Chapter Thirty
Millie
"Lucy! Come on, it will be fun!" Anna whines. She flops down on my bed, throwing her body back in a show of exasperation and annoyance.
"I'm not sneaking out to go to some stupid party." I say sternly, digging my heels in for real this time. I don't even want to think about the amount of trouble I would get into if my parents caught us. "It's not worth it," I add.
"You never want to do anything fun," she pouts, poking her bottom lip out for good measure.
"That's not true. Plus, it's not even going to be that much fun. They're all older than us, Anna. We barely know any of them."
She sits up from the bed suddenly. "You're just making my argument for me, Lucy! That's exactly why we should go!"
She stands up from the bed and comes to stand beside me. I'm sitting at my vanity, curling my long strands of blonde hair.
She leans down so that her mouth is close to my ear and says, "I think Derek has a crush on you."
My cheeks immediately heat because I have a secret crush on Derek Myers, a senior and the prettiest boy I've ever seen. But I guess it isn't as big of a secret as I thought as I watch Anna's smile grow by the second.
"He does not," I answer self-consciously, but also hoping it's true and he really does have a crush on me. My best friend wouldn't lie to me, would she?
"He does. Jared told me, and he heard it from Greg, who's basically Derek's best friend. So it must be true."
A tiny grain of hope starts to bloom deep in my chest. Could it really be true? I've had a crush on Derek pretty much all of junior year. The longest crush I've ever had. Just the thought that maybe he likes me back has me rethinking my whole stance on this party idea.
Anna giggles. She can tell I'm reconsidering. She puts both her hands on top of my shoulders. "You should wear that cute little black skirt we got a few weeks ago at the mall."
"Really?"
"Really!"
"I knew this was a bad idea! He's not even here!" I hiss in my best friend's ear. I really don't know why I keep letting her talk me into shit like this.
"Chill. He's going to show. He has to." She's entirely too nonchalant about this whole thing. I really wish she was more serious sometimes.
"You don't know that, Anna. Maybe he had other plans.
Maybe he's with a girl." My voice reaches an unnatural decibel, breaking with panic.
I'm starting to sweat. I don't even know how that's possible because it's kind of cold in here and I barely have any clothes on. An outfit that Anna talked me into.
"Listen, he's going to show and he likes you, Lucy. Just calm down and try to enjoy yourself a bit. You look like you just swallowed something sour while simultaneously shoving something up your butt."
She can be such a bitch sometimes, but she always knows exactly what I need to hear. I blow out a steady breath and work to relax my body. As soon as all the tension leaves me, I realize she was right.
She hands me a cup with questionable liquid in it. "What is it?"
"A mixture of vodka, gin, and juice. It's not bad actually." She reaches over and encourages me to take a sip. It isn't long before I feel the effects of the drink coursing through my body. It's probably why when Anna pulls me towards the makeshift dance floor, I go willingly.
And it explains why when Derek Myers finally shows up to the party, I go marching right up to him. I reach up and grab his shirt, pulling his oh-so-handsome face closer to mine. My core heats. The hand that's holding onto his shirt for dear life kind of feels like Jell-O.
His eyebrows pull together slightly, but I blame the enticing and handsome smile on his face for what I do next. I pull him towards me. He doesn't put up much resistance, at least that's what I think in my alcohol-fueled brain of mine.
"Lucy," he says my name all husky-like. My hormones flare to life, flooding my core at an alarming speed.
"I'm going to kiss you," I say right before I slam my lips into his. He stiffens at first, but it isn't long before he takes over, owning my lips in the way I've dreamed about for almost an entire year now.
I groan, pulling him even closer to me because I still haven't let go of his shirt. His hand touches my bare thigh and slides up, up, up until he's dangerously close to my panty line.
In the back recesses of my alcohol-induced state, I know that I'm going to regret this. That by morning, I'm going to be mortified by my behavior tonight. But right now, I don't care. I stick my tongue into his mouth, groaning even louder when his tongue touches my own in response.
We don't stop when we hear a throat clear or when Derek's hand slides under my panties and starts to grope my ass. It isn't until someone violently yanks me back from Derek that we finally stop.
Suddenly Anna comes into view, her eyes wide with dismay and worry. "Lucy!" she quietly scolds, but I don't want to hear any of it.
"What did you do that for?!" I accuse, angry that she pulled me away from him. She's the one that wanted me to come to this stupid party! And now I'm here, having fun, and she decides to try to interfere with that?!
"You were about to show your ass to the entire football team!" she hisses as she reaches for my skirt to pull it down. I swat her hand away, adjusting my skirt myself.
She starts to reach for my hand, but I swat that away too. "I'm fine!" I whisper-hiss.
"Lucy, what has gotten into you?" she asks, her eyes starting to water. I start to soften at the sight, but then I look at Derek. His smile is crooked and adorable. The lipstick I put on at the house is smeared across his face, and something inside of me cracks.
I don't know what comes over me next. I don't know if it is the alcohol still coursing freely through my veins or the fact that Anna tries to stop me.
"Nothing's gotten into me," I sneer as I push my friend away. My best friend, the girl that I love more than anything, looks absolutely astonished as I walk to Derek and throw my arms around him.
"Wanna get out of here?" I ask boldly, my inhibitions nowhere in sight.
"Yeah, baby. I know just the place."
"Lucy!" Anna yells at me. "Don't leave with him like this." She implores me to stop, but I don't care. I want to go with him.
"Lucy!" Anna screams as I walk right out the door with a boy I barely know and away from a girl that's owned a piece of my heart since I was four years old.
It's too late when I realize I made a terrible mistake. It's too late to go back to that party and my friend. It's too late to stop what happens next.
I gasp for air as I jolt awake. "Hhhhh. What the—" I feel so overwhelmed that tears start to gather in the corners of my eyes.
"Millie!" The voice has me jolting once again but for an entirely different reason. My head whips around my room wildly. To my dismay, I'm alone.
I shake my head to try to clear it. Maybe it's just remnants from my dream that felt more real than any of the previous ones.
"Millie! Help me!" This time the voice is louder, more urgent.
My hands slam up to my ears to cover them.
"Millie!" This time it feels like whoever is the owner of the voice is right beside me, screaming into my ear.
"AHHH!" I yell in response. "What the hell do you want from me?" I feverishly whisper, worried I'll wake my parents but secretly hoping I do.
"Help me!" the voice implores, sounding more desperate by the second.
I'm taken aback by the direct response to my question. If Lily is right and this is a ghost, can I speak directly to it and have it respond?
I swallow and run my tongue across my dry lips. "Can you talk to me?"
"Yes." The voice is a little quieter this time.
My head reels back in shock. Holy shit.
"What's your name?" I ask, hoping her answer gives me an answer to who she is.
"Help me," the voice implores once again.
I shake my head. Confusion fills my chest. "Help you with what?"
"Find her!" The voice commands my attention.
The back of my neck tingles, and I feel a cold breeze float across my skin. I look down and watch as the hairs on my arms stand on end. "Find who?" I whisper.
But instead of an answer, I get the same desperate command. "Find her!"
Then, just as quickly as I felt her, I feel her retreat. The cold breeze is gone, the hairs on my arms go back to their normal state, and the tingle in the back of my neck disappears.
"What the hell was that?" I ask myself. This time, no one answers.