Chapter 21 #2
Lucas shook his head. “You do know how to sell an idea, babe.”
I always gagged a little when Lucas called Kayla ‘babe.’
Kayla was just about to deliver her subsequent plea when Jamie chimed in, “You know what? I'm with Kayla. Let's do the party.” I turned my head up at him and opened my mouth to protest, but he stopped me. “She’s right. We don’t have many nights altogether left.”
I tugged on his arm, which was still wrapped around me.
“Hey, don't talk like that.” I turned my head back to Kayla and Lucas.
“No one is allowed to talk like that for the rest of the night.” I huffed at everyone.
“I'll go to the stupid party as long as nobody says anything else that's depressing tonight.”
Lucas hacked a laugh. “Interesting.” He snorted.
“What?!” I squinted my eyes at my brother, pouting my lips at him.
He shrugged his big shoulders. “Nothing. Nothing.” He raised his hands in defense. “It's just normally we're the ones telling you not to be depressing.”
I gasped. “I'm offended.”
Kayla twirled a skinny pink braid that cascaded to her waist. “That's because the truth hurts.” Her face crinkled with uncontainable laughter, and then suddenly, all three of them were laughing at me as I stood there, mouth gaping at their accusation.
It may have been accurate, but it was still rude.
“You know what, fine! You’ll see I'm going to be the life of this freaking party. And we are going to have the best night of our lives, mark my words!” I shot back at everyone.
This party was now becoming a weird challenge, and I was determined to win, regardless of the slight lump I felt in my stomach at the idea of going.
Everyone has a built-in alarm, a siren that goes off when danger is near.
I could feel that alarm going off in me when Kayla asked to go to the party, blaring in my ears, causing my stomach to turn and my throat to fill with acid.
Something about going didn't feel right.
Sometimes, gut feeling is more than anxiety or nerves.
Sometimes, this is the universe physically screaming into our nervous system not to do something.
But I could count on two fingers when I listened to this alarm, and graduation night was not one of them.
At exactly 11:00 p.m., we reached the party.
Corbin's house was incredible. It was a beautiful, historic 1920s mansion situated atop a small hill.
I genuinely believed it was the most stunning house in our small neighborhood, and it blew my mind to know that this magnificent place was soon going to be torn down.
Corbin's parents moved to Aspen during his junior year, leaving him living alone until he finished high school.
Corbin was, without a doubt, a prep, and thus, like any good rich kid, he hung with the popular crowd, but honestly, he was pretty far from the stereotypical snob.
He was compassionate and approachable, going out of his way to help others.
In fact, tonight, he designated himself the party DD, offering anyone a personal taxi service to ensure everybody got home safely.
Corbin was a good guy, but his parents sucked.
When he turned eighteen, they put his childhood house up for sale and sold it without even telling him.
The new owners didn't want to spend the money it would take to restore the house, so instead, they planned to demolish it with a wrecking ball.
Corbin saw this tragedy as the perfect occasion to throw a massive kegger in which we were allowed to spray paint the walls, break the furniture, and sledgehammer the floors.
We parked a few houses down and walked hand in hand towards the mansion like the gushy, lovesick teenagers we were. Kayla and Lucas staggered a few paces behind Jamie and me as they tried to simultaneously suck faces and move their feet at the same time.
As we entered the foyer, the floors vibrated due to the volume of the music blasting through every room and hallway.
Bodies were piled on top of bodies, and I'm pretty sure the house was 100 degrees.
The loud thump of the stereo was almost deafening as we navigated our way through the sea of newly graduated students, bouncing up and down with their red Solo cups.
Of course, we followed suit and weaved our way to the kitchen, where a crystal bowl sat on the massive marble island filled with a murky purple liquid.
Lucas used the plastic ladle and poured three extra-large glasses for the three of us.
Since he was driving, he would have to stick with water tonight.
I took an enormous sip and immediately regretted my decision.
The liquid burned my esophagus and eroded my stomach, leaving me with the aftertaste of a moldy Jolly Rancher.
“Why can’t they just serve tequila shots? It's simple. To the point, now my tongue is going to taste like the Jolly Green Giant for a week.” I grimaced.
Kayla held her nose and swallowed her liquid down in one gulp. “It's better if you plug your nose and down it,” she said, smacking her red cup onto the counter and shaking her head. Come on, let's dance!” She gripped Lucas’s arm and pulled him into the living room.
I copied Kayla and chugged the green acid. “I think we should dance,” I told Jamie.
Jamie gave me a little smirk as if he found my actions amusing.
“Only for you.” He begrudgingly took my hands, which stretched far in front of me, waiting to pull him into the crowd of sweaty bodies grinding up against one another, scattered everywhere.
We pushed through the crowd before stopping in the middle of all the flying and shaking limbs.
I moved my body up and down Jamie’s as his arms wrapped around my torso.
His fingers traveled from my shoulder blades to the swell of my back, then pulled my hips directly onto his.
We certainly weren't allowed to dance like this at school .
.. I turned my body around and pushed myself against his chest, his hands moving to the front of my hip bones, continuing to drive my body up and down his.
We lost track of time in the swirling haze.
My intoxicated brain, mixed with loud music, high adrenaline, warm bodies, and Jamie’s hands running up and down me, quickly made the seconds disappear and the minutes vanish into hours.
It truly was a fantastic night, the picture-perfect way to celebrate the end of an era and the beginning of our new lives.
But here's the lesson: nothing good happens after 2:00 a.m.
So, when that clock strikes, go home.
My body started to crash, and my limbs trembled from all the dancing.
“Come on, let's go sit down.” I gripped the back of my tangled hair and lifted it slightly to get some air on my skin.
I grabbed Jamie's hand and pulled him over to the couches, which were draped with an obscene number of bodies, causing me to wonder about the couch's structural integrity.
I found Lucas and Kayla pretty much horizontal on top of each other in the far-right corner of the large sectional.
I smacked Kayla's leg. “Move it, love birds; if I don't sit, my knees are going to snap. Scoot over.” We crashed our bodies onto the pillows, Jamie’s arm draping over my shoulder.
“I think I've had my fair share of fun. Can we please go home so I can change into my sweats and let the comforters consume me?”
Lucas leaned forward to look at me. “What happened to being the life of the party?” he teased me, his words slurring as his body lightly swayed.
I crooked my head at him. “Are you drunk?” I accused him, my jaw almost smacking my knees. If there was one thing I could count on in this world, it was that Lucas was the most responsible person to bestow the title of designated driver; he was like the drunk-driving safety net of the friend group.
“Maybe ...” Lucas slumped a little further into the couch cushions.
Jamie slapped my brother's leg. “Dude, you're supposed to DD tonight!”
“It's fine, man. Corbin said he'll drive anyone who needs a lift home.”
Jamie clenched his jaw and planted his palm on his forehead. “But who's going to drive my truck back?”
Lucas's face was blank, as if Jamie's words were taking the long route to Lucas's brain. “Alex and I can swing by and pick up your truck tomorrow.”
I glanced at the almost empty red Solo cup in his hand. “You mean after the headaches wore off?” Lucas's body did not handle alcohol well, and thus, the odds of his doing anything tomorrow were slim to none. “Has anyone seen Corbin?”
Kayla whined at me, placing her hands on my shoulders and shaking them. “Come on now, Alex. Let's stay for another thirty minutes, and then we can go. Please!”
Naturally, I gave in to the madness because even though we were officially out of high school, I was certainly not above good old-fashioned peer pressure.
Besides, it was harmless fun. I was with my three best friends in the world, and we were at a party filled with everyone we've known since we were in kindergarten—what could go wrong?
“Look what we have here,” a familiar deep voice said from the crowd.
Aiden and Dallas Donahue moved with a particular purpose. Their footsteps boomed in the room as they circled the couch, positioning themselves in front of us. Their presence loomed large, casting a shadow that seemed to engulf the entire space.
Dallas spoke first. “The snitch,” he spat at Jamie.
After everything that happened with Jamie's mom and their dad, Jamie didn't go near the Donahue brothers and had skillfully avoided them until about a week before graduation.
Jack was up for his parole meeting, and Jamie's lawyer advised him to make a statement about Jack and his business dealings.
To keep Jack in jail, Jamie had to snitch on everything he knew about the Donahue family.
After that day, Aiden and Dallas circled Jamie like hyenas, ready to feast on their prey.
Jamie launched from the couch and dashed to the fireplace where they stood, narrowing his eyes at the two of them. “Come on, guys, let's not do this here.”
Dallas got close to Jamie's face. “You know the rule, Jamie. Snitches get stitches.”
My heart raced and pounded against my ribs as I watched Jamie raise his hands, palms out, trying to offer a peace treaty. “Let's not be like our parents, Dallas. I don't owe you anything, and you don't owe your dad either. Let's just all move on.”
Aiden stepped forward, the Donahues effectively blocked Jamie in, using their bodies as a wall. “Your family takes orders from us, not the other way around.”
Jamie’s hand clenched into a fist, so without thinking, I immediately shot up from my seat and grabbed his arm, pulling him. “Just walk away,” I begged. “They're not worth it, and you know it.”
Jamie loosened his fist.
“Yeah, be a good little boy and listen to your bitch,” Dallas hissed at Jamie.
And just like that, our happily ever after was erased. Life is comprised of a series of decisions, some we make, and some people make for us, but how we react to those decisions determines how our story will end. Jamie responded by throwing a right hook.
Aiden quickly defended his brother, delivering a jab to Jamie's chin.
Lucas leaped from the couch and shoved Aiden, sending him flying across the room.
Dallas retaliated with a hit to Lucas's jaw, and Jamie protected Lucas by grabbing a picture frame off the fireplace and smashing it across Dallas’s head.
Dallas, a thick trail of blood running from his ear, shook his head back and forth multiple times, trying to steady himself, but suddenly, his body hunched over, and he fell onto the floor, passing out.
To protect his brother, Aiden lunged back at Jamie, but this time, I could see a small silver object in his hand.
I always said I would walk through hell for Jamie, but it only became true when I placed my body in front of his like a shield.
The knife tore through my skin and ripped a hole in my stomach. Warm blood began to ooze around the metal. I watched Aiden’s eyes widen when he realized what he’d done, and I watched as he bolted out of the house, leaving his brother passed out and bleeding on the floor.
Everything slowed down significantly at that point, and the sound became muffled, as if I were watching a movie underwater.
I think I heard Kayla screaming in the back and Lucas dialing 911.
I remember my body slouching to the floor and Jamie's arms wrapping firmly around me as he pressed his hands to the surface where the knife still stuck out in my upper stomach.
Just before breath abandoned me, I heard the faint sobs of Jamie begging me to stay awake.
Then there was nothing. It was like falling asleep after too much cough syrup, groggy and slow, but then all at once.
Quiet darkness took over and dragged me into its somber night.
If it's after 2:00 a.m.,
Just go home.