Chapter 6 #2
The party started at eight, but I showed up at ten.
Everyone knows I come late to these things.
It’s expected, just like it’s expected I’ll get drunk and go into a room with a girl — or several — since I no longer have a girlfriend.
I’ve done this for so long it feels like I’m just playing a role, doing what people expect me to do.
It’s predictable, and boring, and I’m sick of it.
“Briggs!” Scarlett races up to me the moment I walk in the door. “We were just talking about you!”
“I’m sure you were.” I go past her to the hallway that leads to the dining room, where they have the bar. I’m going to need to get drunk to get through tonight.
“Briggs!” Scarlett chases after me, but she can’t go very fast in her three-inch heels. I’m already at the bar, pouring myself a drink, when she finally catches up to me.
“What do you want?” I ask, gulping down her dad’s very expensive scotch.
“Aubrey wants to talk to you. I know you guys are fighting but just give her a few minutes before you blow her off. You at least owe her that.”
“I don’t owe her anything. And we’re not fighting. We’re just no longer dating. If she wants to talk to me, she can. Doesn’t mean I’ll listen.”
Scarlett rolls her eyes. “I don’t know why I even try with you. Or why she wants you back. She could have any guy she wants.”
“I agree, so go tell her that. Tell her to find someone else.”
“You’re such an ass!” Scarlett huffs as she storms off.
I finish my drink, then refill my glass before going back to the party. Parker and Finn are talking to some girls on the other side of the room. Parker notices me and nudges Finn, and the two of them ditch the girls to come talk to me.
“You actually showed up,” Parker says.
“We have a deal.” I take a drink, already feeling more relaxed as the alcohol hits my brain.
“He does. I don’t,” Finn says.
“What the fuck?” I shove Parker’s shoulder. “You said Finn agreed to this. If he’s not part of this, we don’t have a deal.” I set my glass down on a table. “I’m out of here.”
“You can’t leave!” Parker says as I walk off. “You just got here.”
I walk back to him. “I only came because we had a deal, and now I find out you were lying.”
Parker looks at Finn. “Tell him you’ll do it.”
“Why? What am I getting out of this?”
“You’re saving yourself from jail,” I say.
“It’s gonna happen anyway. Why keep putting it off? Let’s just end this shit.”
“You’re so fucking stupid,” I say, shaking my head.
“You’re the stupid one,” Finn says. “Doing whatever the text tells you to. Following his orders. That’s bullshit.
The guy’s turning us in no matter what we do, and I don’t fucking care.
I’m sick of this shit.” He walks off, pushing people aside as he heads toward the bar set up on the side of the room, the one with the beer and cheap liquor.
Picking up my glass, I finish my drink. “Guess we’re done here.”
“Briggs, just listen to me,” Parker says, his voice urgent. “I’ll still do it. I’ll do whatever he tells us. That’s gotta buy us some time, right?”
“The text said we all had to do it, not just two of us. If Finn refuses, whoever this is will go to the cops.”
“Do you really think it’s Ms. Higgins? Because if it is, maybe we could talk to her, or you could. You’re in her class. She likes you.”
“She doesn’t like me. She likes Ella.”
“So tell Ella to talk to her. See if she can find out anything.”
“I’m not talking to Ella, and even if I was, she wouldn’t do this for us. We’re on our own. We need to figure this out ourselves.”
“You’re really not talking to her?”
“I talk to her at class, but only because I have to.”
“You guys have a fight or what?”
“We didn’t have a fight. I just don’t need to talk to her.” I look around the crowded room. “I’m leaving. I don’t feel like being here.”
“Just stay for an hour. If you leave, the deal is off. I won’t do what the text says.”
I pause to think. If Parker does what the texter tells us to, there’s a small chance it’d buy us more time. If he doesn’t, the video will definitely be sent to the cops, and then it’s over. Our lives are forever changed.
“One hour,” I tell him. “I hope whatever Scarlett’s got planned for you is worth it.”
He smiles. “It will be. She gave me a little preview before the party. I’m gonna get another drink. You want one?”
“Yeah, but not from there,” I say, nodding to the makeshift bar. “I only do the good stuff.”
“Scarlett doesn’t want us taking from her dad’s stash.”
“I just did, and she didn’t say anything, not that it would’ve stopped me if she did.”
“She let you take from her dad’s bar? What the fuck? She won’t even let me have that.”
I laugh, patting his shoulder. “You might want to find a new girlfriend. I’ll see ya later.” I take off, going back to the dining room to get more of the good liquor.
As I’m filling my glass, I hear the door shut.
I turn and see Aubrey standing there, her long, blonde hair in soft waves and her makeup natural, not overdone.
She has on a black wrap dress and black high heels.
She looks gorgeous, and yet I’m not attracted to her, not even a little.
Spending all that time with Ella made me see Aubrey in a different way.
I saw past her looks and realized what she’s really like.
I never paid attention to that before. When we were dating, all that mattered was that she was hot and that we looked good together.
“Hey, Briggs,” she says, slinking up to me. “I was hoping you’d be here.”
I face her, my drink in my hand. “What do you need?”
“You.” She smiles, and her hands go to the fabric tie around her waist. She undoes it, and her dress falls open, revealing nothing underneath.
I’m still not turned on. I used to think she had a great body, but now all I see are bones — her bony ribcage, her hip bones sticking out.
She has big tits, but they’re not real. They were a gift from her parents for her sixteenth birthday.
“Not interested,” I say, going past her.
“Briggs!” she yells. “What is wrong with you?”
“Nothing.” I turn back to her. “I’m just not into this anymore.”
“Are you kidding me?” She points to her body. “You’re not into this?”
“No,” I casually say. “But I’m sure there are plenty of guys out there who would be.” I continue to the door.
“Who is she?” Aubrey demands, her voice filled with rage. “Who are you sleeping with?”
I ignore her and leave the room. As I’m going down the hall, I hear her slam the door.
I don’t know why she’s so obsessed with me. She could easily get another guy. I wasn’t even a good boyfriend. All we did was have sex. I rarely took her out, almost never called her, and took forever to answer her texts. She should be happy to get rid of me.
Back at the party, girls come up to me, smiling at me, touching me, giving me that look that they’re mine for the night if I want them. I ignore them and finish my drink, and although I want another, I decide to sober up so I can get the hell out of here and drive myself home.
Exactly one hour later, I leave, not bothering to tell Parker and Finn.
When I get home, I hear my father in his office.
It sounds like he’s on the phone, or maybe he’s talking to himself.
He’s cursing and throwing shit around. I race to my room and lock the door, hoping he didn’t hear me come home.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad being in jail.
It’d be better than being here. But it’d ruin my future, and I’m not giving up on that.
I almost did, right before the accident.
I was thinking of just ending it, not even trying anymore.
But being with Ella gave me hope. She made me realize I could actually feel good, maybe even happy, despite my shitty life.
I didn’t think that was possible. I was ready to give up on the idea that I could somehow escape this and be on my own.
I didn’t even want to fight for it anymore.
But Ella, and the way she made me feel, made me believe I could get through this and maybe have a life where I’m not miserable all the time.
God, I miss her. I want her back. She was the only person keeping me going.
But my father ruined it, like he ruins everything.