Matt Darlington was leaning into her. He had one hand suggestively on her waist and the other on the rail, firmly pinning her in place. She laughed at whatever it was he had just said, but she wasn’t really paying attention.
Since she had gotten to the party, she’d had one glass of champagne, two amaretto sours, and one shot of tequila. It was at that point that she felt courageous enough to strike up a conversation with Matt. It hadn’t really been too much of a conversation, though. They had talked for about five minutes before he went in for the first kiss.
After that point, he had gotten a bottle of wine and two glasses and led her out on the patio to “talk”. Cat was sure she was certifiably drunk. She kept trying to remember what Landon had said about Matt and his diseases, but it was hard to think with his tongue down her throat.
Cat had never in her life done anything like this before. She was definitely not the type to hook up at parties. She was starting to worry that she had started something Matt might want to finish in a much different way than Cat had in mind. She wasn’t sure he would accept her, “thanks for making out with me tonight, but that’s really all I’m up for” response if he tried to take things any further.
Wasn’t kissing like this supposed to be romantic? Why did it feel like he was trying to remove her tonsils?
Cat’s eyes started to wander. The party had grown a little out of control, and Cat wondered when the police would be called for a noise violation. It wasn’t a question of if anymore. She needed to find Landon and get out of here before that happened.
“Let’s go inside,” she said suddenly, looking up at Matt.
“I think we should try to find a room upstairs,” he responded, sliding his hand from her waist to her hip and around to her behind.
“Sure, sure,” Cat responded absently, grabbing his hand away from her rear to lead him inside.
She might have been drunk, but she wasn’t stupid. There was no way she was losing her v-card at some party, to him, especially when she wouldn’t even remember it.
At least this way she could get him inside and look for Landon under the pretense of finding some place to be “alone”.
If the house was packed before, she had no way of describing it now. Boys were yelling in the kitchen as keg stand competitions were being held. Cat thought she saw Meghan in the corner with a hottie from Dalton’s lacrosse team, but where was Landon? Was it possible that he was still upstairs with Samuel smoking cigars?
“Let’s go upstairs,” she shouted to Matt over the noise.
“Awesome,” came his response.
She smiled. It’s a good thing he’s cute because he has the brains of a lamppost.
Cat stumbled as she reached the first landing. All the doors were locked on the second floor, and Cat didn’t have to guess at what might be going on behind them. She continued up to the third floor. She watched as Matt tried each doorknob.
“Everyone’s getting busy tonight,” he snickered.
“Yeah, hmmm,” Cat replied automatically.
Where on earth could Landon be? He wasn’t downstairs. Then again, she hadn’t seen Samuel yet, either. They were probably together.
When they reached the fourth floor, Cat caught a whiff of the unmistakable scent of cigars. She followed it to the room at the end of the hall. As her hand reached for the doorknob, the handle turned and Samuel emerged with two younger girls in tow.
She noticed the glassy look in their eyes. They hadn’t just been smoking cigars. They were doing coke; she was sure of it.
“Where is Landon?” she demanded. The thought of him lying to her sobered her up quickly. She wanted to find him that very instant and give him a piece of her mind.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Samuel held his hands up, “Why such a hurry?”
“Samuel, I need to find Landon,” she tried to keep calm.
“I haven’t seen him in the last hour or so,” he slurred his reply, “Not since he got a call from his dad.”
“Since what?” Cat was confused. What did his dad have to do with it?
“Yeah, his dad called to tell him he had gotten engaged or something and wants Landon to be the best man,” Samuel replied offhandedly.
“Oh no,” Cat breathed, “Samuel, where did he go after that?”
“He said he needed to escape a bit, but he didn’t want what I offered, so he said he was going up to the roof to chill out alone,” Samuel walked towards the stairs, an arm around each girl.
“Why didn’t you go with him?” Cat nearly shouted at him. Landon did not need to be alone right now.
“I’m not his keeper, Cat,” he was clearly affronted, “There are stairs to the roof through my bedroom,” he pointed the way, “Go and check on him yourself.”
Cat took off in the direction he had pointed. Matt looked thoroughly confused by the exchange that had just occurred and he pulled her back to him.
“Cat, I thought we were going to … you know,” he whispered the last two words in her ear.
“No, Matt, we are not going to ‘you know.’ I’m sure if you stumble downstairs there are a dozen willing girls waiting in line.” Disgusted, she broke away and practically ran towards Samuel’s bedroom.
When she reached the rooftop, there was no one there. She made a 360 degree turn again just to be sure. She exhaled and turned her eyes upwards. It was a perfect night. You could actually see a few stars — a rare occurrence in New York City. She moved unsteadily to the chaise lounge and lowered herself down. The effects of the alcohol were really sinking in. It would be so easy to fall asleep here. The seat was still warm, as though someone had been sitting there only moments before. She stretched out her legs and put her arms on the armrests. Perhaps Landon had gone home early. It made her a little pissed off to think he would leave without telling her.
Something hard was poking her in the lower back; she reached behind her and felt under the cushion. It was a cell phone. It was Landon’s cell phone. Her heart skipped a beat. He wouldn’t have left without his cell phone. He was glued to that thing. She quickly put in the code to unlock the buttons and saw that Twitter came up on the screen. He had made a post five minutes ago: “Need to escape. This time for good. Keeping my promise. I’m the one to blame. Two lives left, Cat. Take care of yourself.”
Cat leapt to her feet and began to look around wildly. His cell phone was still glued to her hand.
She hadn’t passed him on the stairs. Had he heard her talking to Samuel and hid in the bedroom, so he could sneak away unnoticed? She had no idea what he was planning to do, but fear reigned in her body. The thought of anything happening to him sobered her at once. She knew she had to find him and quickly, before it was too late. Darting towards the door, she retched it open just as she heard a blood-curdling scream coming from the garden below. Five stories below. She ran over to the edge and looked down.
It was dark, and people were already crowding around the body, but she knew it was him. Her best friend. Her Landon.
Her scream matched the scream of whoever had stumbled upon the body and her knees gave way as the darkness closed in around her.
Cat awoke, drenched in sweat, as thunder crashed outside and a branch thumped across her window. She was shaking. Sitting up in her bed, she drew her knees to her chest and rocked herself with her head bowed over her knees. Her pillow was wet from tears, but her eyes were dry now that she was awake. Why was she only able to cry in her sleep? She wiped her hands across her face. Cat felt that a good cry might be just what she needed, except to be awake during it. To be conscious of it and really let some healing take place. Continuing to relive the nightmare in her dreams couldn’t be healthy, and yet she had dreamt that night over and over since it had occurred. Perhaps her subconscious was trying to create an alternate ending. She could’ve gotten to the rooftop to find Landon waiting for her and they could’ve talked through things.
If only she’d gotten there five minutes earlier. If only, but each time the dream was the same, exactly as it had occurred in real life. The same gut-wrenching agony she felt that night, seeing his body sprawled out below, as though she was seeing it for the first time. Guilt, perhaps the strongest emotion of all, washing over her, making her wish she had taken her own life. She had tried that, she reminded herself, quite unsuccessfully.
Cat didn’t want to think about that, not now, probably not ever. She pushed the covers aside and went to the bathroom to splash some water on her face. She stood there longer than necessary and stared into her eyes in the mirror. They had looked so dead the last few months, but something about them tonight was different. What had happened today, that had put some semblance of fire back into them? She knew the answer before she asked the question. Luke. Something about him had intrigued her far more than she wanted to be. She didn’t want to be interested. She didn’t want him to be able to get a rise out of her so easily. It was as if he knew which buttons to push, though she had only just met him. She still didn’t know why she had told him about Landon. But when he asked, she answered. It had been easy, as though she wasn’t capable of lying to him. She splashed more water on her face and got back into bed. Tomorrow would be her first day of working on a farm, her first full day with Luke. She was excited and terrified at the same time. How could he arouse so many emotions in her? She would have to leave that question unanswered, for now.
The sun was not yet on the horizon when her alarm started blaring. Mimi had set it for her the night before, since she didn’t know how to work such an archaic alarm clock. The clouds hung low around the farmhouse and the cool gray mist swirled through the fields of Christmas trees below. She stared out her window from the comfort of her bed. She would say the sight was beautiful if it weren’t so terribly early. Six a.m. was far too early to rise on a summer morning.
Mimi had said that today she would just follow along with Luke and learn the ropes. She wasn’t sure if that meant she should wear work clothes. She didn’t own any work clothes. She hit the snooze button on the alarm clock until Mimi came up to check on her a second time. She decided she shouldn’t push her luck on her second day here, so she got up to get ready.
After putting on her oldest pair of Seven jeans and a Ralph Lauren sweatshirt over her tank top, she went downstairs.
Mimi was scrambling eggs on the stove and the smell of bacon was irresistible.
“Maybe you should pull your hair up, Catie,” she said with a smile, examining her headband closely.
“Why?” Cat asked, touching her headband. She wanted to keep at least one thing feminine on.
“Well, I was going to send you and Luke over to fetch a few bales of hay from the south field and take it to our neighbors for me, and a headband isn’t likely to stay on while you’re doing that,” Mimi looked at her granddaughter with an amused expression.
“Moving hay can’t be that hard, right? I mean, what is hay? Straw? And that would weigh what, like, two, three pounds?” Cat crunched on a piece of bacon, oblivious to the fact that Luke had walked into the kitchen behind her and overheard her comment.
“You have so much to learn, city girl,” he laughed.
Cat whirled around. She did not like being caught off guard, especially by Luke.
“Hay bales that weigh two or three pounds? Try 80,” Luke laughed.
“I might not know much about hay, but you would be clueless in New York. Then who would be laughing?” she shot back. How was he capable of getting her blood boiling so quickly?
“Maybe, but we’re not in New York. You’re in the mountains now,” he was clearly enjoying this playful banter a little too much.
“Don’t remind me. I’ve been moved to the land of Christmas trees, hay bales, and hicks,” she snapped back.
“Hey, now! You kids settle down and get some breakfast, then get to work. I have some errands to run, but I’ll be back later. Alright?” Mimi looked from one to the other as though she was hesitant to leave, lest another world war break out right in her kitchen.
“Sure,” Luke shrugged.
“Fine,” Cat said as she sat at the table with her back to him.
Mimi finished up in the kitchen, grabbed her purse, and gave Cat a kiss on the forehead as she walked out the back door.
“Be nice,” she ordered as she left.
Luke filled a plate for himself, then one for Cat, and brought them to the table.
“You should eat more than a piece of bacon, Cat,” he said as he placed it in front of her.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” she glared at him.
“I’m trying to be nice. You could try too, you know,” Luke stated while Cat continued to sit in silence, “Fine, suit yourself.” He dumped the contents of her plate onto his own and began to eat.
Cat was hungry, but she didn’t want to eat simply on the principle that she didn’t like being told what to do. Maybe when he got up to leave, she would sneak a couple of bites before following.
“Is this how it’s going to be, Cat?” Luke eyed her slyly.
“What?” she wasn’t quite certain what he was talking about.
“Every time I try to joke around, you get worked up and call me a hick?” his tone sounded more serious.
“You weren’t trying to joke around. You were trying to get me worked up and you know it,” Cat’s voice was getting snappy.
“You think I like getting you worked up?” Luke raised his voice to match hers.
“Yes, I do!” Cat yelled.
“Well, maybe I do! But you do the same to me, and don’t even pretend you don’t!” Luke’s voice overpowered Cat’s. He stood to his feet.
“Fine!” Cat leapt to her feet, too.
They stood there, inches from each other’s faces, angry, and neither one backing down.
Cat wasn’t sure which one of them started to laugh first, but once they started, it seemed impossible to stop.
“Let’s just agree that we enjoy pushing each other’s buttons and try not to do it,” Cat finally said once the laughter had died down.
“But what would be the fun in that?” Luke smirked.
“Ha, ha,” Cat said. She looked at him carefully. It felt like she had known him forever. It was easy with him. Easy to get mad, easy to forget, easy to forgive. Easy. She had forgotten how easy it could be to be friends.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked, startling her thoughts.
“Like what?” she said, stealing a bite of eggs off his plate.
“I don’t know. It was just … nothing,” Luke shook it off.
“What?” Cat pressed him. She was curious to know what he had seen in her look.
“It’s like I’ve known you, you know? For more than just a day, longer than that, never mind,” Luke stood and took his plate to the sink. He was clearly uncomfortable.
Cat stood up and went to his side with the dish towel, drying the plate he had just washed.
“I know,” she bit her lower lip. “I know what you mean,” she said, putting the plate away.
Luke cleared his throat, “Yeah, well. We need to get out in the field before Mimi gets back. I don’t think she’s paying me to hang out in her kitchen all morning.”
With that, he grabbed his baseball cap and shoved it on his head as he stepped out the back door, leaving Cat standing there dumbfounded.
Why are guys so confusing? She wondered, as she hurried to catch up with him. Here she was thinking they might be “having a moment”, and he brushes her off as if she’s nobody.
Who does he think he is? She wanted to shout, “Hey! You country bumpkin, what the hell do you think you’re doing, messing around with my emotions like that?!” Instead, she got in the passenger side of the farm truck and slammed the door extra hard.
“Yeah, Luke, you’re right. I do
n’t want to be seen cavorting with the help anyway,” she said as he turned on the engine.
Gritting his teeth to keep from saying something he shouldn’t, he slammed his foot on the gas, gunning it down the gravel road.
Chapter Seven
Luke glanced over at Cat as he took another mountain curve at breakneck speed. He knew she had to be getting queasy, since she wasn’t used to curvy roads, but she wasn’t saying a word. Her jaw was clenched tightly and her hands were glued to the vinyl seats. He knew he was being a bit of a jackass, but being called “the help” had sent him over the edge. Just as half the things she said to him did, a voice in his head reminded him. One second, he’d think she was an amazing and intriguing woman, and the next, he’d be convinced she had to be the most spoiled brat he’d ever laid eyes on. Even then, he couldn’t stifle his attraction towards her. No girl had ever caused him so much confusion in so little time.
He slowed down enough to whip the car off the highway and onto the dirt road lined with no passing signs. She gasped as a bump sent her reaching across to pull her seatbelt tighter.
“This road is lined with no trespassing signs,” she commented.
“So?” Luke responded.
“It says trespassers may be shot on site … are they serious?” Cat thought signs like that only existed in The Beverly Hillbillies.
“I guess, or they wouldn’t have put it on the sign,” Luke smiled on the inside. She was so new to so many things. He had probably never even noticed the signs before.
“Maybe we shouldn’t be here,” there was an edge to her voice. She didn’t want to be a scaredy cat, but getting shot was not on her to-do list for today.
What Cat Lost (The Last Life of Cat Book 1) Page 6