10| Drunken Adventures

Once Zoey seated herself inside the car, Travis called Maya and told her that he would pick up later after dropping Zoey at her house. Then he went to the driver seat and buckled the seatbelt of Zoey's side. She was completely inebriated and her dark wavy hair was sprawled everywhere. For a moment, Travis' eyes lowered to her long, toned legs and he shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

"You shouldn't wear clothes like this, that too in a party full of drunkards. Anything could have happen. I am all for freedom of choice but there is a very thin line between empowering yourself and degrading yourself." Travis advised her.

She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. "I know but it's worth the look on my father's face when I go home." She smirked weakly.

Shaking his head, he started the car and drove towards Crawford mansion. All the while, Zoey kept turning in the seat, struggling to get out of the seatbelt. "Don't. You will hurt yourself." Travis reprimanded and she pouted in response.

"This car... It is too old." She commented and Travis rolled his eyes.

"I am sorry. I didn't bring the Limo you ordered for." He said sarcastically and continued driving.

"Smartass." She said and collapsed back on the seat. All the while, he could feel Zoey's eyes on him and it unnerved him but he kept his focus. "You have a nice jawline." She said and colour rose to Travis' cheeks but he didn't react.

He was on his way when suddenly, he felt Zoey's hands on his thigh and he almost crashed the car. "Fuck, Zoey. What the hell is wrong with you?" He shouted back, stopping the car.

"Nothing. I was just checking." She blinked innocently.

"Checking what exactly?" Travis snarled.

"Just the muscle tone. I have a weakness for muscular thighs. Don't worry, you have nice ones." She winked and Travis slapped his head in agitation. He never had to deal with a drunk girl before, that too Zoey Crawford. Why in hell did he agree to drive her?

"Just sit back and let me drive." Travis ordered and Zoey flinched at his tone. For the rest of the while, she kept pouting angrily while Travis kept ignoring her.

Once they were inside the parking lot of Zoey's house, Travis walked over to the passenger side and helped Zoey walk out. He held her secure by her waist while Zoey rested her head on his shoulder. Together, they both walked through the wooden door inside.

"Travis," she whispered under her breath.

"What?" Travis asked, patting her arm to wake her up. He felt weird holding her this close to her and the fact that she smelled so good didn't help either. When his eyes fell on her lips covered in red lipstick, the warmth in his chest increased.

"I feel..." She snuggled deeper into his neck and Travis stood there frozen. "I feel nauseous." She said and the next moment, she parted away from him and emptied her insides partly on the floor and partly on Travis' shoes.

"God," Travis said, looking completely horrified at her situation.

"Don't worry. Rose will clean it. Rose! Rose!" She said and the next moment, Travis' mother came running towards them. She stunned when her eyes fell on a very drunk Zoey, her own son Travis and the puddle of vomit. "Clean this vomit." She ordered and fell down on the couch limply.

"Don't worry about it. I will clean it up." Travis said to his mother and gave another glance to Zoey who was now completely unconscious.

"What is all this noise?" A voice echoed in the lounge and the next moment, he found Richard Crawford walking towards them. His eyes bulged out of the orbits when they landed on his daughter, drunk to the point of oblivion.

"She was drunk so she asked me to drop her." Travis explained.

"And who are you?" Richard narrowed his eyes and assessed the tall guy standing inside his house.

"He is my son, Travis." Rose interjected.

Richard assessed Travis from head to toe. He was dressed in decent clothes and didn't look drugged or drunk like most of the teenagers at a party. Then his eyes once again landed on his daughter and her clothes or should he say, the lack of them. He could feel his blood pressure rising already.

"Thank you Travis for bringing her home safely. And Zoey, I will deal with her tomorrow." Richard said and stomped out of the lounge angrily.

After he left, Rose went back inside and brought blankets to cover Zoey. She leaned in front of her to take off her sandals and then they helped her lie straight on the couch. Afterwards, she covered her with blanket and then shifted her attention to her son.

"Don't tell me you have been drinking too." She interrogated.

"Do I look drunk?" Travis asked and Rose shrugged. "Don't stress yourself Mom, the party was just a mistake. It won't happen again."

"God, I hope so." She said and followed him to his car. "I don't have the stamina to deal with another rebellious kid."

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After cutting Travis' called, Maya looked around herself nervously. She was here at the party alone and Mario was nowhere to be found. Wherever she saw, there was a drunk boy leering at every other girl. She felt way out of place but she had to wait for Travis. He was her ride home.

She kept treading here and there, trying to find a silent corner but failed. She felt hungry, nauseous, grossed out and pissed at Mario for leaving her alone at the same moment. She would rather be at her home at this moment, watching some episodes of Grey's Anatomy and getting inspiration from Meredith Grey to become a kickass surgeon.

"Hide the alcohol, Police is here." A guy shouted and Maya felt like all the blood had left her body. She stood there frozen as everyone hurried to and fro, clearing out the alcohol and running for their lives. Somebody must have complained about the underage drinking going on around here and although Maya wasn't drunk, she was terrified to her core.

Suddenly, the hall started to clear and everyone started to hide. People were leaving the house through secret exit places and some were running to different room to hide themselves. Maya had no idea where to go. She didn't know anyone here and had no friend other than Mario.

She backed into a corner and looked around in panic. Through the window, she could see the police entering the house and looking around for drunk teenagers. Her body started trembling and her heartbeat started to quicken.

"What are you doing? Hide." She heard voice of someone running towards her. The tears in her eyes blurred her vision and she squinted to get a clear look at Zachary Harper, who was himself finding a place to hide.

"I... I... I don't know where to go." She said.

Zachary felt bad for the girl who looked completely panicked and he gripped her wrist, pulling her along him. They both ran through the hallway and entered a room at the other corner of it. Opening the huge cupboard, he pushed the girl inside and followed her, closing the cupboard after them. It was dark inside and the only source of light was the small slit letting them see what was going inside the room.

He had seen her before, in his Calculus class. She was one of the nerdy ones who always gets the perfect grades and he couldn't understand what she was doing in a party like that.

The girl was shaking uncontrollably and the fear was evident on her face. Zachary himself was a little afraid because his reputation affected his whole family but this was not the first time a party was raided because of underage drinking. He was thankful that Althea had already left with Ethan otherwise she would have been the first one to get caught because of the tantrum she would be throwing.

In the prevailed silence, they both heard footsteps coming towards the room and the girl started sobbing. "I don't... I dont want to go to jail." She said between hiccups.

"You won't go to jail. Don't worry." He said and tried to comfort her but failed. This girl would put him in danger as well if she doesn't stop making a noise.

When the voice of someone opening the door reached his ears, he took a step forwards and placed his hand on Maya's mouth, pinning her to the back to the cupboard. Her grey eyes widened in shock as they locked with his blue ones and she felt dizzy on being so close to Zachary Harper, the golden boy.

Zachary stared through the slit as one of the officers entered inside the room and looked around. Both of them could feel each other's heartbeat skyrocketing. When he didn't suspect anything, he closed the door behind him and they both finally let out the breath they were holding.

Zachary was the first one who walked out of the cupboard. He peeked through the door and checked if the police was still there. When he was sure the coast was clear, he locked the door of the bedroom and let Maya out.

"Oh My God, I could've been caught." Maya said in panicked voice.

Zachary texted his Limo driver to wait for him near the back door and then turned his attention to the girl sitting on the bed, her face horror-struck. "But you aren't. Look at the bright side."

"There is no bright side. I should have known better." She said, hiding her face in between her palm.

"Don't panic. Things like these happen." He said to her and rested his back against the wall..

"No, such things don't happen to us." Maya responded. If she had been caught, her Dad would have had a heart attack. She knew how much he had been working hard since her childhood, just to provide her with a good future but if spending a night in jail would be written in her record, she would never get admission in an Ivy League.

"Don't snap at me. I am the one who saved you." Zachary remarked dryly.

Maya lifted her head to look at him and realised he was right. If he hasn't brought her here, she would have been the first one to get caught. "Thanks." She whispered.

Zachary heaved a sigh. His eyes landed on the text from his driver saying he was there. "Come on, I'll drop you home."

"It's okay. I will manage." She said, not wanting to take any more of his help.

"Like you managed to hide?" Zachary raised his eyebrows.

Embarassed and slightly flushed, Maya exhaled loudly and followed Zachary to the backdoor where a Limo was waiting for them. She texted Travis, telling him not to come to pick her up and followed Zachary inside the lavish car. If someone had told her she would be leaving the party in Zachary Harper's limo, she would have laughed at that person's face.

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