Chapter Eight - Cat
CHAPTER EIGHT
Cat
WHEN I SAW Jules and Dom standing there, looking at me like they still held the same resentment for me they’d had on that night four years ago, my brain short-circuited and I panicked. At first my heart had sang, I missed them terribly.
I’d spent all this time picking through our last interaction, searching for a way that it could have gone any differently. I’d dreamed one day we’d reunite and things could go back to how they were before, but the look in their eyes didn’t make that seem very possible. So I just ran away. That’s what I was good at, anyway. I’m sure they didn’t expect anything less.
“Wanna tell me why we ran?” Sadie wheezed, trying to catch her breath after having to chase me back to our tent.
“Those guys used to be my best friends then everything got fucked up. The last time I saw them, they were both super pissed at me. We had a big fight at this party, something happened that night that led to my parents forcing us to move away. We still weren’t talking by the time I left and I’d figured they hated me, so I didn’t say goodbye. So I think it’s safe to say after four years we’re still not on good terms,” I rushed out.
“Damn, that’s pretty rough. Try not to stress about it too much, this place is huge and there’s so many people here. You should be able to avoid them easy enough. I mean, they didn’t try to approach you today so maybe they’ll avoid you too,” she tried to soothe my worries.
I didn’t know what was worse though, if they did try to talk to me and ripped into me or if they ignored me entirely. There was a time and place to try to explain the situation to them. To beg for them to understand the situation wasn’t at all what it looked like. This wasn’t it though, that ship had sailed.
Plus, the days where I could see myself groveling before them were long gone. They weren’t the only ones wronged. They were supposed to be my closest friends and they hadn’t even stopped for one second to hear me out. Now my only concern should be getting to Rhiannon before it was too late. I couldn’t afford to rip open that wound right now.
“Yeah, I think that’s what I’m gonna try to do. I need to focus on finding a way out of here to get to my family anyway,” I replied.
“I know we’ve only known each other for a few hours but I’d be more than happy to do anything I can to help. It’s not like I really talk to my family much after moving here for work and I live alone. I’m honestly kind of scared to go back to my apartment and be by myself after all this. I wouldn’t mind taking the ride over there with you to check on them. As long as that would be okay with you,” she rushed out, suddenly seeming a little embarrassed to just be inviting herself.
“That would actually be awesome,” I said with a smile. “I definitely wouldn’t mind the company after everything that’s happened. Don’t think I’ll feel comfortable without someone watching my back for a while.”
“I’m glad we met, Cat. This would have been a million times more sucky without you to commiserate with.”
We hung out and chatted about our lives, just getting to know each other for a bit. Cindy and Rachel came back from wherever they had gone then started getting ready for bed. That sounded like the best idea I heard all day. The longer I laid there, the harder I was finding it to stay awake. It had been a long adrenaline fueled day and my body was finally coming to a crashing halt. I didn’t even have the energy to change into pajamas by the time we turned off the lantern dangling from the ceiling of the tent.
It would be nice to turn my brain off for a bit and pretend like none of this was really happening.
“Do you mind if mind if I push my cot a little closer to yours? I thought I could be brave but now that it’s dark in here, I’m a little creeped out,” Sadie whispered over.
“No, scooch on over. I’m not afraid of the dark, I’ll protect you,” I giggled, trying to make light of the situation to ease her fears.
She pushed her cot a foot away from mine then climbed back into it, pulling the covers into a cocoon, leaving only her face visible. I reached my hand out into the space between us. She looked down at it then up to my eyes, making sure she understood the invitation.
Her hand appeared out from under her blanket then she interlaced her fingers with mine. We fell asleep holding hands and I was reminded of Rhiannon. The late nights were she’d sneak into my bed in the middle of the night at the lake, saying she heard a monster outside. I just hoped she knew I was coming to get her the first chance I could. I would never let any monsters get their hands on her.
“Hey Cat,” Mallory sang. “So glad you could make it tonight. I convinced my older brother to buy me alcohol and a few other people brought a few bottles, too. There’s a bowl of jungle juice if you want a drink. I was just about to go get one, come with?”
I’d never been drunk before, but I’d always been curious what it was like so I let her lead me over to the table. She grabbed two red solo cups, filling them both up to the brim then handed me one. It was a pinkish-orange color and smelled fruity. I took a big sip and was greeted with the taste of lighter fluid. I started coughing and sputtering, Mallory threw her head back and laughed.
“Come on, don’t be a lightweight,” she teased, then linked her arm with one of mine. “So, did Julius and Dominic come with you? When I told Alicia to invite you, I told her not to forget to tell you to bring them, too.”
I did and they had come reluctantly. After literally having to beg them. I’d never been invited to a party before let alone one at Mallory’s house. She was the head cheerleader and a junior, so it surprised me when she’d even invited me. Yeah, I was starting to make friends with the underclassmen on the team, but most of the time upperclassmen treated us like babies when it came to parties. So when she told her best friend, Alicia, to invite me I had been beyond psyched.
When I had told Jules and Dom about their invite too, they had scoffed. Said they wanted nothing to do with a party at her house, that they always got too crazy and nothing good came from it. It took me two days to finally convince them, laying the guilt on thick about how I didn’t have any girl friends and this would be a good bonding experience for me. What finally worked was when I had finally given up and said I would just go by myself then. They gave each other an exasperated look then finally relented.
“Yeah, they’re here somewhere. I came in with them but then came to find you to thank you for inviting me,” I replied.
“Oh yeah, it’s no problem, really. You’ve been doing great ever since joining the squad. You really stand out. If you keep up the good work, when you’re a junior like me, you could even make captain,” she said with a smile and bumped her hip against mine.
“You really think so?” I beamed at her praise.
“Hell yeah, girl. Here, come hangout with me. I was just about to go get people together for a drinking game. I’m gonna take you under my wing tonight,” she lead over to a huge patio with a bunch of outdoor couches.
She introduced me to the all the juniors and seniors sitting there then pulled me down in the seat next to her. We started playing never have I ever and I ended up having to drink the majority of the time. This game was either not made for inexperienced virgins like me or designed to get them absolutely wasted. My drink was emptied then filled twice and I was starting to feel pretty drunk. My vision was swimming and I began to wonder where my chaperons had wandered off to.
I excused myself to the bathroom, finding I couldn’t possibly hold it another second all of a sudden. It took me a minute to find it because Mallory’s house was so damn big, or maybe the drinks were just making it harder for me to function. I didn’t know, but when I finally found it, I clumsily slammed the door shut then had to steady myself against it. The room was definitely starting to spin a bit. I splashed some cool water on my face then relieved myself, feeling a bit better after. When I came back out to the party in the backyard, the group I had been playing the game with had disbanded.
I searched for someone I knew then my eyes fell upon Mallory and Jules. She had him over in the corner, one hand was on his arm and the other was brushing through his hair. She was saying something to him and batting her eyes at him but I couldn’t make it out from this distance.
He didn’t look completely into whatever she was saying but he certainly wasn’t pushing her away. I felt a twinge of jealousy. We hadn’t really had a discussion about what happened between us the night I showed up outside his window but I thought it’d been pretty apparent how we both felt.
Had I not made it clear enough that I liked him too? It’s not like we were in a relationship, so I had no claim to him, but it stung all the same. It also made me mad. Mallory had a new boyfriend now, Scott. Why did she need Jules, too? I thought we were starting to become friends, but it was beginning to feel like she just invited me to get him here.
“Hey Cat, Dominic was just asking for you. I told him you went inside. I think he went in there to look for you,” Alicia told me.
“Okay, thanks for letting me know,” I replied, still distracted by the feeling of stinging betrayal.
“Yeah, no problem,” she said with a smirk.
I never really liked her, and I had the feeling it was mutual. She must have been in on the plot to invite me just to get Jules here judging by the look on her face. Heading inside to look for Dom, I hoped he was looking for me cause he wanted to leave. I was about ready to get out of here myself.
I started calling out to him inside the empty house, but got no response. Maybe he thought I had gotten sick since I’m such a lightweight and started checking bedrooms, so I started to do the same. I got to what looked like a guest bedroom and was standing in the open doorway when someone approached me from behind.
“Whatcha doing up here all by your little lonesome, freshie,” a male voice I didn’t immediately recognize said.
I spun around and standing right behind me, way closer than I’d prefer, was Scott. He was tall and broad shouldered senior, but I didn’t find him very attractive like the other girls on the squad. He had blond hair, blue eyes and was the quarterback for the football team, so naturally he had a dating history a mile long. That did nothing for me because he was a jerk, especially to underclassmen. He thought he was so cool and anyone under him was just there for his entertainment. He reminded me of my dad, just a plain bully.
“Oh, Alicia said Dom was looking for me, so I was just trying to find him. But obviously he’s not in here, so I’ll just go back out to the party.” I tried to take a step to go around him.
“Not so fast,” he said and put his arm up to block my path. “Where you running off to so quickly? I didn’t even get the chance to catch your name.”
“Catherine, but my friends call me Cat,” I choked out.
I didn’t like being corned up here by myself.
“Cat, that’s a cute name for a cute little freshman,” he reached out and twisted a strand of my hair around his finger.
“Aren’t you dating Mallory?” I asked him and tried to take a step back instead, but he grabbed my arm.
“She doesn’t have to know. Pretty sure she’s still all hung up on that pretty boy, Jules, anyway. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve cheated on her, definitely won’t be the last,” he said with ease, like that didn’t make him absolutely repulsive.
“I’m good, thanks,” I tried to rip my arm out of his grasp, but he just held on tighter.
“Oh, come on now,” he growled. “Don’t be a prude, Mallory said you’d be nice and easy.”
He twisted my arm and walked me backwards into the room, kicking the door shut behind him. I tried to scream but he spun me around, held me tight to his body with the arm he was already restraining me with and the other came up to cover my mouth. He pushed me down onto the bed, his body following mine and pinning me down. With one hand still covering my mouth, the other reached down to lift the hem of my skirt, then grabbed a hold of my panties.
I turned my head to the side to try to fight harder, scream louder, then my eyes connected with a phone propped up on the dresser across the room, clear as day. Was he fucking recording this? I hadn’t seen him set it up, so did that mean he did it prior?
Had this been planned?
I turned my head back away to hide from the camera. Horror overtook me as the events of the night ran through my head in slow motion: Mallory got me drunk, separated me from my friends, then got her little sidekick to send me in the house by myself all the while Scott was waiting for me. But why? What did I ever do to them?
I know I should have tried harder to fight what was happening, but it was like my mind shut off and separated from my body. I was left completely paralyzed. It felt like I was floating above myself, like it was happening to someone else and I was simply observing. When he was done, he got off me, walked over to the phone, tapped around for a minute, then walked out, just leaving me there. I laid there with tears streaming down my face, still stuck in a foggy drunken haze.