Valley of the Moon

by Bronwyn Archer

  Wyatt let out a long, low whistle. “This place is sick. I can’t believe you used to live here, Lana. I’m so jealous.”

  “Don’t be,” I retorted. “Trust me.”

  A huge white tent was set up at one end of the lawn. On the other side of it, people crowded around a long bar. There was a huge ice sculpture in the shape of a giant C positioned at one end of the bar. I watched a bartender pour blue liquid at the top of the curve in the C. The liquid swirled down the curve. A boy caught it in a cup at the bottom and tipped it into his mouth.

  “She has an ice luge? Dude, I have to try one of those,” Wyatt said. Piper rolled her eyes.

  Cressida stood behind the bar talking to one of the caterers. She had changed into a glittering silver mini dress with a deep V neckline that plummeted almost to her waist. Her hair was pinned up. She spotted us and unleashed a huge smile.

  “You made it!”

  “Hey! The party looks amazing, Cressida.” Maybe you really are friends.

  “It’s my last high school party, so I had to blow it out.”

  A bartender came up to me. “Would you like to try a Cressida?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “It’s my signature drink. You’ll love it,” she declared. “You can’t even taste the alcohol.”

  “Four Cressidas, please,” Wyatt said to the bartender. “Got to kick this thing into high gear, starting now.”

  Cressida’s eyes flitted over to Caleb. “Hey you,” she purred. “Having fun?”

  His hand slipped down from my waist to my rear end. He caressed me through the thin fabric.

  “Always,” he said to her. “Looks like it’s gonna be epic. But I don’t think we’re staying long.” Cressida’s smile froze. She looked from Caleb to me.

  “You guys are NOT allowed to leave early. Check out the tent. Trust me.” She winked at us and skittered off to talk to a clutch of girls at the bar.

  The bartender mixed and poured bright blue liquid into tumblers. “Can you make my Cressida a virgin please?” He nodded. But when I realized how it must have sounded, I turned red. Wyatt cracked up.

  “Ha! Don’t think you can get one of those anymore, right, Bro?” Wyatt elbowed Caleb. I caught the menace in the glance Caleb shot Wyatt.

  What does that mean? Did Caleb…no way. It means nothing! Whatever happened before doesn’t matter. He’s yours now.

  “I want to dance with you, Caleb.” He grinned and grabbed my hand.

  I was going to have fun.

  Even in the lion’s den.

  ***

  A few red-faced boys emerged from the tent as we walked in, ties hanging loose and shirts unbuttoned. Inside, it felt twenty degrees hotter. A DJ played thumping music. Lights and strobes whirled. Fog poured from a smoke machine. Black lights made everything white glow—even people’s teeth. It was like dancing with hundreds of Cheshire cats.

  Two tall black pedestals, each with a long silver pole sticking out of the top, were set up in the middle of the tent. Two female dancers performed elaborate acrobatic routines on each pole. They wore neon-pink wigs, fishnet stockings, black hot pants, and silver bras. I watched as one girl grabbed the pole as high as she could reach, straddled it, and then let go so she hung by her legs. The other girl kept teasing her hot pants lower. Every time she did, the guys in the crowd went wild.

  Piper looked at me. “She hired strippers for a high school party? She is nuts.”

  I don’t remember how long we danced, or how many drinks materialized in my hand. At one point I was making out with Caleb in the middle of the dance floor. By the time I bothered to look around, Piper and Wyatt had vanished.

  “Caleb! You want to get out of here?”

  “Lead the way,” he said.

  Outside, kids were sprawled all over the white couches around the pool. A haze of cigarette smoke hung above the pool like swamp mist. I scanned the area.

  “I don’t see Piper or Wyatt.”

  “Don’t think they need you right now,” he said, smirking. A boy staggered by us, lurched sideways into some bushes, and clumsily got back to his feet and lurched toward the house. “There’s going to be a lot of blue puke in your stepmom’s toilets,” Caleb said, shaking his head. I led him to the side gate that opened up to the driveway.

  “I’m sure she’s used to it. Those drinks you kept giving me were nonalcoholic, right?”

  “Most of them.” He winked at me. “Why? You okay?”

  “Uh, sorta. I’m a total lightweight.” I didn’t tell him my head was spinning.

  “So let’s get back to that big hotel room waiting for us. You have no idea what I want to do to you.” He stopped walking, stood right behind me, and ran his hands up my back.

  “Tell me,” I whispered, my throat dry. I fought to focus on his words.

  “I am going to do all the things I wanted to do in Hawaii.” He ran his fingers lightly over my shoulders and down my arms to my hands and I shivered. What magical spell had I cast to get him to say these words?

  “Are you listening to me, you vixen?” he said. I nodded.

  “And what if I say no?” His lips nibbled my ear and his hands snaked around my waist.

  “There will be no saying no, Lana.” He laughed. “Or I might have to throw you down and force myself on you like a Viking.”

  The horn of the shuttle bus horn echoed through the air. That was our cue.

  “Come on! You don’t want to do it here, do you?” I grabbed his hand and we ran.

  ***

  We dashed down the side path and got to the front driveway just as the shuttle pulled in. At least fifty tipsy teenagers were already waiting in an unruly line. The bus creaked to a stop. When the door opened, the shuttle bus driver started yelling at everyone to make a line and put out their cigarettes or he wasn’t letting them on. Kids scrambled like they were trying to get on one of the Titanic’s lifeboats.

  We were at the very back of the line.

  “I knew I should have driven,” Caleb groaned. I spotted Piper and Wyatt at the front of the line.

  “Come on.”

  Piper pulled me into the line. “Where have you guys been? I tried to call but there is zero cell service up here. Which is why we’re in line for this and not in an Uber.”

  “Hey! No cutting!” A guy with a buzz cut a foot taller than Caleb loomed over us. He wore a blinding white dinner jacket. His date, a girl I recognized as a sophomore or junior, leaned on him and slurred something.

  “Oh, come on,” I pleaded.

  “It’s an emergency,” Caleb added. Yeah, an emergency virginectomy.

  “Get to the end of the line, Red,” the big guy said to me. Piper bristled and whirled around to yell at him.

  “This is her house, Shrek! She can cut if she wants to!”

  The wasted girl, who I recognized as Serena Presser, up-and-coming Friend of Cressida’s, screamed, “S’not her house anymore! She wishesh!” A tremendous hiccup silenced her drunken shrieking. My cheeks burned.

  The crowd surged, pushing us forward. Just as I was about to step onto the bus, someone grabbed my shoulder.

  “Lana! Thank God we caught you.” It was Ginger. Behind her, Valentina swayed back and forth.

  “What is it?” I asked. Ginger grabbed my hand and pulled me off the bus steps.

  “It’s Eden. Cressida says she’ll call you a cab later.” She looked at Caleb. “You too.”

  “This is bullshit,” Caleb snapped. “Lana, get back up here.”

  The driver barked, “Come on girlie, move it up topside!”

  “What happened to Eden?” I asked, confused.

  Valentina chewed her lip. “Um, some drunk guy busted into her room and she is totally freaked out.”

  “Eden’s here?” How could Ramona allow Eden to stay at the house during the party?

  Valentina babbled fast. “Yeah, and Cress doesn’t know what to do since she’s not exactly sober, so she needs you to calm Eden down before she’s scarred for life.” />
  People shoved and yelled behind me.

  Caleb hooted. “Any sister of Cressida’s is already scarred for life. Lana, get on the damn bus.”

  “Let’s go up there!” someone shouted. I clenched my teeth and stepped off.

  “Lana!” Piper yelled. “What are you doing?”

  “I’ll get back to the hotel as soon as I can. Caleb, go with them.”

  “No!” Valentina and Ginger shrieked in unison. Valentina tittered. “We mean, he has to come too. Cressida said she needs you both.” Caleb gritted his teeth and jumped off the steps. The crowd surged onto the bus and the doors creaked shut.

  We followed Ginger and Valentina back to the party through the side gate. Valentina had trouble walking in a straight line. I looked up at Caleb. “I promise this won’t take long.” I reached over and tried to grab his hand but he pulled it away.

  “Caleb?”

  “You really don’t want to be alone with me, do you?” He looked shell-shocked. But I had to help Eden.

  “I do, but this is an emergency. A family emergency.” He stared straight ahead.

  “Newsflash: they’re not your family anymore.” My cheeks burned. I gritted my teeth.

  “Eden is still my friend, Caleb. She needs me.”

  Then I realized with a shock that instead of heading into the main house, the two girls were heading down the path to the pool house.

  My palms got damp and I started having trouble breathing.

  Please, not the pool house.

  ***

  It had been transformed into a lavish Moroccan-style lounge. There were huge throw pillows scattered on a zebra-skin rug, a fire roaring in the carved stone fireplace, and incense burning everywhere. Throbbing music emanated from the speakers. A group of kids were sitting in a circle on the floor pillows, sharing a hookah. Thick, piney smoke filled the air. A girl I didn’t know was fast asleep on one of the couches. Her yellow dress had ridden all the way up her thighs. She was wearing Spanx, too.

  Empty drink cups crowded every surface. On the wall opposite the fireplace was a massive oak bar, with mirrored shelves lined with bottles. Trevor was behind the bar pouring drinks for two guys. Stairs at the back of the main room led up to a loft bedroom. I heard voices and laughter coming from there. A hallway down the center led to the back guest rooms.

  No sign of Eden. I thought she’d be standing in the doorway in her pajamas crying.

  “Well?” I demanded. “Where’s Eden?”

  Valentina and Ginger looked at each other. “Let’s ask Cressida.”

  ***

  We followed the girls down the narrow hallway. I shivered. Oh, please not there. They headed to the door at the far end. The door to the maid’s room. But that’s not what Ramona called it. No maid ever lived there. I knew it by another name.

  The naughty room.

  Valentina knocked. “Cress? We found them!” The deadbolt was still on the door. It was the only room on the estate you could lock from the outside.

  The door swung open and the smell hit me first: perfume, incense, cigarettes, and a pungent, skunky smell. Cressida sat on the small daybed. Trevor sat next to her. He saw me, smirked, and pushed past us to leave. I looked down to avoid his stare.

  Cressida looked bright-eyed and sober. Not drunk at all. Her face filled with relief when she saw us. She clawed me into a hug. Her talons dug into the bare back above the bodice of my dress.

  “Hey! Oh my God, I’m so glad you’re here. Eden ran in here looking for me, totally freaked out. She started asking for you, Lana. You too, Caleb. I didn’t know what to do.” I looked around as she spoke.

  The hours I had spent there.

  Her voice, screaming. Her hands squeezing your wrists as she drags you in here. The sound of the door slamming. The bolt in the lock. No matter how hard you pound on it, it never opens.

  She had only put me in the naughty room when my dad was traveling on one of the trips she sent him on to scout for cars all over the country. She had redecorated since then. Crisp white paint covered the old dark wood paneling. The brass-framed bed was festooned with bright pillows and a snow-white bedspread. A round bedside table held a clock and a lamp that glowed pink. A large mirror with a gilded frame hung on the wall across from the bed, and there were cardboard boxes stacked in a corner.

  You never disobey her on purpose. Cressida is the one who takes you into her bathroom, which is strictly forbidden. You stand there, heart pounding, as Cressida opens a drawer. You see a thousand reflections of yourself along the mirrored walls. She takes out an envelope. Inside there are photographs. Black and whites. A naked lady in a feathered mask, stockings, and a garter belt. She has tan skin and small breasts with dark nipples. She poses on a bed on her hands and knees. In another, she is on her back, legs open. You can see everything. “Who’s that?” you whispered to Cressida. She just looked at you, eyes wide. “I don’t know.”

  Then a hand at the back of your t-shirt, yanking you by the collar so hard you choke. Your cheek on fire from the smack. Cressida vanishes. Then the wordless trip to the pool house, her hand clamped around your wrist. You would get so hungry. It was so dark at night. She unscrewed the bulbs from the overhead fan and took them. If you ever told your dad, she would ruin him, she said. He’d be left with nothing. So you never told.

  I closed my eyes and tried to steady myself. “Where is she?” I said.

  Cressida squinted at me. “Where’s who?”

  “Eden, Cressida! Where the fuck is Eden!” Caleb shouted at her as his hands formed into fists.

  She looked back to me. “Jesus, relax. I got her calmed down and she agreed to go back to bed. You literally just missed her.”

  “Can I go check on her?” I asked.

  She laughed and shook her head. “No, don’t worry. She’s going to sleep the rest of the night, trust me.”

  “How do you know?” I asked.

  Her smile hardened a little. “I just know. I am her sister, after all.”

  I could feel Caleb seething at my side. “Looks like our work here is done. Let’s go, Lana.” Cressida smiled like she hadn’t heard him.

  “You missed the shuttle.”

  “We’ll call a cab.”

  “That’ll take forever,” she said. “Let me get my keys. You can drive back. Just wait at the bar, okay? I’ll be back in a minute.”

  ***

  Caleb and I sat on ornate barstools and watched Brett behind the bar pouring shots for a couple that didn’t need one more drop to drink. His face had a thin sheen of sweat on it.

  “This is such a disaster,” Caleb said, sighing. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “And my phone’s about to die.” He tugged off his jacket and hung it on the back of the barstool.

  “She’ll be back soon,” I told him. Please come back, Cressida. I wondered if Eden would really be here during this party—would she have lied? Why else would she have sent her friends to get Caleb and me off the bus?

  “If she’s not back in five minutes, we’re walking down the hill.”

  “Fine, but you’re carrying me. My feet are killing me.” He chuckled. He scanned the bottles behind the bar.

  “Man, your stepmother’s booze collection is nuts. Well, since we’re here…hey, yo—Brett—can you pour me that Johnny Walker Blue Label?”

  “Coming right up,” Brett said. He stared at me for a beat too long. His eyes were unnaturally alert. He picked up the bottle, pulled a glass out of the low cabinet under the bar, and poured Caleb’s drink.

  “Aren’t you driving?” I asked him.

  Brett cut me off. “He wore his big boy pants tonight, Lana. Right, dude?” He set a glass down in front of Caleb. Brett leaned over to me.

  “You want to try a Cressida?”

  “I had enough of those, thanks.”

  He snorted. “Oh, I know. I’ll make you a Lana. I invented it just for you.”

  “No thanks.” Caleb smacked his glass down on the bar.

  “Give me ano
ther scotch and give her a Lana.”

  I swiveled on my chair. “I don’t want to drink anymore. I’ve had enough.”

  He stared at me. His eyes looked glassy. “This was your idea. We’re stuck here, so drink.” I gasped. He checked his watch and cursed under his breath. What was wrong with him? You know why he’s mad. You promised.

  “God, what is this shitty music?” Caleb asked. Slow electronic music was playing now.

  “Oh, that’s my new mix,” Brett said, turning back to face us. He put my drink in front of me. “Some trance, some chillout. I produced most of the tracks myself.”

  “Awesome, dude,” Caleb said, rolling his eyes behind Brett’s back. I glanced at Brett to see if he saw. He just smiled at me and refilled Caleb’s glass.

  I looked at my drink. It was tall and fizzy and peach-colored.

  “I call this The Lana. Same color as your hair.”

  “Yo Brett, is Cressida your date tonight?” Caleb asked. Brett laughed, a high-pitched, nervous chuckle.

  “No way. Too many fish in the sea.” Brett watched me, bouncing on his toes. He grinned and pushed my drink to me. “Try it.”

  “Uh, okay.” I took a small sip. It tasted like peach juice and 7-Up. “Wait, is there alcohol in this?”

  “Just a tiny splash.”

  “It’s pretty good.”

  “I told you. Drink up. You don’t experience the full effect until you get a few sips in.” I took a few more sips. It was really good. I relaxed and took a few more sips.

  Caleb let out a disgusted sigh. “Fuck this. I’m calling a cab. Hey, dude, where’s a phone that actually has service up here?”

  “Land line in the maid’s room.” Caleb pushed off his chair and walked away. Brett watched him leave. He turned to me.

  “How does a Lana taste?”

  “Uh, really good actually.”

  His eyes narrowed. He licked his lips. “I always wanted to taste one. You gave Trevor a taste, remember?”

  “What?!” I almost spat my drink in his face. Bile rose in my throat. He reached over and stroked my arm with his fat fingers. I pulled it away.