[Drabble]
Once she was certain Jakey was asleep and she could move without disturbing him, Sherry slid out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. She’d drank too much, as usual, and the mix of alcohol, caffeine, and blackberry pie just wasn’t sitting well with her. She’d thrown up in Jake’s bed a couple of times, and he was always so sweet. He would simply hold her hair, and help her into the shower when she was done so that she could clean herself up. He never bitched at her, or made her feel badly about being a mess.
Which was probably why she always did end up feeling badly. Nice guys just seemed to be too hard to come by, and as he’d called her on earlier, she had taken one and made him her bitch boy. Oh, she could deny it and insist otherwise. And to an extent, her denial was well-founded. She cared a great deal about Jake. More than that, she trusted him. But there was no denying that she did occasionally yank him around to suit her needs. Regardless of where her feelings for him lay, she was aware that she probably took advantage of him a bit too often.
Sherry was a bitch, and she never tried to deny it. It wasn’t necessarily that she wanted to be a bitch. But that sugary sweet nature that came so easily to Mandy just never seemed to settle in with Sherry. She envied the way Mandy could so easily walk through life smiling. Sherry suspected that even if she were caught in the middle of the Apocalypse, Mandy would find some good thing to smile about.
Sherry, however, was always finding the flaws. Not necessarily in the people around her, though she did see those too. But moreso in the world, and in herself. That voice that sounded eerily like her mother’s was always there in the back of her mind, letting her know that her thighs were too flabby, her lips were too thin, her eyes too dull, that she was wasting her life, and that she would never measure up to all of the other prettier, more intelligent girls in the world. She could overlook the problems with the world, and the flaws in her friends only endeared them to her that much more in their own strange way, but those little imperfections in herself drove her mad regularly.
And so she drank. She drank until she was confident, and then she kept going, drinking until she was blind. And it never failed to work, until the buzz began to wear off, and she found herself curled up on the bathroom floor, praying that her stomach quit turning itself inside out already.
Tonight was hardly helped by her distress over Jake, either. She hated watching her Jakey get his heart broken. If she had her way, Gina would be talking a long walk of the shortest pier she could find. He had looked so empty when she had joined him on the couch again after her shower, and she hated not being able to fix that for him. He was too sweet to be hurting like that. Gina was a stupid whore who would never grasp what she had missed out on with him, and didn’t deserve to. As far as Sherry was concerned, Gina didn’t deserve to even be breathing, but saying such things only upset Jake that much more.
Still, seeing those tear stains on his cheek, and that weak little smile broke Sherry’s heart. Jakey was hardly such a spaz as Gabe, but it still never failed to seem wrong when he was less than entirely happy.
Sherry took a slow look around the bathroom from her place on the bath mat, taking stock of the room. He was low on that grape bubblebath he liked. That was something she could do. Taking another moment to make sure her vision had cleared, Sherry pushed herself back to her feet and made her way to his sister’s room to borrow a pair of flipflops and a sweatshirt. She then slipped out the bedroom window. Walgreens would still be open. She might not be able to fix a broken heart, but Jakey was enlightened. A bubblebath, some good chocolates, and a caffeine overload in the morning should at least cheer him up somewhat.
Which was probably why she always did end up feeling badly. Nice guys just seemed to be too hard to come by, and as he’d called her on earlier, she had taken one and made him her bitch boy. Oh, she could deny it and insist otherwise. And to an extent, her denial was well-founded. She cared a great deal about Jake. More than that, she trusted him. But there was no denying that she did occasionally yank him around to suit her needs. Regardless of where her feelings for him lay, she was aware that she probably took advantage of him a bit too often.
Sherry was a bitch, and she never tried to deny it. It wasn’t necessarily that she wanted to be a bitch. But that sugary sweet nature that came so easily to Mandy just never seemed to settle in with Sherry. She envied the way Mandy could so easily walk through life smiling. Sherry suspected that even if she were caught in the middle of the Apocalypse, Mandy would find some good thing to smile about.
Sherry, however, was always finding the flaws. Not necessarily in the people around her, though she did see those too. But moreso in the world, and in herself. That voice that sounded eerily like her mother’s was always there in the back of her mind, letting her know that her thighs were too flabby, her lips were too thin, her eyes too dull, that she was wasting her life, and that she would never measure up to all of the other prettier, more intelligent girls in the world. She could overlook the problems with the world, and the flaws in her friends only endeared them to her that much more in their own strange way, but those little imperfections in herself drove her mad regularly.
And so she drank. She drank until she was confident, and then she kept going, drinking until she was blind. And it never failed to work, until the buzz began to wear off, and she found herself curled up on the bathroom floor, praying that her stomach quit turning itself inside out already.
Tonight was hardly helped by her distress over Jake, either. She hated watching her Jakey get his heart broken. If she had her way, Gina would be talking a long walk of the shortest pier she could find. He had looked so empty when she had joined him on the couch again after her shower, and she hated not being able to fix that for him. He was too sweet to be hurting like that. Gina was a stupid whore who would never grasp what she had missed out on with him, and didn’t deserve to. As far as Sherry was concerned, Gina didn’t deserve to even be breathing, but saying such things only upset Jake that much more.
Still, seeing those tear stains on his cheek, and that weak little smile broke Sherry’s heart. Jakey was hardly such a spaz as Gabe, but it still never failed to seem wrong when he was less than entirely happy.
Sherry took a slow look around the bathroom from her place on the bath mat, taking stock of the room. He was low on that grape bubblebath he liked. That was something she could do. Taking another moment to make sure her vision had cleared, Sherry pushed herself back to her feet and made her way to his sister’s room to borrow a pair of flipflops and a sweatshirt. She then slipped out the bedroom window. Walgreens would still be open. She might not be able to fix a broken heart, but Jakey was enlightened. A bubblebath, some good chocolates, and a caffeine overload in the morning should at least cheer him up somewhat.