by Vivien Reis
One house towered brighter than the rest, although it wasn’t the only place on the street with a party. Abi's heart thumped so hard it distorted her vision. What was she doing?
Jesse parked the car, and Cora looped Abi's arm through her own as they walked down the street. The house was three stories high with a balcony on the second and third floors, fraternity banners and outdoor lighting hanging from the railings.
As they got closer, Abi could see girls in crop tops and tight jeans through the windows. They looked so much older and here she was, a mask of makeup and clothes that screamed imposter.
"Here." Cora held up a flask. "For the nerves. It's going to be fun, trust me!" She took a quick swig before passing it to Abi, who choked a gulp down. The same warmth spread through her body, but this time she didn't cough.
"Have you been here before?"
Cora gasped. "Jesse, what time is it?"
He hesitated before peeking at his phone. "10:43...why?"
She swung her arm over Abi's shoulder. "I'm happy to report, you made it one hour and twenty-three minutes without asking a single question. Good job, girlfriend."
Jesse shook his head, hiding a smirk as he walked away.
Cora took another swig. "And yes, I have been here before."
They ascended the porch stairs, stepping around a couple smoking something Abi was positive wasn’t a cigarette. Music vibrated through the floorboards, making them buzz rhythmically below her feet. The first two rooms had dozens of people crowded around tables filled with cups, Ping-Pong balls bouncing toward them.
Abi followed Cora through the house and to the next floor, which looked much like the first, and on up to the third level. She expected to see bedroom doors closed, with college students doing college things behind the doors. Abi blushed at the thought as they passed the empty rooms to another set of stairs, steeper than the first. She gripped the railing as they climbed, the warm air growing cooler until they stood atop the building.
The roof seemed impossibly larger than the house had from the outside, and a group of people, Jesse among them, was gathered around a fire pit at the center. Cushioned chairs and beanbags littered the roof, with four people seated around a table slightly to the right of the fire. Outdoor lights were strung across any oak branches hanging low enough, casting the roof in a warm glow. The music downstairs was hardly audible.
"I met them all last time I was here. Most are part of an exchange program, so there's someone from Ireland, one from Sierra Leone, and another from England or something." Slow electronic music grew louder as they made their way to the group. "Oh, and there's this cute boy I want you to meet. I might have told him about you last time."
"What! Wait, what did you—"
"Hey, Austin. This is the friend I was telling you about."
A guy at the table looked up from his seat. He had blonde, shaggy hair, square features and tanned skin that made his green eyes pop. He was perhaps the biggest man she had ever laid eyes on, although the guy to his right could have shared that title. They were comically squished next to one another at the table, making the two girls opposite them seem even smaller.
What had Cora said about her? Why had Cora told him about her? He was way out of her league and probably too old for her. She wanted to simultaneously vomit and leap off the roof. Anything to get away.
"Oh. Abi, right?" He held out his hand, and her arm moved as if in slow motion as she grabbed it. She squeezed a little too hard, praying her hand hadn't felt sweaty to him. "I'm Austin. This is Theo, Shelly, and Myra." He said this as he dealt the other people cards in what seemed like a random order.
The names flew out of her head before they had a chance to sink in.
"I'll get us drinks."
Cora left and though she didn't go far, Abi almost ran after her. Austin seemed to sense her unease, his expression almost amused. Was she that obvious?
She should say something. Her mind spun.
"Cora said you've lived in Logan's Bluff your whole life." He smiled, and his teeth were perfect and white. The pressure at having to start up a conversation was relieved, only to be replaced with the pressure to supply an answer.
"Yeah," she uttered, and then realized she should have said more. All the heat in her body rushed straight to her face. Yeah? That was all she had to say? "I was born there."
He nodded. It was his turn at the game and Abi stood there, waiting for him to finish. Where the hell was Cora? She glanced around, and instead met Jesse’s eye. Something stirred in the space between them, like a flicker of light from the fire.
"Here you are, my lady." A cup appeared in front of Abi and she grasped it, grateful to have something to occupy her hands and even more grateful Cora had come back.
"So, my friend here got word today that her novel will be published. That's why we're here celebrating!"
"That's so awesome. What's it about?"
"I—well, it's not a novel. It's a short story about a character from my novel, but hopefully it paves the way for the publication of the full book."
"It addresses the familial tensions that exist when teenagers take drugs and develop supernatural powers." Cora took a sip, seeming to relish Austin’s stunned expression. "It's about witchcraft."
"Ah. Interesting." There was genuine curiosity in his tone, and he looked at Abi so intensely it seemed to lengthen time. "You believe in witchcraft?"
She snorted, a very unladylike snort. "I mean, it's just fiction. The piece centers on a matriarch whose power was stolen..."
Was her story cool enough for this conversation? It seemed childish now. Not at all the kind of topic a partygoer would talk about. The others at the table seemed to be passively listening to their conversation, like she had an audience.
"It's the shit, basically. They’re giving her this big prize pack and she’s pretty much going to be famous.”
"Cheers to that," Austin said, a dimple on his right cheek appearing as he smiled. They raised their cups and Abi tapped hers gently against theirs.
Cora asked Austin something about the game they were playing, but Abi tuned it out. She heard a commotion coming from the street and wandered to the edge of the roof, the light from the overhead lights not quite reaching there. A group of people were laughing and shouting, a few tripping as they leaned against others in the group.
“Is this as wild as you thought it’d be?” It was clear Jesse was joking. Although there was a fire in her chest at him standing so close, she didn’t back away.
“It’s surprisingly mild, considering Cora.” He was staring out and down the street, one hand in the pocket of his leather jacket, which was worn and looked well-loved. The jacket was was unzipped just enough to show a black v-neck below that. A necklace with a small, dark gem embedded into the links hung from his neck, nearly hidden by his shirt. She tried to make out what it was but it was too dark.
He must have noticed her trailing eyes because his lips pursed as if trying to hide a smirk before taking a swig of his drink. She mimicked his action, the silence intentional, like a secret communication.
Was it her or did the air seem to shimmer around him? Had she drank too much alcohol already?
“How’s boarding school?”
“Cora told you about that?” Heat rose up in her cheeks until she realized that was the reaction he had been wanting. “I graduated, actually. I just started up at a private college this semester.”
“Sounds like you’ve travelled a lot.” She envied him. How many places had he gone to? Seen on his own?
“I have. It’s lonely sometimes, though.”
Her mind drifted to more inappropriate things. She tried to mask her blush with a sip of her drink, only to inhale it more than drink it. Her eyes stung as she tried to calm her coughing.
What was wrong with her? She had talked to plenty of boys and never reacted this way. If he had gone to their school, she was certain she could talk to him without making such a fool of herself.
Cou
ldn’t she?
"Abi?"
"Wuh?"
Cora laughed. "Do you want to play?" She motioned back at the table. Theo was pulling a bench to the table for Abi and Cora with one arm, his rippling muscles easy to see in his thin hoodie. He was huge, spilling out of his chair like it was one made for children.
"Sure." She shrugged. "What is it?"
"Knock Out. Come on, we'll be on a team together." Cora tugged her away from Jesse. She expected him to follow but he stayed put, taking his phone out of his pocket. Whatever the message, it seemed important because he set his drink down and headed to the stairs, not taking his eyes off the screen.
The air shimmered around him again and she blinked a few times. She eyed her cup and set it aside. No more alcohol for her.
"Theo, you idiot, I swear if you do that one more time I'm going to punch you." The brunette girl tilted her cup, apparently empty, as she addressed him, her strong Irish accent making idiot sound more like eegit.
"Shelly, you drank it that time. Honest!" But his smirk gave away his lie. The lilt of his speech was almost musical, and she guessed he was the one from Nigeria.
Shelly rolled her eyes at him and continued to shuffle the large stack of cards.
Even though the girl was seated, Abi could tell she was tall. Her face held a certain hard edge that only disappeared when she smiled. It was like watching a chameleon change its colors.
Cora went over the rules while Shelly passed out the cards, explaining the game was a mix between Quarters and the card game War. Abi had only heard of the latter. The game started, people’s hands moving in and away from the table, making what seemed like random stacks. She didn't catch on well but with Cora's help, they threw out certain cards and picked others up.
"Knock out!" Theo yelled and pushed a pile of Shelly's cards off the table.
"Really, Theo? You're supposed to go that way!" She pointed in Abi and Cora's direction before stealing up two cards and slapping down another pile.
"What can I say? I got carried away."
Someone laid down a four and Cora screamed for Abi to get it. She launched herself across the table and nearly collided with Austin, also trying to grab the same card. Abi squealed as she pulled back the four, triumphant.
"Knock out!" Cora called as she slapped away a pile in front Austin, who looked ready to pick it back up off the floor. He took a few quick gulps from his cup before continuing.
As they played the loud game, the tension and worry of being at her first party loosened its grip on Abi. Now that she was out with Cora, she realized it wasn't that much of a to-do. At least, not if the parties Cora usually went to were like this. Abi could imagine her and Cora doing this exact thing together in college—hanging out with a few drinks and new friends.
Shelly slapped Theo's cards to the floor and he fake-cried while drinking.
"Game!" Shelly and Austin yelled together as Shelly picked up the last card and slammed it down in front of her.
"Noo! Agh, you wench!" Theo banged his fist playfully on the table, almost toppling it over.
"Let's see...definitely you, Theo. And..." Abi's heart thumped when Shelly's gaze drifted over her and Cora. "Austin."
It wasn't until two shots were laid out in front of the boys that she understood what they were singled out for.
"Cheers." Theo raised the shot glass before knocking it back. "Woah, momma!" He cringed, setting the glass back down.
Abi was relieved when no one judged him for his reaction. While she hadn't expected people to take shots like they did in the movies, where it was obviously water or tea, she was nervous about drinking something so strong in front of strangers.
The game was easier than she thought it would be. If you made three sets of three-of-a-kind before the person to your left had any, you shouted, "Knock out!" and they drank for three seconds before continuing. If the person to your left had at least one set, you knocked one of them off the table and they drank for three seconds. The game was over when the last card found a set. The person with the most sets won.
"Next round?" Shelly gathered and stacked the cards into one large pile as the rest of them searched for those thrown to the ground.
Jesse appeared next to Abi, and whispered something into Myra ear. She got up and headed downstairs and he took her spot, close enough to Abi that their arms were touching. She was glad the table was so small.
"Only if the dream team splits up.” Theo eyed Abi. “Unless you two agree to each drink a shot if your team gets called out."
Abi didn't like the sound of that, but they stuck together anyway. The next round went on longer than the previous one and Abi and Cora nearly won, only needing one more card to complete a set that would have tied them with Jesse.
"Team Two-for-the-price-of-one, obviously," he said, pointing at Abi and Cora. "And Shelly." He angled his head as he said her name, the corner of his lips pulling up slightly.
He was flirting, Abi realized. It was odd seeing this, a side of Jesse she had never glimpsed at Cora's house. Were the two of them dating?
The three girls picked up the shot glasses. Abi's heart hammered hard in her chest and she knew the entire table must have been watching her. The liquor smelled spiced but she drank it all in one gulp, not allowing herself to think much about it. She grimaced, a whole-body shiver passing from her fingertips to her toes.
Cora doubled over laughing at her, and Abi was surprised she wasn’t embarrassed. She laughed too, leaning forward to catch her breath until the bench nearly tipped forward.
"I'm throwing in the towel." Jesse scooted his chair back and stalked over to the bucket with drinks. "I have to drive these two home." He pulled out a bottle of water from the cooler and disappeared back down the stairs.
They played two more rounds and Abi felt light and warm despite small trails of her breath floating in front of her. The temperature must have steadily dropped as they’d played, but the fire kept most of it at bay. Three hours ago these people had been strangers, but now she somehow felt like they had shared something. It was clear that this group was close and, for a moment, she let herself believe she belonged there with this hodgepodge of people.
"Ready?" Jesse's voice was loud in Abi's ear and both she and Cora jumped.
They chuckled over their reactions as they got up. Abi's legs were heavy and the world spun with slowness. She blinked and focused her eyes, driving the spin away.
"Bye, everyone!" Cora called out, giving a single wave that spanned her arm's reach.
"Bye!" Abi turned and met Jesse's gaze, and he smiled but it didn't reach his eyes.
She winced as a pang shot through her skull.
“You okay?” he asked.
She nodded and then Cora was dragging her down the steps and to the car.
"I gave him your number, by the way," Cora said, laughing. Abi looked at Jesse, but he hadn’t heard. She wanted him to have her number, not Austin.
He handed them each a bottle of water once they reached the car, and Abi laid her head on Cora's shoulder as they rode back home. There was no music and the quiet nearly put Abi to sleep. The car’s headlights eerily lit up the trees on either side of the road, but something about it was comforting. Like a constant, never changing view of life coming from the darkness.
They made it back to Abi's house and she tried to climb the ladder as quietly as she could, but part of her didn’t care.
"Did you have fun?" Cora whispered up to her as Jesse moved the ladder back to the garage.
Abi looked out the window but couldn't make out Cora's face in the dark. "Yes. It was the perfect celebration." Her words sounded sluggish to her own ears.
"Goodnight!" Cora disappeared and Abi collapsed onto her bed.
It was 3 a.m. She set her alarm and kicked the boots off her feet, her heavy breathing nearly putting her to sleep.
Until she realized it wasn’t her breathing that was loud. A rasping breath sharpened her senses. It had come from inside her room. Some
thing shuffled. She shot up, fingers struggling before finding the switch to her lamp.
It was Ben, mumbling under his breath.
“Jesus. You scared the shit out of me,” she whispered.
He stood there, eyes open, gazing at nothing.
“Ben?” She looked toward her door, worried her dad might hear them and see her with makeup all over her face and dressed in Cora’s clothes. “What are you doing?”
His body stiffened and a strained noise escaped him before he relaxed again. He turned away and she followed him into the hall, his door clicking closed behind him.
# FIVE
Jesse stepped into his bedroom, already knowing who would be waiting for him there.
"You felt that, right?" Theo asked.
It made no sense to jump to conclusions, especially if it could scare the girl away. He shook his head. He had felt it but wasn't sure.
"She's marked. I'm telling you, man. If I could feel it, you had to have felt it." Theo's voice was low.
Not only had Jesse felt she could have been marked, he also sensed the colorful wisps of light that rose off a freshly marked person.
But that didn’t make it her mark, or a mark at all. Some powerful Oracles were able to produce those same colorful wisps of light.
Abi's was faint, like a thin mist surrounding her. If her body was transitioning, it had either just started or was just finishing.
“She’s too old for that.” She was much older than those who typically transitioned. He had never seen or heard of anyone marked that late in life. Different was dangerous where he came from.
“Oh come on, there’s no hard and fast rules and you know that.”
He nodded toward his balcony, not wanting to chance Cora or his mom overhearing anything. Once outside, he took a minute for the crisp air to clear his mind.
His job required delicacy. If a Marked wasn't approached at the right time, it was possible Jesse could lose them. Especially at Abi's age.
“What do you know about her?" Theo asked.
"Not much. Just the little that Cora has mentioned off-hand. I think we may be on to something, but I wouldn't bet on it yet. I tried to throw a phrase to her and I didn't feel or see any response."