Free Torch Red: Color Me Torn with Bonus Content by Melody Carlson Page B

helping.
    “This is Zoë,” I hear Mike telling someone.
    “Hey, Zoë,” says a blonde girl who seems to have two heads or maybe three. “Welcome to the rainbow room.”
    “Huh?” I feel seriously nauseated now.
    “Here,” she says, “let me help you.”
    Now I’m somewhat relieved. Like maybe someone understands my dilemma. “Thanks,” I mutter. That’s when I realize she’s wiping something onto my mouth. I sputter and spit. “What’s that?” I demand, stepping back.
    She laughs. “Just lip gloss. You get to be
magenta
tonight.”
    “Huh?” I reach my hand to my mouth and touch the sticky substance she’s just smeared onto my lips. “I don’t
want
to be magenta,” Imutter as I turn around and stagger to the door. “I
want
to go home.”
    But Mike is still holding on to my hand, telling me to just take it easy and relax. But that’s when my stomach just totally flips over and the next thing I know I am violently barfing.
    “Gross!” he yells as he shoves me away. I’m relieved to get away from him, but I still feel sick as I head for the door. I desperately want a bathroom. As I stagger down the hallway, hanging on to the wall for support, Justin grabs me by the arm. At least I think it’s him. I blink my eyes since my vision is pretty blurry.
    “Zoë!” he exclaims and then I know it’s him. “Where have you been?”
    “Where’ve I been?” I manage to echo in a slurred voice. “Whad’ya mean where’ve
I
been? Where’ve
you
been?”
    Then he takes me by my shoulders and pulls me toward him so that he can see my face in the dimly lit hallway. “What on earth have you been doing?” he demands.
    “Whad’ya think I’ve been—” Then I stop. “I need a bathroom, Justin, I’m going to barf again.”
    “Again?”
But he doesn’t waste time and fortunately, we are right next to one and he opens the door and I run in and just barely make it to the toilet in time. Finally I am done, and feeling a little better, although my head is still throbbing, I go to the sink, but when I look into the mirror I see those awful smudges of magenta across my mouth. I get some tissues and manage to wipe off the nasty lip gloss before I wash my face with soap and cold water. All the while, Justin is just sitting on a bench by the door silently watching me. By the time I finish, my hands are shaking and I am so upset that I’m crying.
    That’s when I turn and look at Justin. With tears streaming down my cheeks, I demand, “Why did you bring me here? And why did you leave me like that?”
    “Nick was just showing me something.” His eyes seem to avoid mine and suddenly I wonder if this guy is really who I thought he was.
    “What was he showing you?” I ask with my hands on my hips. I feel like I’m returning to my old self now.
    “This new video game,” he says quickly. “I guess we just lost track of time.” Then he steps up and takes me in his arms. “I’m sorry, Zoë.”
    Well, his sympathy is my complete undoing, and I totally break into sobs as he holds me. “It was awful,” I blubber. “I was feeling sick and I couldn’t find you. . . .” I continue to cry as I tell him about Mike and how he took me to the rainbow room.
    “Mike took you to the rainbow room?”
    I nod then wipe my running nose.
    “Did, uh, well, did anything happen?”
    I tell him about the lip gloss and how I threw up and then Justin pulls me toward him as he gently rubs my back. “I’m so sorry, Zoë,” he says in a gentle voice. “Are you okay now?”
    I pull away to reach for a fresh tissue. “I guess so,” I tell him. “But I want to go home now.”
    “But it’s not even ten.”
    “I don’t care.”
    When I get home, I am relieved to see that my parents aren’t back from their movie yet. As a result, I am able to slip up to my room without having to explain why I came home early.
    But as I prepare for bed, I feel very disturbed. Not just by tonight, although that was certainly bad enough! But