thinking about the sick things he could do to any woman. After all, what if it wasn't me that walked by him for my appointment. Would he have tried to woo the next dumb blonde who walked through?
A ring of the telephone broke into my thoughts, this time I felt no desire for it to be Tom, if it was he would get a piece of my mind. I answered the phone gruffly, in a tone I couldn't really recognise as my own. I exchanged a few words, before hanging up. Plans had to be made now, why were birthdays so important. There the same day every year, and every year you just get another year older. What was the big deal? Big expensive meals, a night out on the town, pull some random bloke and head back home before waking up with a mad headache. It wasn't just my own birthday this was done for, it was everybody's! Talk about repetitive.
With two days to prepare, a reservation at the local haunt, The Bronze, needed to be made. VIP tickets for my few, and very select amount of friends. In the last few months, since the rape, only a few people stood by me. The rest, well, they weren't worth my friendship anyway.
Cards began to enter through the post. It was a day before the 'big day' and my doormat was already covered in these cards, never had a package arrived before my actual birthday though. Normally, packages come on the day, all at once, in a big bundle. But not this one, it didn't even arrive with the post. It was a small package in an A5 brown envelope with the address scribbled rather scruffily, in handwriting I couldn't quite place. My surname wasn't included in the address either, just 'Sarah' written on it.
After thoroughly examining the packaging, I decided to open it. Inside was a small IPod. I picked out the small gadget and turned it in my hand, noticing the yellow post-it stuck inside the envelope. "Turn it on and press play", were the words written in the same scrappy handwriting. I turned it on and pressed play but there was no sound. I read the song title on the display screen. It said, "A song from me to you to show I care", no artist, and no album, just that name. I quickly scanned the lounge for my CD player, looking for some headphones to hear the song.
I searched, and after finding no headphones. I placed the IPod down and carried on with my day, pushing all thoughts of it to the back of my mind. I had to prepare for tonight, the night I would go out and wake up feeling rough on my actual birthday.
At 9:00pm, Ellie and a few friends came round, ready for a heavy night of drinking, each bringing a bottle of something. By 10.30 we were all merry and ready for a night on the town. After glamming ourselves up, as much as possible in our drunken state, we made our way to The Bronze. On entry, we were scooped into the VIP section, watching over the rest of the club, sitting with our free glass of champagne. I downed the glass, and made a move for the dance floor. I only had an hour left of being 19, I was going to enjoy every second of it. I could think about love and mystery songs when I was 20.
All six of us made our way down the stairs, on to the dance floor, ready to strut our stuff. Before long, we had found ourselves a selection of guys, some hot, some not so, either way, the girls were enjoying themselves greatly. Every so often I would feel a clammy hand come up and grope my ass, my hips, even my breasts. I pushed all thoughts away and continued to dance, never dropping my sisters' hands. The girls were long gone, each eating a different guy's face. Looking around I couldn't help but laugh, in the morning they would all regret wearing their beer goggles tonight.
Ten minutes before the night ticked over into day, I had the sudden need to pee. Stupid alcohol I said to myself. "I'm going to the toilet", I shouted to Ellie over the din of the dance track playing. It used to be one of my favourite tracks, before it was turned into a dance track. The second I left Ellie, I saw some of the guys making a grope, she just carried on dancing. I hated how much it didn't bother her to have random guys tugging at her body.
When I came back onto the dance floor, my friends were no longer there, every single one had left. "Great," I thought to myself, "Happy birthday". As I went to leave, there was a track change, right in the middle of the song.
"Hello everybody!!!" came a roar from the speakers, looking up to the DJ I saw all five girls smiling and waving at me. A spotlight was placed on me, highlighting where I was, "We have one minute until it is this lovely lady's birthday, and I want a happy birthday to be sung by everybody." Two of the club workers came over, offering me a 'dirty pint'. I downed it as fast as I could. I was ready for my birthday! The DJ then started a ten second countdown, before everyone broke into song around me. Feeling drunk again, I made my way onto one of the empty tables, dancing round and round, clapping, screaming and shouting for my own birthday.
Soon after the song finished, I made my way off the table. Hands were all over me, touching my legs, pulling at my short shorts. One guy pulled me off the table, catching me in his arms. He leant in for a kiss. I pushed him off telling him I was in love, I had a boyfriend. Ellie was beside me, pulling me away, seeing my sudden drunken state, opted on calling it an early night.
Inside the taxi, a wave of nausea flowed through me, making me retch; the lack of dinner had a nasty effect on me. I made it home without throwing up but walking through my front door, I rushed to the bathroom and was sick. I felt arms around me, taking me into my room and tucking me into bed. I heard the door close before falling into a deep sleep.
Waking up the smell of sick surrounded me. I could taste it. I sat up in bed, recalling the events of last night. It had gone exactly to plan, get drunk, come home, wake up, feel rough. But this was my birthday, the big two-zero, was I ever going to sit in bed all day, trying to recover. I got up slowly feeling another wave of nausea, made my way to the shower and showered for a good 20 minutes cleaning my self thoroughly before brushing my teeth, wiping the taste away. I then got myself ready for the day, pulling on a pair of jeans and a low cut jumper.
Breakfast seemed like the next good way to start the day, making myself a boiled egg with toast, forcing it down my neck it made the rotten feeling of being sick disappear slightly. As I entered the lounge, I noticed again the IPod set on the coffee table. I picked it up just as there was a knock on the door, assuming it was my sister I called to come in. I heard the door open but there was silence.
