Chapter Eighteen: Party Time
Sophia Crawford

“I should have brought a jacket.” I rub my hands up and down my arms, shivering in Ana’s car seat. “It’s freezing!”

“The rain has been falling nonstop since yesterday night, though.” Ana says, looking out her car window at the rain pitter-pattering against it. “And winter is in a few weeks. I could feel the nip in the air for a few days now.”

I nod.

She was right. There has been a nip in the air for a few days now, and surprisingly it has nothing to do with the fact that River has been giving me the cold shoulder since yesterday. It surprised me that he was at school today, but he wasn’t present at all. He was like a ghost roaming the halls.

If the rumours about him are true, about him being abused by his dad, then I think I have a better understanding now more than I ever had about him—to why he is the way he is: cold and calloused. I would also understand why he got that panic in the bathroom the other day too, and why he used the mirror as a punching bag, but that’s only if the rumours are true. No one knows if the rumours are true or not, but if the rumours were true, I can’t imagine what River must have gone through with his father, what he must have endured without telling a single soul what happened to him.

“But your dress is absolutely adorable. A jacket would have ruined it.”

I smile thankfully at her, looking down at the dress I chose for today.

It was a plain black, spaghetti-strapped backless dress, and the dress was quite long. It was long enough to cover the scar I had on my leg and it was warm enough to shield me from the cold weather we started to have the past couple of days, except for the fact that the dress was backless, and it had spaghetti straps—I didn’t have a jacket I could use to cover my bare shoulders, but I figured that the party would warm me up, it was just the journey in Ana’s car that has been quite cold, making me shiver in my seat.

The rain that has been falling down hard hasn’t exactly been helping, either.

“Thank you for picking me up, though.” I tell her. “I appreciate it.”

“Of course!” She returns the smile and taps her painted nails against the steering wheel as she drove. “It’s the least I could do seeing that your grandmother made one delicious plate of spaghetti and meatballs yesterday.” She licks her lips mindlessly, nearly ruining her lipstick in the process. “I mean, I love my grandmother to bits, but she has never made spaghetti and meatballs that good before. And she’s Italian.”

I laugh, shaking my head. “She loves you already. My grandmother.”

“And I love her so much already too.” Ana says. “Since we moved to America, I haven’t really had the chance to see my grandmother a lot, only in summer. Meeting your grandmother made me miss mine so much.”

“I’m sorry.” I smile pensively at her. “That can’t be easy for you guys.”

Ana shakes her head. “It isn’t,” she says, “but at least we get to see her the summer. It’s not like we can’t see her at all. We just have to wait a while.”

The car erupts into silence, except for the rain pitter-pattering against the car roof. It brought so many memories back to me, but I managed to keep my mind occupied and thought of something else instead of that night. It was difficult not to think about that night, but if I didn’t cry or have a breakdown yet, I think I would be okay. I just have to keep my mind busy.

When Ana parked her car, across from her house, I noticed people dancing and drinking in the rain and having a jolly time.

The music was soft enough not to have been heard from where we parked, but as we got out, I started to hear the music coming from inside the house faintly, like it was background music. Ana’s parents were the kind of parents that allowed parties to be held, but there were strict rules; having soft music so that the neighbours wouldn’t complain was one of the rules.

“I have to tell you something before we enter, though.” Ana says.

“Okay?”

“Cole invited River to the party.” She bites her lower lip and scans my face for an expression, but it held none. “It was before I asked you if you wanted to come, and Cole couldn’t exactly uninvite him—”

“It’s fine, Ana.” I smile at her, sincerely. “I’m not going to let him rid me of having fun tonight. If I don’t bump into him, then it would be like he isn’t even here, but even if I do bump into River, I would just ignore him. He’s ignoring me, so that won’t be so hard to do.”

“Are you sure?” She asks. “He might be with Mackenzie, anyways, and once she has her claws inside him, there’s no escape.”

“I’m sure.” I let her hook her arm into mine, and use my free hand to attempt to shield my straightened hair from the drizzling rain.

It didn’t help much.

Once we reached her door, my hair was damp. It wouldn’t be long before it goes back to its original state: wavy but at least I tried to style it into something else other than the usual bun or pony tail at the back of my head.

“Wow,” I breathe out when I noticed the sea of bodies in the living room alone, “you really know how to throw a party. Are you secretly popular or something because I never saw you talking to anyone here before?”

“It’s all Cole’s people.” She says. “He invited the entire football team, and they invited their friends, and they invited theirs. The only people I have talked to before in here, is you, River, Cole, Mackenzie and Cole’s friends.”

I nod, but seeing everyone in pairs of jeans and shirts made me feel out of place. No one in here was wearing a dress, except for Ana who wore a burgundy-coloured spaghetti strap dress. It fell just below her knees and her back was completely exposed, showing me the small tattoo she had on the right side of her shoulder blade.

Seeing the beautiful dress she had on made me feel slightly jealous.

I had nothing fancy in my closet, so the black dress I had on would just have to do, even though I did feel slightly exposed—showing more skin than I had intended to show in the first place. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t even have worn a dress in the first place; I would have worn a pair of jeans and a hoody, but it was a party after all.

“We’re the only ones wearing dresses.” I yell over the music.

“We’re the only ones who have style!”

Ana and I had to squeeze through the dancing bodies to get to the kitchen on the west side of her house, but just when we thought we were out of the crowd, there was yet another one in the kitchen where the drinks and snacks were.

She didn’t unhook her arm from mine the entire time she led me to the kitchen to get a drink; she only unhooked it when she helped herself, and me, to a drink in one of the million red cups lying on the marble kitchen island. I couldn’t see what she poured in my cup, but telling from the sweet scent of it, it seemed delicious enough.

I take it from her happily and drink it as soon as the cup was in my hands. I scrunch my nose up when I realised that she just gave me lukewarm vodka, but I must admit that it was good. It tasted like cream and citrus, and it tasted absolutely delicious.

“I’m going to see if there are any cold drinks,” Ana shouts over the music, “I think Cole took them out of the fridge too early.”

I nod, holding my red cup in my hand and using the other to tuck a strand of my straightened hair behind my ear. I tried to enjoy myself as I waited for Ana, but not having her by my side in the kitchen where a lot of people were drinking and laughing made me feel anxious, but I knew deep down that she wouldn’t ditch me.

• • •

I lost count of how many drinks I had.

I only realised I had a lot to drink when Ana and I were both sitting on the kitchen island where the drinks were—entertaining the people who were standing around us with jokes that didn’t even make sense in the very least and laughing until we couldn’t breathe anymore. Sober Sophia would never have sat in front of everyone, completely exposed underneath the light of the kitchen, telling jokes to people I didn’t even recognise from school.

I see only one guy I recognised—but didn’t really know his name—walking over to me with a grin on his face.

I think he was one of Cole’s buddies… Matthew was his name, I think.

He looked like a Matthew.

He reaches out his hand towards me and I take it, feeling how warm his hand was in mine despite it being chilly outside, or was that the alcohol talking?

He leans into me and whispers something in my ear I couldn’t quite make out what it was, but I agreed anyways, letting him lift me down back onto the ground before he pulls me through the crowd Ana and I entertained just a few moments ago.

When we were in the living room, I realised that he asked me to dance with him.

The music was too good to pass, so I threw my arms over his neck and swayed my hips to the music along with him. He was a good few inches taller than me and I had to look up just to look him in those lime green eyes of his.  He was quite on the handsome side, with black hair that barely touched the collar of his shirt and a smile that was contagious.

I stand on my tip toes to reach his ear. “I know you’re only dancing with me because you’re drunk.”

His smile falters. His smile actually falters. “No,” he shakes his head, “I’m dancing with you because you’re beautiful.”

I smile at him anyways, feeling my cheeks heat up when he looks at me so intently, and not with lust in his eyes, he genuinely looked at me. “Liar.” I mutter.

He was smiling again, leaning down slowly to kiss me, but I pull away quicker before his lips could touch mine.

I let my arms fall back to my sides and I step away from him. “I’m sorry.” I whisper even though the music was loud around us and he probably didn’t even hear me. “I’m not ready to—to uh…”

“I’m sorry.” He says, running his fingers through his black hair. “I shouldn’t have tried to kiss you. I am sorry.”

I get cut off when I feel cold liquid spilling all over the front of my dress.

I look down, seeing a guy lying on the floor with a red cup in his hands, and the carpet he tripped over was folded where it caught on his foot. To be honest, I needed an excuse to get away from Matthew, so I faked a gasp and ran towards the stairs to find a bathroom to wipe my dress reeking of alcohol.

Cole finds me walking up the stairs, wiping his shirt too. “The carpet down the stairs is evil.” He says, shaking his head. “I need to tell Ana to invest in a better one before one of us falls and breaks our teeth against that coffee table.”

“She’s been wondering where you were. You better go save her before she runs out of jokes.” I tell him, seeing him nod.

He steps past me.

“Where’s the bathroom?” I ask him before he gets the chance to disappear down the stairs.

“It’s the third door down the hall.” He says.

“Thanks.”

Third door down the hall. There are two hallways on either sides of me, both containing a set of three doors on each side.

This was going to be difficult.

I turn left, to the west side hallway and walk to the end of the hallway where I find a closed door. Hoping it was a bathroom, I open the door and immediately hear moaning coming from inside the room.

My eyes immediately find the two people going at it on the bed.

The sheets were dangling from the bed, nearly lying on the floor.

I wanted to back out of the room, but of course my dress had to hook itself on the door handle—and when I tried to move—the door creaked. The two going at it instantly looks to the door and I lock eyes with River and Mackenzie, I think that was her name—the one who always gave me dirty looks in the hallways at school.

I get an eyeful of her bare back and her swollen lips from kissing River.

I quickly look away and unhook myself from the door, leaving the room in a hurry with both of my cheeks beetroot-red in colour.

As I was looking for a bathroom—I knocked on each door to make sure there wasn’t anyone going at it inside. And when I finally do find an empty bathroom, I enter it, locking the door behind me so that I won’t be bothered trying to clean my dress.

I walk over to the vanity, opening the faucet of cold water before splashing the water across my face, trying to get rid of the image imprinted into my brain.

I suddenly had the urge to camp here in Ana’s white and chrome coloured bathroom containing a shower, a shower curtain, a toilet, a vanity and a small length mirror. Hell, anything was better than going out there and facing River after what I just witnessed and heard coming from the two of them.

• • •

River Jenkins

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” I mutter under my breath, shaking my head after the door closed behind Sophia.

Mackenzie traces her finger over my lip, looking down at me.  “Just ignore her, River.” She says, leaning down to kiss me again but I push her away gently, ushering for her to get off of me.

“Are you serious right now, River? You had a great damn time before she interrupted us and now you’re leaving?” She asks me, agitation evident in her tone.

She watches me get out of bed and I ignore her when I pick my beige shirt up from the floor before pulling it over my shoulders.

I throw on my shoes and only look at her after I was dressed again. “I’m over it, Mackenzie.” I tell her, seeing sadness wash over her face before it turned into sheer anger.

She lifts her hand and swings it across my cheek in a slap. “I am not a doll, River. You can’t keep doing this to me.” She says, grabbing her shirt and bra from the floor on the other side of the bed before she gets dressed too.

“This was just a one-time thing and you know it. It’s not my fault you’re always trying to lay yourself onto me, especially after I keep telling you that I don’t want a relationship with you.”

“You’re so caught up with that scarred bitch, River. It’s pathetic, really.” Mackenzie says, shaking her head at me before she leaves the room with her high heels in her hands.

I sigh, running my fingers through my hair.

Once downstairs, I make my way through the crowd dancing in the living room, ignoring the death glares Mackenzie was shooting my way when I pass her to enter the kitchen.

I grab a bottle of vodka from the kitchen island, ignoring people’s attempts to try to snatch it from my hands, and leave the kitchen after taking a huge swig out of the bottle.

I step outside the house, loving how the cold breeze of the night air washes over me, cooling me immediately. It was refreshing and way better than being inside the house while sweaty bodies bumped into you while you’re trying to leave.

I place the bottle of vodka beside me on the damp grass from the rain we had earlier and take out a cigarette from my jean’s pocket before placing it between my lips and lighting it.

I inhale the smoke deeply before exhaling it into the air again.

I focus on the smoke as it vanished into thin air, and it’s then when I heard sniffling coming from beside the house. I ignored them, took a long drag from my cigarette and taking a swig from the bottle of vodka I snatched from the kitchen earlier.

I throw my cigarette into the road, away from the grass, when someone stormed past me and onto the road. I couldn’t exactly see who the person was because they were still running, but it was a girl with loose hair, and that girl looked a lot like Sophia because when she interrupted us in the bedroom, I noticed that she was wearing a dress; a long black dress with a pair of sandals despite it being cold outside.

She didn’t manage to run very far because right when she tried to run past the intersection, a car honks their horn loudly and she pauses in the middle of the road, taking a breath.

She rests her hands on her knees and it looks like she was out of breath.

Thinking she was reckless and probably drunk, I get up from the grass and run towards where she was taking a breath. “Are you stupid?” I ask when I reached her. “You’re going to get yourself killed!” I tap her shoulder so she could look at me.

It was Sophia.

When she looked at me, her eyes were blood red, from crying or being extremely drunk I wouldn’t really know, but her cheeks were also wet, telling me that she was the one who was crying beside the house.

“Just leave me the hell alone, River.” She says, wiping her face with her palm.

“You could’ve been run over!” I yell at her, suddenly fuming at her for being so damn reckless. I don’t want her blood to be on my hands when a car runs her over when I could’ve prevented it from happening.

“I don’t care.” She says and I see another teardrop roll down her cheeks. “I don’t fucking care. Okay?! I don’t care and you shouldn’t either.” She turns on her heels and starts to run away.

I close my eyes tightly and inhale deeply, shaking my head.

I run after her without thinking twice.