C H A P T E R  F I V E | The First Flashback

MY FEET STEPPED ONTO THE cold frigid floor of the apartment, hands laid put by my side. Grazing my lower lip, I moved my hands along the dark walls trying to find a light switch.

Savannah...you've got nowhere to hide...

Terrified, I begin to back away, my mind creating a room in my mind for horrible memories of my past. Just as the whole light washed over the room, I peered inside. There was another scene playing inside the room. A jittery feeling birthed in me. I could see a little girl settled on the floor; she looked around seven. She had donned on a pink skirt with a frilly top, sequins decorating the little belt. Innocence fell from her every moment as he jumped her dolls around.

This little innocent girl was me and the one who was saying this was my step father, my mother's husband.

She muttered words along with playing with the lifeless dolls, her large eyes widening at his slow paced voice. If only she knew what would happen next...

Sadness brimmed the corner of my eyes as I watched my past self. Tears numbed my eyes as I choked back a little sob. Don't hurt her...she's too pure. She doesn't know...

"S? All the girls are gathered in the hall. They are all expecting you. S?" She stopped once she felt like she was being droned out by me. Her gentle hold on me snapped me back to reality. I looked at her with wide eyes and than back into the room. Instead of it being my old bedroom, it was just the dressing room with hundreds of dresses all gifted to me by Natalie. She was persistent as heck.

"Is everything okay?"

No.

"I'm fine. I just felt this strong--" I stopped once I realized I'm not the one to give explanations. My gaze hardened and I wrenched away from her comforting hold. "Get away from me. Tell them I'll be there. "

Hurt and confusion flashed through Cora's eyes. I watched her as she left me abandoned there. A cruel smile formed on my lips as I let her go. I don't need anyone.

Natalie was ordering Deborah and Delilah around, her demeanour as cold as ice. Whenever Delilah whined, she would throw a glare at her face and than breathe air through the nostrils as a way of showing dominance. She was like a mother around here. A strict one, indeed.

Deborah was the timid one. Her bangs covered half of her face and it looked like she was hiding a lot of secrets within her. We have never talked before; the bonding was mainly through Delilah and that girl was really talkative. But I trusted her.

They all stopped working at the sight of me. Natalie was sporting a huge smile. "Girl, how does this look?" I casted a vary look around. "Its fine."

Her huge smile wavered and disappointment danced around her irises, lips twisting her lips into a downward smile. Her hands awkwardly traced her sleek ponytail and she sat back down, too embarrassed to say anything else. I noticed Cora's hand on her hand, comforting her. Holly was sitting there, her face pale and eyes watery. She still missed that lying bastard John who cheated on her.

Delilah raised an expectant hand in the air. I nodded my head in her direction. A small smile made itself to her maroon tinted lips and she proudly stands up. "I have been hearing complaints against this guy named Logan who performed revenge porn on-"

"I need valid proofs, Deli."

"This guy Logan recently shifted here about a year ago and fell into a relationship with Brenna and they were going tight until she slept with his friend and they broke up. Now he is circulating her nudes on all social media platforms. I have recorded Brenna--just listen."

Then she played the so called recording on her smart phone. After a few seconds of crackles and static, major sentences could be picked up from the recorder. Brenna's sobs were there and they sounded painful, full of anguish. "I-I didn't mean to do--I am t-truly sorry. Last night, I called Logan and when he picked up...I began to cry. The regret and guilt was too strong. I apologized and told him that I wasn't--" There was silence before she commenced again. "--that I was truly sorry and everything I did was purely out of  jealousy as I caught him kissing Kenzie earlier. Logan never answered..."

Delilah paused and than dropped her head to stare at her phone screen before picking her head again and showing the screen to me. It was a short and blurred clip showing a slide show of Brenna in compromising positions. Natalie shook her head, annoyed. "That asshole."

I didn't miss the tiny text in the corner of the edited clips; it read in clear italics: I don't even know Kenzie, Brenna.

Leaning back in my seat, I began to tap the arm rest when Deli brought my attention back to her. "Should we bring Logan to the Basement?"

I nodded, my gaze set on the many phones on the table belonging to the girls.

"Okay now that's it's over, let's talk about the party." Natalie moved her sleeves upwards, her bracelets moving with her. Cora lifted her dark and prominent eyebrow, her gaze set on her long black painted nails. I lifted a hand to indicate that I was ready for the proceedings. Natalie offered me a huge smile and took a deep breath. "It will begin in about 20 minutes. I've called all my loyal subjects and their resources will also be here to accompany them. All girls."

"Cora's guy will be here too," Deli excitedly stated, hopeful to see another gender in the apartment.

Cora pulled off her snapback and than placed her hand through her tangles only to rough them up. "He's not my guy, Deli."

"Not yet," Natalie retorted, leaning towards Deli with a confident smirk on her face. As I looked at my carefree girls, I realized that I would only be able to love them. No one would hold a special place in my heart more than these girls and I don't intend to put somebody else in my heart--much less a boy.

"I'll go and keep check on the beers and the movie and Deli could go and see the music." Natalie ordered the twins around, her light hair spilling around her bare back. I remained quite, my eyebrows going downwards as I thought about the intrusion of a guy in our territory. Hatred.

"IT'S NOT A HIGHSCHOOL party, mom." I rolled my eyes as I ran a hand through my hair from front, spiking the front up. Mom was standing in my doorway, holding Alayna in her hands. Dad was standing behind her, his hand on her shoulders.

"Will there be hot girls?" Dad asked, expectantly. I stopped styling my hair and turned around to cast him an annoying look. "Just no, dad."

I guess so. Natalie and Cora.

"But I just wanted to be cool," he pouted, half of his sentences muffling into his sweatshirt. Mom patted his shoulders a bit and than kissed him on his prickly chin.

"I gotta go now. Bye. I'll be back before eleven." I gave a chaste kiss to mom and than Alayna before jerking my head in dad's direction. Dad still hadn't lifted his head, too ashamed by his statement about the girls my age. Shaking my head a little, I walked out of my house feeling a new kind of energy in my bones.

My first highschool party!

Technically, it was the underworld's party but who cares?

After Natalie had given me the invitation, Cora Wilkins surprisingly cornered me right after that and forcefully gave me her number. She then texted me the special address to her place and a little kiss emoji after that. Truth be told, it kind of flattered me and not only did it boosted my pride, it made me blissful. I felt wanted...by 'hot' girls.

When I reached the venue, all I could do was gasp and let my jaw drop to the floor. The building was huge. It had dull walls and bay windows with glass covering almost every wall of the entire building. A smile decorated my mouth as I entered their territory. The ghost of a smile disappeared when I saw the whole place illuminated with the bright orange lights that made everything in the vicinity pop up.

It was beautiful.

The fun thing about this was how everything was crystal clear from outside. Being a huge place, it offered a huge open place as it's own garage and stoned grounds with little pots of green plants lining the path that led us from it's rustic gate to the sliding glass doors that further led to an enormous and orange looking living room with a modern edge to it.

The next thing I noticed was the amount of girls packed inside it's four walls. Although it seemed sound proof, I could actually feel the vibrations of their shrill voices. There were so many girls in here. I could only identify Natalie who was sitting on the countertop, her legs put in such a sophisticated way despite her sitting position. She was holding this Japanese fan in her left hand, her eyes on that Delilah girl who was struggling with the music system. 

Natalie lifted her head and the furrowed expressions lit up. How did she even spot me from the darkness that covered the yard?

I imagined her mouthing out loud my name and than she jumped off the  grey structured countertop, her figure hugging dress riding up her legs. Delilah paused and than followed Natalie's gaze. Natalie did a penguin walk with her high heels towards the set of sliding doors which stood as the blockade between me and the party. Her dainty features were pulled into a bright and radiant look as she slid open the door to the left. "Sebastion, hey! Thank you so much for coming."

I followed her inside.

I was amazed by what I saw when I entered their place. It was a huge place with comfy decor. Damn.

"The girls welcome you," her voice had turned low and sort of dangerous.

I gulped.