by Ivy Rose
“Yep, Julian throws this party every year; don’t worry.”
“So, who knows Julian? I mean, you girls don’t seem to know much about him. Who does he hang out with?” I was curious that someone so good-looking, and who hosted pretty famous parties, could remain so anonymous.
“I know. He’s sooo damn good-looking, and yet no one has been able to catch his interest. In saying that, he’s had some flings here and there. Well, quite a few actually – all of them have. Anyway, he hangs out with the other three and a few of his teammates from soccer. He’s nice to everyone, but he’s still quite private. I think that’s one of the reasons why everyone comes to his party every year. The girls are hoping to catch his interest, and everyone else wants to catch a glimpse of his private life. Personally, I think he hasn’t found anyone interesting enough for him in this town. Maybe he’s just focused on the future ahead, university and all that. I know he’s doing really well at school.”
I smiled. “Sounds like someone else I know.”
Lexi grinned. “You’re right. Nothing wrong with that.”
“Didn’t say there was.”
Julian lived quite far away, on the other side of town. Just like most of the houses outside town, you had to get off the main road to access the property. After driving through the dark for a couple of minutes, a big two-storey house emerged between the trees. There were cars parked everywhere, making me a little bit nervous.
“Nice house, isn’t it?” Lexi said and killed the engine.
“It sure is. Looks like a lot of people are here too.”
Lexi grinned. “Aurora, this is the party of the year. Come on, let’s get in there.”
I nervously followed Lexi to the front door. She didn’t bother to ring or knock; she just opened the door and let herself in.
I hid behind her as I tried to take in the new environment. There were people talking and laughing everywhere, and the music was very loud, playing a mix of summer songs I recognised. I’d never been to a party this big but to my surprise, I felt a jolt of excitement. I had a good feeling about this. I smiled to myself and looked up to see where Lexi wanted to go first but found myself staring into a pair of midnight black eyes.
“Aurora.”
“Julian, hi.”
“I’m going to see where Jasmine and Mia are. Catch up soon.” Lexi winked behind Julian’s back.
I tried to give her a look that said please don’t leave me, but she just gave me a mischievous smile and disappeared into the crowd. My eyes darted back to the gorgeous boy in front of me.
“I’m glad you’re here. Do you want me to take your jacket?” he offered.
“Sure. Thank you.” I handed him my jacket. I wasn’t confident enough to keep eye contact, so I let my eyes wander around the large entryway instead, taking it all in.
“Well, welcome. This party is kind of an annual tradition.” He smiled. “I’ll put your jacket in the cloakroom. I’ll be right back.”
I apprehensively looked around, hoping to see Lexi, Mia or Jasmine, but I couldn’t see any of them yet. I didn’t like standing here all alone. Luckily, Julian came back quickly, putting me out of my misery.
“Now, can I get you something to drink?”
“Sure.”
“Alcohol or no alcohol?”
“No alcohol, please.”
He gave me an amused grin. “Not much of a drinker?”
I shook my head. I’d never been drunk and wasn’t planning to experience it for the first time at this party. Besides, alcohol had never appealed to me, just the thought of losing control made me incredibly anxious.
“Come with me.”
He grabbed my hand and started steering me through the crowd. People were dancing and laughing, all through the house. Girls who I’d never seen before came up and hugged Julian, and he politely returned their hugs, my hand still firmly in his. He turned to me and mouthed, “Are you okay?”
I nodded, and he started walking again, never once letting go of my hand. He took me to the back of the house and into the kitchen. It was much quieter down this end. There were a few people in there mixing drinks but as soon as we stepped in, they exited the room, leaving me and Julian alone. The kitchen was probably the same size as ours; you could easily accommodate twenty guests in this single space. Julian opened the fridge and turned his head towards me.
“What do you want to drink?”
I walked up next to him and peered over his shoulder into the fridge. “Coke is fine, thanks.”
Julian grabbed a can and handed it to me. I stepped backwards and leaned against the marble kitchen bench.
“So, where is your parents’ conference?” I asked and took a sip of my drink.
“They’ve gone to Vancouver.”
“Really? I used to live there. Have you been?”
He shook his head and took a step forward with a smile on his lips, closing the space between us. I tried to push myself further into the bench, but it was impossible to move any further back. I timidly took another sip of my drink. He was getting too close. His dark eyes were fixed on me, leaving no room to breathe or even move.
“Don’t be shy.” He reached out his hand and caressed my cheek. “You look beautiful tonight, Aurora.”
I swallowed and tried to hide behind my hair, which was almost covering my face. Was he going to kiss me? Did I want Julian to kiss me? He picked up my hair in his hand and tucked it behind my ear.
“That’s better. I want to be able to see you. May I?” he asked softly.
I closed my eyes and made my decision right then. Yes, I wanted to be kissed by Julian. I needed to move on from whatever this thing was with Adrian. But just as I had made up my mind, the moment was broken when a voice I didn’t recognise interrupted us.
“Julian, you better come out here – there’s a fight.” He looked over my shoulder towards the kitchen entrance, before his gaze fell back on me.
“I have to take care of this. I’m sorry.”
“T-that’s okay. You should go,” I replied with an uneven voice.
“I’ll come and find you.” He left me leaning against the kitchen bench, taking short, shallow breaths. That had been close. Did I really want Julian to kiss me? I felt less certain now. Maybe it was for the best that we’d been interrupted. Deep down, I knew that my heart was yearning for somebody else, no matter how hard I tried to shut those feelings down.
I stayed in the kitchen another few minutes, before I left to look for Lexi, Jasmine and Mia. Once again, I found myself in a crowd of people. I followed the music, which led me to a massive entertainment area. It looked like an old ballroom, with beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. I spotted the three of them dancing at the other end of the room, and I made my way through the dancing crowd to get to them.
I reached the girls and we exchanged a hug before I started to move to the rhythm of the music. It was an extraordinary feeling. I had never experienced anything like it before. It was like the whole room was under a trance. They were all here, but their minds seemed to be taken somewhere else. I relaxed, closed my eyes and let the music carry me away.
The next time I opened my eyes, I had drifted to the opposite end of the room and Lexi, Jasmine and Mia were nowhere to be seen. It seemed to be even more crowded now than it was when I walked in. I stretched my neck in an attempt to see any of them, but with no luck. Just when I was about to go and look for them, I heard someone calling my name.
It was the strangest sensation, but it felt like the voice was calling from right next to me. It was like someone was whispering my name in my ear, or inside my head. I stopped and looked around, but there was definitely no one standing that close to me. I shook my head. There was no way I would be able to hear anyone calling my name in here anyway; the music was way too loud. Then I heard the voice calling my name again. I turned around, and that’s when I saw her.
Lexi was standing in a corner across the room, by a small door that I hadn’t noticed earlier,
waving for me to come over. Surprised, I smiled and waved back. I hadn’t recognised her voice. I had almost reached her, when she disappeared behind the door. What on earth was she doing in there?
As I reached the door, something felt off. I didn’t know why, but it made me hesitate. Were we even allowed to go through this door? Weren’t we trespassing? I thought of our conversation about how anonymous Julian was, and my curiosity took over my common sense. I wasn’t sure what I thought I would find in there, but I wanted to find something that could give me a glimpse into Julian’s life. I looked around one more time, but everyone was too busy dancing to pay any attention to me. I reached for the doorhandle and slid behind the door.
The first thing I noticed was the small, spiralling staircase in front of me, and the dim lights on the wall. There was no other way to go; I had to take the stairs.
“Lexi,” I called in a low voice. “Where are you?”
“I’m up here – hurry.”
I grabbed the railing and started to climb the stairs. I immediately felt guilty. This looked private to me, and we were definitely trespassing by now. What would we do if we got caught up here? I felt like we were disrespecting Julian’s hospitality.
When I reached the top of the stairs, I found myself standing in a long, dark hallway. Down one end was a balcony door that seemed to be wide open. What on earth was Lexi doing outside? It was freezing tonight. I slowly started to walk towards the open door. Even though it was quite dark, I could still make out some of the details of the hallway. The walls were covered with old portraits. I guessed they were Julian’s family members.
When I was halfway down the hallway, one of the portraits made me do a double take. There was something very familiar about the image hanging in front of me, but that didn’t make any sense. It was very old; you could tell by the clothes and the hair. Still, something about it was achingly familiar. I tilted my head and took a step forward to have a closer look.
Suddenly, a cool hand came down over my mouth. When I tried to wiggle myself away from it, another arm wrapped around my waist. Before I knew it, my arms were pinned to my sides, giving me no chance to fight. I couldn’t even scream. Seconds later I felt a sharp ache in the centre of my neck, and everything went black…
Chapter 8
“Aurora…Aurora, can you hear me?”
I knew that voice, and all I wanted was to come back to him, but it still took me a while to gain consciousness. When I finally did, I had to blink several times before I could properly open my eyes. The first thing that struck me was a pair of pale, turquoise-blue eyes staring down at me.
“Adrian? What are you doing here?”
“Well, the whole school year was invited. I would like to think that includes me too.” He smiled.
That’s when I noticed the loud music and the voices all around us. Where was I? I pulled myself up to a sitting position on the floor and realised that I was back down in the ballroom again. How the hell did that happen?
“How did I get here?” I asked, confused. I moved my hand over the back of my neck. I had a faint memory of something sharp piercing me, but my neck seemed fine.
“Well, from my understanding, you’ve been in here dancing pretty much since you arrived.”
“No, no.” I shook my head. “I went with Lexi upstairs… Wait, where’s Lexi?” I asked and tried to get on my feet.
“Take it easy, Aurora. You fainted. I don’t know if you hit your head…” Adrian gently grabbed my arm to help me stand, but I pulled away from him.
“I’m fine, I just need to find Lexi,” I said and brushed my jeans off, trying very hard to ignore his proximity. I didn’t need any distractions right now.
“I saw her in the kitchen not too long ago.”
I shook my head again. “No. That couldn’t have been her. We were upstairs—”
“Aurora,” Adrian interrupted me. “I talked to her. She was in the kitchen, trust me.”
“No, Adrian…you don’t understand. I was with Lexi upstairs. We went through the door over there.” I turned and pointed towards the door I’d snuck through only moments ago. My whole body went rigid; the door wasn’t there anymore. What the hell? I turned towards the other end of the room, even though somehow I knew that I wouldn’t find any doors on that side either. What was going on?
“Aurora?”
The music suddenly seemed way too loud and I felt like the room was spinning. I was really starting to panic now.
“I need to get out of here.” I pushed myself through crowd and was relieved when I finally reached the entrance. I threw a quick glance back and saw that Adrian was following me.
He wore a worried look. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I…uh…” I tore my eyes away from him and let them sweep across the ballroom one more time, before I briefly closed them, trying to focus on what had just happened. I know I went upstairs, I definitely saw Lexi, but something else had happened up there. I just couldn’t remember what. Frustrated I opened my eyes again.
“I need to find the door that leads upstairs.”
“I’ve already told you, there’s no door, trust me.”
I eyed Adrian with suspicion. “What? So, you just happened to find me on the floor?”
“Yes, I did. I found you exactly where you opened your eyes a few seconds ago.”
“That doesn’t make sense…” I mumbled and tucked my hair behind my ear. It seemed to be my signature move whenever I was around him. No wonder I had thought he could read my mind. I was so damn predictable.
“You fainted. Your mind is probably playing tricks on you a little bit.”
I stared at him. He was so sure, and that made me seriously doubt what had happened to me in there. If I could only talk to Lexi. She would be able to tell me if we had gone upstairs.
“Come on, it looks like you could use a drink.” He ticked his head towards the kitchen. “Shall we?”
I nodded and let Adrian lead me to the kitchen, where I found Lexi and the others, just like he had told me.
“Aaahh, there you are! You just disappeared! Oh, but I get it now.” Lexi grinned and winked at me.
So, there was the proof I needed, I guess. I’d obviously fainted and imagined the whole incident with Lexi and the door. None of the girls seemed to have any idea what had happened to me, and I now felt way too confused to even attempt to ask them about it. Still, there was a part of me that couldn’t accept this. I just felt it; something wasn’t right. This feeling was so strong that I couldn’t let it go.
“Do you want a glass of water, or maybe a Coke? You probably need some sugar,” Adrian said and made his way to the fridge.
“Just some water, thanks,” I replied and walked up to the girls.
“God, you’re lucky.” Jasmine chuckled.
“Ssshhh,” Mia whispered. “He can probably hear you.”
“Have you two kissed?” Jasmine wondered and took a sip of something that I assume was alcohol. She was definitely a little bit tipsy.
“No, of course not,” I whispered back, embarrassed. Then I remembered Julian. We, on the other hand, had almost kissed, right here in this kitchen, before I went to the dance floor. Jeez, what was I doing? I’d never been into dating or even gossiping about boys. Now I had two good-looking guys who were showing interest in me, and I was suddenly offering myself to both of them? Seriously, I needed to sort my life out.
They were so different, yet so alike. I couldn’t deny it. Julian was magnetic, dark and alluring, but I felt myself equally attracted to Adrian, if not more. Well, actually, I knew it was way more. Who was I kidding? The only reason I tried to deny myself any possible feelings for Adrian, was because I knew he would break my heart. I knew that he was with Evangeline, and I refused to be that girl.
Adrian could so easily pull me into his private little world without even trying. I had experienced it on several occasions so far. When I was around him, I found myself so far out of my comfort zone. He affected me on a
much deeper level, something I was just starting to admit to myself. He was an enigma that I couldn’t figure out.
A glass of water abruptly appeared in front of me, pulling my attention back to the room.
“Here’s your water.”
“Oh, thanks…”
“So, Adrian…Aurora tells me you have a girlfriend. Is that true?” I jumped and almost dropped my glass when I heard Lexi. What was she doing?!
“Did she now?” He slid me a look with those beautiful eyes, and I could see a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Embarrassed, I managed to avert my gaze to the floor instead, praying to be swallowed by the ground. I could feel everyone watching me, almost like they were waiting for me to say something. Except, I couldn’t. This was the question that I wanted to ask him myself.
“So…do you?” This time it was Jasmine who asked. I held my breath, waiting for him to say something, even though I already knew the answer. I’d seen the two of them with my own eyes. I stared at the glass in my hand as I took a deep breath, bracing myself.
“No, no I don’t.”
My head snapped up, and I stared at him in disbelief. Was this guy for real?! My mouth reacted before my head did.
“Are you serious?! You are such a liar! I was right there, remember?”
Oh no. Did I say that out loud? I felt my face heat up instantly and, horrified, I did the only thing I could think of: turned and ran out of the kitchen. I continued down the hall, steering my feet towards the cloakroom, where I’d seen Julian hang my jacket earlier. We’d been some of the last guests to arrive, so luckily it was easy to find. I quickly pulled my jacket off the hanger, then left the party behind. I needed some fresh air.
It was pitch-black outside, except for the lanterns that lit up the walkway from the house to the grass, where everyone had parked their cars. A group of girls were standing next to one of the cars, drinking and laughing. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone, so I quietly sneaked away to the back of the house. The lights from inside made their way out into the yard, so I wasn’t walking around in complete darkness.