Life of the Party (Wayward #1)

CHAPTER 27

Saturday morning dawned clear and bright. I lay in my bed, blinking at the sunlight and thinking about everything I had to do that day. I was actually a little bit excited. Our school didn’t go all out for grad or anything, there was a family reception followed by a formal ceremony and then the grad party that happened afterwards. It was just an excuse to dress up and celebrate the end of school and the beginning of the sweet, sweet freedom I’d been looking forward to for so long.

Noise floated up the stairs as I lay there. The house was bustling. My Aunt Linda and Uncle Paul had come the night before with my three rowdy little boy cousins; I could hear them running around downstairs. The only other family coming to my ceremony was my Grandma and my Uncle Pat, who lived in town. My other aunts and uncles and cousins either lived too far away to make the trip or were all grown up with kids of their own, too busy to come so far for just the weekend.

(Though nearly every single one of them had shown up when Marcy graduated.)

I guess I couldn’t blame them. There would be no honours behind my name when I crossed the stage, no scholarships or awards, not like when Marcy graduated. I wasn’t even sure I passed. No, my family would see nothing that day but an unremarkable Mackenzie who scraped by with minimal effort, and that was just how I wanted it.

My mom dropped me off at Charlie’s house early that afternoon. I could tell she didn’t like the look of the place—her nose did that flare thing it does when she’s not impressed with something. At least she didn’t say anything about it.

I could tell she was trying extra hard to get along with me .

Since my Aunt and Uncle arrived, we’d all been acting like nothing happened. Like my dad hadn’t kicked me out and I wasn’t leaving as soon as possible. It was fairly amusing to me that we instinctively put on a show of being a happy, functional family around other people. At least we could agree on that.

We may have been acting civilly, but the tension was still there. Mom still hadn’t forgiven Dad for kicking me out without consulting her first. Dad was clearly still pissed at me, and I was frustrated with him, but for the moment it simmered just below the surface, safe and out of sight.

He had—to my horror of horrors—driven me straight to school for my last test. He picked me up afterwards as well. When I walked out the front doors, his car was there, idling, as if he expected me to make a run for it and was fully prepared to chase me down. We spent the drive, both there and back, in total heated silence.

“Do you need me to pick you up later?” Mom was wondering as I got out of the car.

“No. Charlie can give me a ride.”

“Okay. Four o’clock, then, right?”

“Right. See you then.” I shut the door and grabbed my stuff from the backseat, draping my dress over my arm as I started up the old, wobbly stairs.

Charlie opened the front door when I was halfway there.

“Hey!” Charlie greeted me excitedly, a wide smile spread over her face. “Or should I say, hey, roomy!” She held out her hands to me.

“Hey…what?” I stopped at the top of the stairs.

“I said hey, roomy,” Charlie repeated with a giggle. “Welcome home.”

“What?” I was speechless with surprise. A smile broke over my face. “You want me to live with you? What about Kat?”

“What about Kat?” She made a face. “This’ll give her the perfect excuse to move in with that loser boyfriend of hers.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mac, it makes perfect sense. Don’t you want to?”

“Are you kidding me?” I laughed excitedly. “Of course I do.”

“Then welcome to your new abode.” She opened up the door for me with a flourish. “Kat’s being such a pain in the ass, I can’t wait until she’s gone.”

“Me either, now.” I looked around Charlie’s small, tidy space, appreciating it even more since it would soon be mine to share. I couldn’t have imagined anything better.

“I’m so excited.” I gushed. “When do you think Kat will move out? ”

“I’ll probably give her until the end of the month. So, a week or so, is that cool?”

“It’ll give me time to pack. How much is the rent?”

Charlie flipped on her stereo. “Push” by Matchbox Twenty was playing. “It’s six hundred a month, so you’d pay three hundred, and then half the power and utilities and stuff, and then groceries or whatever. But if you’re working full-time, you shouldn’t have any problem affording it.”

“Awesome.” I lit a smoke and smiled. “Will I be able to get more shifts at work?”

“Oh, yeah. That shouldn’t be a problem either. I’m so excited about this Mac, you have no idea.” Charlie moved around her kitchen, plugging in a set of hot rollers and setting her makeup case on the counter. She pulled a baggie full of white powder out of a drawer and poured some onto a small square mirror, then took her credit card and started breaking up the chunks and crushing it fine. I giggled excitedly, watching her work with eager impatience.

“To celebrate your happy graduation and your new home,” she passed me the straw, “and the beginning of the awesomest summer ever!”

“I’ll snort to that.” Long gone was any kind of pause or hesitation; I took the straw immediately and inhaled the blow expertly, an old pro by now, sniffing back deep.

“Wooh.” I could already feel it working, the happy numbing trembles that satisfied the things in me I hadn’t known were lacking. It felt like I was complete again, like everything was right and good the moment the burn hit my sinuses.

We did some lines for a while, laughing and giggling and snorting until we reached a near fever pitch of happiness and excitement. I was crazily, totally high. My teeth ground together with pent-up energy.

I sat on a chair in the kitchen as Charlie got to work. The room was wreathed in smoke and the music pumped loudly around us. She put my hair up in the rollers and started on my face. I found it hard to sit still; I had to concentrate to keep from fidgeting. We talked about her high school graduation and how lame it had been, about typical cheesy grad themes like, “the future looks bright,” and “don’t stop believing.”

“How come you didn’t go to college?” I wondered. “Or school or something.”

“I wasn’t really college material. I barely graduated high school.” Charlie chuckled. “I don’t know. Once upon a time, I knew what I wanted to do. Now…” She shrugged.

“If you ever did go to school for something, it should be this.” I motioned to myself. “Seriously. I think you’d do amazing. And that’d be fun, right?”

“Maybe. I mean, I’ve always liked doing it. ”

“You totally should. I’d come to you, every time.”

“Thanks, Mac.”

The afternoon sped away, accelerated by the drugs as we sat in the warm kitchen of Charlie’s—soon to be our—house. It wasn’t long before she was finished doing my hair. Then she helped me out of my clothes and into my dress. Excitement churned in my stomach as she zipped me up. I couldn’t believe I was graduating.

Charlie stepped in front and looked me over, head to toe.

“Oh, Mackenzie. You look…,” she shook her head, “amazing.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. Come see.”

We giggled our way into the bedroom and I stood before the full-length mirror. Charlie had done it again. I did look amazing. My makeup was natural, nothing too bold or daring, totally tasteful. I had cheekbones again; I had to find out how she did that. My dark eyes were large and wide, lined just right to make them seem bigger and softer. My wide lips were coloured a nice, deep red; they shone with just the right amount of gloss. All of my hair was up, sleek and smooth in a voluminous glossy French twist; my bangs side-swept in an elegant style that perfectly suited my dress.

My dress. I was in love with my dress. I’d found it at a vintage shop in the city, and the moment I saw it, I had to have it. It was soft and black and strapless, with a snug-fitting pencil skirt that came just to my knees and a thick black belt that cinched tightly at the curve of my waist. It was very vintage sixties, very Audrey Hepburn. I looked totally different in it, totally grown up and mature.

I hugged my friend, squealing in delight, gazing in awe at my reflection in the mirror. I wondered what my mom would say—she’d vetoed the dress from the start, but maybe she’d change her mind when she saw me in it. (She’d preferred a frosted pink crinoline princess gown that made me shudder the moment I saw it.)

It was nearly time to go, but Charlie wasn’t in any rush. She cut a few more lines for us, and I did mine fervently, welcoming the extra boost of confidence. I lit a smoke and exhaled shakily.

“Shouldn’t we go now?” I couldn’t sit still, pent-up with the combination of cocaine and nervous expectation. I practiced walking in my black velvet pumps.

“Oh, yeah. We’ll go soon.” Charlie was putting lipstick on as I asked. She looked amazing, of course, in her frilly white dress. How she could wear white so much without ever spilling on it, I’d never understand.

I was starting to get antsy, waiting. Charlie kept stalling, glancing at the clock .

And then I heard it. It started as a deep rumbling somewhere off in the distance, the noise growing gradually louder as it came nearer. Eventually, the rumbling was right outside Charlie’s apartment, idling against the curb. My heart did a little flip as I recognized the sound. I looked over at Charlie in surprise.

“Right on time.” She confirmed.

I couldn’t believe it. The thought never even occurred to me. I grabbed my clutch and kissed Charlie on the cheek, nearly squealing with delight, making her laugh.

“See you there, Mac.” She called on my way out the door.

It seemed too good to be true, but it wasn’t. There he was, astride his motorcycle, flashing a grin at me as I stepped into the bright afternoon sunshine. I smiled back at him, taking the rickety stairs slowly, one at a time, until I was safely on the ground and walking confidently, ecstatically towards him.

Grey looked amazing. He wore dark jeans and black motorcycle boots with a crisp, white button-down shirt tucked in and rolled up at the sleeves. Overtop his shirt he had a black wool sweater vest with distorted white graphics, edgy and cool. His dark hair, albeit messy, was still styled carefully, spiky with gel. I could see myself reflected in his large, aviator sunglasses. My heart skipped a beat as I approached.

“Wow.” I smiled, touched by the effort. His white motorcycle practically sparkled; it was so clean. He took off his sunglasses, and the startling blue of his eyes nearly took my breath away. A smirk curved his lips as he looked me over—again and again—until finally he shook his head at me, as if in disbelief. A low whistle escaped his lips.

I giggled and did a twirl. “You like?” I wondered.

Grey grasped my hand and pulled me near. “I like.” He kissed me gently.

“You shaved.” I cupped his smooth, tanned cheek in my hand. “How did you—” I shook my head in happy amazement. “How did you know about this?”

He shrugged. “Charlie.”

“Charlie.” That explained everything.

Grey looked doubtfully at my high-heeled pumps. “Can you ride in those?” He chuckled, smiling at me as he put his sunglasses back on.

“Oh yeah.” I smiled confidently, though really, I had no idea. I grasped his arms to get on the bike, but after a few stunted efforts to swing my leg over the seat, I threw my head back in laughter.

“It’s not my shoes, it’s my skirt. I can’t get on; it’s too tight!”

“I’d say it’s just right.” He laughed with me .

“Okay, here.” I sat down on the bike seat sidesaddle style so both my feet were on the same side and my high heels rested precariously on the one little peg. I grasped Grey tightly around the waist.

“Now, just go slow, and we’ll be good.”

He chuckled at my ingenuity. “Are you sure? You’re okay back there?”

I settled myself behind him; my arms wound around his hard waist, the warm sun shining on us in the clear blue summer sky. All I could feel was excitement; it spread within me and filled the air around me. Everything was changing. School was done, and I was moving out, moving on, about to start the chapter of my life I’d been looking forward to forever.

I was about to embark on the world—one brimming with countless possibilities and new, wonderful experiences…just waiting for me to come and enjoy.

I would take full advantage, would take all they had to offer.

A shiver of utter thrill rushed through me. I smiled wildly.

“I’ve never been better.”