by Zara Rivas
I smiled in response to this, too, and our nearly-identical smiles stared back at us in the mirror.
oOoOo
"I thought you weren't going to draw this out," I said through gritted teeth to Christian. I'd cornered him in the den off the kitchen, where Tyler had the bar set up, and surprisingly enough it was deserted for the moment. Except for Tyler, of course, but he was the soul of discretion and I trusted him to not relay this to anyone else. He was busy clanking around bottles unsubtly enough so he didn't overhear us.
I wouldn't have been so angry with him, except Avery had hit the party harder than I expected, and I was seriously worried about her. Torrance was babysitting a retching Avery in an upstairs bathroom for the moment, and I'd launched off in a half-furious, half-agitated state that bode well for no one in my way.
"I wasn't going to," he said, "but every time I try and say something to her she just has this look in her eyes like she knows exactly what I'm going to say, and it just goes out of me."
"You," I said, poking a finger into his chest, "are just making this a million times more difficult for yourselves. Like ripping off a band-aid, right? I've always thought that was a shitty metaphor for ending a relationship but it is accurate to some point, Christian. I'm still not a hundred percent clear on why you want to break up with her, but for God's sake don't turn into a douchebag over it."
I whirled around and stormed off, launching myself up the stairs and skipping most of the steps. Sinclair passed me on the way up, grimly handing me a bottle of cold water.
"Torrance told me she was sick," he said. "Get her to drink this, and maybe her hangover won't be so bad tomorrow. They're mostly caused by dehydration anyway."
"Thank you so much," I said in a hurry, and rushed past him into the bathroom.
"This was a shitty plan, Aves," Torrance was saying flatly. "Why on earth would you want to put yourself through physical hell as well as emotional?"
Avery mumbled something incoherent and leaned against the cabinets.
"Drink this," I said, passing off the bottle to her. "No ifs, ands, or buts. If you fight me on this I will take you home to your parents in all your drunken glory, and we'll find out whether or not they'll want to lock you away for the rest of your natural life."
I stood there and glared at her until she meekly drank the bottle, only slopping a little down her front. I turned to Torrance.
"What do you think? Is she okay enough for me to drive us back to my place?"
Torrance eyed her doubtfully. "I don't know. I'd give her a few more minutes. Then again, she probably doesn't have anything left in her stomach."
"I can drive your car," Sinclair said from the doorway. I hadn't realized he'd followed me in, but Torrance didn't look surprised. "Christian already left, we came in the same car. I can grab a cab, though, it's no problem."
I thought about this for a second, and was about to agree when he started talking again.
"I just figured maybe if I drove, you guys could take care of her."
"Sold," I said, gathering up everybody's things and tossing them indiscriminately in my bag. Xavier handed me somebody's jacket and I stuffed it in there along with everything else. Torrance was helping Avery stand up, and she looked a little wobbly but otherwise okay. Sinclair pulled Avery's other arm around his shoulder, and I walked ahead of them to help them navigate the staircase. They made it down without stumbling even once, and even I was impressed. We reached the front door and waved goodbye to Henson, who gave a sympathetic nod and a half-hug for me, and we were out the door.
"Seems a bit repetitive of me, but where'd you park?" Sinclair asked, trying to inject some humor into the situation. I gave a little effort and cracked a slight smile while pointing.
"Pretty close, actually. I was surprised I got a good spot."
Avery was walking a little on her own so they let loose a bit. We reached my car and I'd nearly opened the door for them to deposit her in my backseat when I paused. Torrance gave me an inquisitive look but Sinclair just watched my face, then looked down at where my gaze was previously, and back up at me.
A wave of frustration went through me and I pulled out my cell phone. Sinclair caught on immediately and pulled out his own, directing Torrance to help Avery sit down on the sidewalk next to my car.
"We're going to have to call a cab for you, Avery," he said, crouching down next to her. He looked at Torrance. "You'll go with her?"
"Of course," she said, confused. "What's going on?"
I saw him point at my car from where I stood while dialing a number on his phone, while I made my own phone call.
"Would you please repeat the address, miss?" the person on the other line said, and I carefully stated Henson's address. They asked me if I felt the need to stay on the line and I said no, hanging up without any further response. I walked back over to the group. "We have to get them out of here. They've been drinking and this party will get crashed."
Sinclair stood up, looking impressively tall when his face was set with that sort of resolve, and said, "I'll go warn Henson."
A couple of minutes later, the house started hemorrhaging people. Everybody streamed out of the way, reaching their cars and driving off. Eventually Henson turned off all the lights and it looked as though nothing had happened in that neighborhood all day long. A car pulled up next to mine and Emma Sinclair hopped out, looking absolutely stricken with concern.
I shook my head ruefully, greeting her with a small smile.
"I thought he was calling a cab," I confessed in greeting when she rushed up to me.
"He said he was going to but this was faster," she said, looking down at my car with worry. "Your brother knows."
"I figured he would," I said, resigned. "On a scale of one to ten, one being total freedom and ten being stuck in Alcatraz, how likely do you think it is that he'll ever let me out of his sight again?"
"Probably an eleven," she said wryly, before walking with me to Avery and Torrance. Sinclair trotted across the yard to us again and greeted his sister.
"Your brother's still up, I'm just going to take them to your place if that's alright?" she said to me, and I nodded.
"Thanks so much, Emma." She and Torrance managed to get Avery into the car and all buckled up, and Emma strode to the driver's side door with a wave and a "see you later."
They drove off just as the car with blue and red flashing lights pulled up in front of Henson's house. It was like something out of a dream, seeing Sinclair lit up like that, face pale and eyes trained on me.
I looked down at my car once again as Officer Barker stepped out of his own vehicle, walking over to us to start the barrage of questions I knew was coming. All four of my tires, completely slashed to ribbons, stared back at me. In the center of the front left tire, fairly obvious, was a metal button, the kind you pin to your bookbags and favorite jackets, with a black background and a white slash of a smiley face on it.
I guess somebody was insulted by Tyler's smiley face on my locker after all.
Seventeen
I leaned against Sinclair's motorcycle, fingers drumming absent-mindedly against the leather seat, and frowned at the concrete. Sinclair was over talking to one of the police officers about something, and Officer Barker was just standing there watching me with a concerned look, notebook shut. It seemed like no matter how much of an arrogant bitch he thought I was, he still cared when shit happened.
Xavier strode over whenever his business was concluded and handed me a helmet, nodding to Officer Barker and swinging his leg over the bike. Once he had it upright, I hopped on after him and wrapped my arms around his waist. Neither of us said anything, and I was thankful for the silence.
My house was a mess of chaos when we walked through the front door. Torrance was chasing Finn around the house (when did he even get home?) with a couch cushion yelling something about public decorum, Dominic was smacking his head repeatedly (albeit gently) against the wall, Emma was watching with a sort of exasperated amu
sement and I assumed Avery was holed up either in a bedroom or a bathroom at that point.
Xavier and I just stood there for a moment, staring, until finally Finn and Torrance tearing through the entrance hall forced us to move. Adrian stood in my living room, to my surprise, and she smiled when I walked in.
"I called Torrance and she told me what was going on," she explained. "I figured I'd come by and see what I could do to help."
"You're all dressed up," I said blankly, registering her sparkly halter dress and rhinestoned flip-flops.
"Yeah, I was at Henson's party too," she shrugged. "I saw you guys standing around when everyone had to leave."
"Adrian!" I said, mock scandalized. "You never go with us! You should have let us know."
Torrance skidded to a halt in front of the two of us and shook her head, grinning.
"Bet you anything there's a boy involved," she said mischievously. Adrian's porcelain skin flushed a bit and Torrance pointed at her dramatically, saying "aha!"
Xavier was watching Adrian with an odd expression on his face, bordering between dislike and confusion. I jabbed him in the ribs lightly with my elbow and he forced a smile on his face, then mumbled something about going to go say hi to Dominic. I raised an eyebrow at that one.
Deciding to ignore him, I let him leave and turned back to Adrian and Torrance. Finn had disappeared and I assumed Dominic and Emma were off having some sort of hushed conversation somewhere despite the late hour.
"So, find anything to do?" I smiled at Adrian. "I think we're good here but feel free to stick around. Seems like a regular party at the Lexington house tonight."
Adrian shook her platinum blonde hair and laughed lightly.
"Sloane," she said, "there's always a party going on at your house. I don't think I've ever been bored here."
"Boredom is for berks," I said in a deadpan voice. "Let's go check on Aves. Where is she?"
"Your room."
We headed up the stairs and I immediately spotted her, coming out of my bathroom a little bleary-eyed. She caught sight of me and wandered over, tugging slightly self-consciously at one of my shirts that she'd borrowed.
"Sloane," she said, relieved. She seemed quite a bit more coherent than when I'd last seen her—then again, the police report had taken a while to file, considering Officer Barker wanted to know every last detail about the night: who I'd seen, what time we got there, anyone with malicious intent towards me, etc etc.
"Aves, feeling any better?" I asked sympathetically, sitting down on my bed and patting the spot next to me.
"Loads," she said, slumping down where I indicated. Torrance sat down on her other side.
"So why don't you tell me what's going on?" I asked as gently as I could. "Are you really breaking up or are you just fighting?"
"I don't know," she said, "although I was trashed and he didn't even want to see me tonight, so I'd guess it's a real breakup this time."
I nodded, not saying anything else. I didn't have to. I was privately thinking that I really would skin Christian alive if he kept drawing this bullshit out when I realized Adrian wasn't up there with us.
oOoOo
Xavier fished around in the refrigerator for some orange juice, marveling at the sheer amount of healthy food that was in the fridge (that probably, he added, never got consumed). He finally found the juice he wanted and swung the door shut, only to find him face to face with Adrian. A little electric zap seemed to prickle through his skin with dislike, and he backed up several paces before he said anything.
"Yes?" he asked, doing his best to make his voice as flat as possible. He pulled a glass from the cupboard and filled it, returning the juice to the fridge. Disconcertingly, she said nothing, merely watched him.
He ducked his head and raised an eyebrow to indicate that she should say something.
"You don't like me," she said point-blank. It contrasted dramatically to her normally-shy demeanor and he gave her a strange look.
"Not really, no." No point in being dishonest.
"I didn't think so. It's because of what I said about Sloane, isn't it?"
He nodded his head jerkily and took a swig of orange juice. The kitchen was deserted save for him, and he wanted out of there as quickly as he could swing it.
"Didn't you ever wonder what I meant, though?"
"I think you were pretty clear in what you meant. 'Stay away from Sloane'. 'You'll only get hurt'. Seems pretty damn clear if you ask me." He couldn't really stop the irritation that his words were laced with. Not that he wanted to. "Oh, and my personal favorite. 'She's not a good person.' Where do you get off saying that?"
"It was just a warning," she shrugged, looking sad. "I didn't mean to make you hate me or anything, or hate Sloane. I just wanted to point out that she has a habit of shoving people away, and you already had that starstruck look that said you were going to chase after her."
"So you were acting in my best interest," Xavier asked skeptically.
"In a way." Adrian rested a hand gingerly on the countertop. "You've probably heard her say things like 'my group', right? Her social circle? How it's difficult to get into it? It was just a warning that if you tried, you'd probably get burned."
"I was already halfway in at that point, though," Xavier pointed out.
"That doesn't mean anything." Adrian pulled her hand from the countertop and spread both hands out in a half-shrug. "I've seen her cycle through so many groups of friends before. One person who makes it in halfway doesn't count. Not really."
"I guess," Xavier said, suspicion still lacing his voice.
"You're right though," she said. "I won't bother you anymore."
She walked out of the kitchen and Xavier stared after her, bewildered, still holding half a glass of orange juice.
oOoOo
Xavier popped up in my room long enough to tell me that Christian was downstairs, and I rushed out as soon as I made sure Avery really was alright. Torrance stayed with her and I bounded down the stairs, taking them three at a time. He stood there, sheepish at the base of the stairwell, hands in his pockets.
I came to a halt in front of him and said absolutely nothing, eyes trained on his face. He picked up on the fact that I was refusing to start this conversation or let him upstairs, so he heaved a sigh.
"I came to get Avery," he said simply.
"After she ended up in a drunken state because of you? You left the party," I lit into him immediately.
"I didn't. I was talking to a few of Henson's friends," he protested, pulling his hands out and holding them up in a surrender gesture.
I folded my arms and eyed him. "Why are you here? I thought I asked you not to drag this out. You're one of my best friends, Christian, but you're acting like a prat."
"I'm not going to break up with her," he said finally. "I don't like seeing her hurt, and it was me that got her this way tonight. I was so fucking pissed at myself that I figured I should stay away from her until she felt better, but I want to help her out."
Sinclair showed up somewhere during his little speech, and he stood close to both of us. I rolled my eyes.
"When did my life become a soap opera?" I asked Sinclair, and he gave a small grin and shrugged. "She's upstairs, nitwit, and you're fucked if you pull this bullshit again."
He started up the stairs, seeming relieved that he'd escaped without any physical scars. Internally I smirked evilly, knowing he would have to get past Torrance, too.
"And sort out your fucking mood swings or I'm going to get someone to give you a sex change operation in your sleep!" I yelled up the stairs after him. I felt a hand on my shoulder, warm and reassuring, and turned back to Xavier. "I'm starting to get a headache," I admitted.
"Not surprising," he said, voice quiet. "Want me to get rid of everyone?"
"I think they're all going anyway." I swept my gaze around the landing. "Do you have any idea where Adrian is?"
"Last time I saw her she was in the kitchen," he said, his gaze darkening for a m
oment. I gave him a look that told him I'd want to know the story behind that and something in his eyes told me he acquiesced.
Emma wandered in, carrying a bag and looking around as though searching. When her eyes landed on us, she smiled and marched over with her bundle.
"Here," she said, handing it to Sinclair.
"Thanks," he said, smiling back. She nudged his shoulder and then looked at me. "I'm going to go home now. Sorry about what happened to your car."
"It'll work itself out eventually," I said. "Thanks for coming to save my friends."