I look for you in every room
The forgotten party is a staple for Willow Hill University. Set in the Ashford building, it carries its own legend. Nearly a decade ago, a fire blazed through the ballroom during a charity gala, and ten lives were lost to the flames.
After hanging up with my parents, I hit the next person on my favorites list.
Me:
SOS. Forgotten Party?
She calls me instantly. Her short black hair is in disarray, an Anatomy the room’s energy syncs to my pulse. The deeper we walk, the more detached the corridor feels from reality, floating its own version of normal.
Old chandeliers hang above, veined with cobwebs.
Alcoves are dark with no light emanating from within.
The glass dome above never fails to take my breath away.
Still whole, albeit cracked and spiderwebbed in spots.
The light that shines through forms a dance of patterns on everyone's body.
The steps that once led to the balcony have been converted into a bar, while the walls still bear the flame marks from the fire many years ago.
Before I can scan for Callan or Vee, I find him first.
Oliver is leaning against an archway, framed in fractured moonlight. Dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans, he stands out with his disheveled blond hair. Our gazes catch, his drifts down my body. When he sees me, ease leaves his posture.
My eyes cut to the girl who just approached his side.
She’s wearing a silk dress that looks two sizes too small, trying to look beautiful and alluring, when all I see is the girl who whispered cruel words in high school and wanted to get me to break.
The girl who derailed me so much sophomore year that I now have lasting effects that never seem to go away.
“Lyra…Hello Lyra!” I snap back to Roxy, who is grinning and waving her hand in front of my face.
“What?”
“You were staring for a count of thirty-four seconds.”
“No, I wasn’t,” I protest weakly.
“Your pupils were so dilated I thought you were going to start speaking another language,” she deadpans.
“Maybe I was staring,” I concede.
She glares in their direction. “I want to go up there and stab her with the sharp end of the candelabra.” Thankfully, Roxy didn’t go to high school with us, or it would have been war.
“You are extra stabby tonight,” I note.
She waves me off. “If someone looked at me like that, I would either run or drop dead.”
I grab two cups for us, fill them with vodka, and add a splash of soda. “He looks like he’d hold the door, trip you on the stairs, then proceed to help you up.”
I laugh. “I think the same thing.”
The music from the speakers is pulsing, making me sway. “Let’s go dance.” I hand her the cup, walking to the center of the hall, right under the domed ceiling.
The air is thick with sexual tension, the music sultry and low. The bass is a match to my own heartbeat. I sway my hips and reach up to pull my hair from my back. After too many songs to count, cup empty, a buzz warms my limbs, and my body hums with the room.
“I’ll be back. I’m going to get us new drinks,” I shout over the music. Between the pulsing red and purple lights and the darkness swallowing half the room, I can barely make out her and Vee beside me.
“Want us to come!” Roxy shouts over the music.
“No, stay. I’ll be back soon.”
I make my way through the gyrating bodies. Instead of going straight to the bar, I head toward the glass panel doors on the back wall.
The night air hits me as a complete contrast to the heat from inside.
I brace on the broken concrete balcony and draw a few deep breaths.
I shrug off my jacket and hang it over the side next to me as I turn to look over the water.
Even though the entrance is on the ground floor, the school's layout means this section overlooks an embankment that drops towards the cliffs below.
“You came.”
I stay facing away, feeling his approach at my back. “I did. But you knew that. Your eyes haven’t left me all night.”
I might have encouraged that by putting on a show. A part of me isn’t surprised he followed me out. He has been standing with Callan for most of the night, talking and sipping on the same drink. He might watch me, but I watch just as much.
Oliver comes up next to me, close enough that I feel his warmth. “Staring is aggressive, just observing.”
I turn to face him, meeting his dark eyes. “Did you enjoy it?”
The bass from inside is muted out here, secluding us in our own world. “You’re easy to watch. Distracting.”
I hum. “Might need eyedrops. I didn’t see you blink once.”
His mouth twitches as he steps closer. “She seems rather interested in you.” His eyes flick to the glass doors.
“Unfortunately.” I sigh.
He tilts his head, reading what I don’t say. Thankfully, he doesn’t press.
“How well do you know her?” I ask.
“Not well.”
I bite my lip, and his eyes zero in on the motion. “Man of many words.” The doors open as a few girls and guys step out. Noticing us, they smile and walk to the far side.
I turn back to Oliver. “When did Vienna become friends with them?” I can’t help but ask. If I can do anything to pull her away, even if that means telling her every single detail about what they did to me, I will.
“A few weeks before this semester. Friends is a stretch. If anything, Jade’s attention has locked onto Vienna more since you.”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.” I sigh. No more beating around this proverbial bush. “If you’re involved with her, this—” I wave between us. “Doesn’t happen.”
“Good thing I’m not.” Reaching up, Oliver tucks a strand of hair behind my ear before cupping my neck.
His thumb traces my jaw ever so slowly to the hollow of my throat; goose bumps rise along my arms. My lips part on instinct, my breath getting shallow.
Lightly and so softly I can barely feel it, his thumb drags over my bottom lip.
“So soft,” he whispers.
Holy shit.
I don’t move, just stare at him as he caresses my lower lip in a trance of his own. The door opening, once again, has him pulling his arm back, dropping it on the banister. I’m finally able to take in a full breath.
He taps his long fingers on the stone, looking back at the party, then back to me. “What pulled you out here?”
It takes a moment to get my brain back on track. The abrupt change in conversation doesn't go unnoticed. “The-ahh, the air, something about the sea at night is…calming.” Looking out, the fog settles over the lapping waves.
“And a break from the noise?”
“That too.”
I gesture to the party raging behind us. “Is this normal for you?”
“No, but sometimes I like places that feel forgotten.”
“What a play on words.” I bite my lip to hold back a laugh.
He chuckles lightly, turning to look over the vast expanse of forest and ocean. “No one pretends. Everyone is a little more honest in the dark.”
“And you?” I question.
He tilts his head. “I’m always honest. I don’t need the dark for it.”
“Did you…” I clear my throat. “Did you come last year?”
“No.”
“Well, don’t miss out on the blackout. It’s what everyone truly comes here for. To disappear for a few minutes in the dark.”
“Where will you be?” His eyes bore into mine.