“You bitch!” Marissa screeched. She wrung her hands in the air, as if she wasn’t sure what to do with them.
“Guys.” I started to step between them.
I was hauled back by Justin; he bypassed me to grab Angie’s shoulders. He turned her away, but sent a scathing look at Marissa as he did.
Her hands flew in the air. “What?” she snapped at him.
His eyes flickered once. A dark look was in them and her hands fell back down. She took a breath, looked at me, and took another breath.
I looked away. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. Comfort her? She was wrong. It’d been too much for her to ask, but she had a beer thrown on her because of me. I had no idea what I was supposed to do here.
And then I heard from her in a small voice, “I’m sorry, Alex. I wasn’t thinking about you.”
I took a deep breath. My stomach settled again and I shrugged. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not. I was a being a selfish bitch. I forgot…”
My heart pounded. What was she going to say?
“Never mind. Do you want something to drink?”
I let out a deep breath of relief. She hadn’t said it. And, like Angie, she left before I could reply. They both knew me so well.
Justin took Angie back to his truck and they climbed inside. Her arms flew around. Her face kept switching from outrage to fury and Justin kept patting her back. I stood there. I still had no idea what to do. They would reconcile in the morning. It was what they did. They would get heated, both of them were so honest and open. At times, the words weren’t received well, but they always made up in the morning. When I saw Marissa with some of her cheerleading friends, I knew it would be sooner than that. She was biting her lip as she cast concerned looks towards Angie. She sent a few towards me, but her eyes fluttered and she looked away.
I made the decision to leave. This party wasn’t for me, not that night, not with him there.
A few girls called out goodbyes when they saw that I was leaving, but no one stopped me. No one dared because the truth was that I wasn’t close to any of them anymore. I had been. A year ago I was one of the popular girls. It was why I had become friends with Angie and Marissa. No one could rival us when we were together.
My phone buzzed as I neared where I had parked my car. I pulled my phone out and saw the text from Marissa. I’m sorry. I really am. Please don’t be mad at me. I’m really really really sorry if I hurt you. I’m so stupid sometimes. Ok. All the time. This time. I was stupid this time. Ill make it r8t wth Angie too. Promise. Breakfast in the am? Barnies?
I thumbed a response back. Sounds good. Call when u wake up.
A second later. R U mad? R U hurt?
I heaved another breath. Was I mad? No. That was Marissa, she didn’t think sometimes. Was I hurt? On this night, I couldn’t breathe without hurting. I should’ve replied, told a lie to my friend, but I didn’t. I pocketed my phone and kept my head down as I got to the car.
Everything slowed to a halt after that.
Nothing happened. No one made a sound. No one moved. There were no animals in the background, no smell that warned me, but tingles raced down my spine and I knew.
I looked up, swallowing over a knot.
There he was, Jesse Hunt.
His dark eyes penetrated me from across the ten yards that separated us. His black hair had been buzzed since that afternoon. His lips were curved in a sneer and he was sitting on my car trunk. His knees were pulled up as his feet rested on the bumper. He had on a sleeveless black shirt that was ripped at the ends. The tattoos on his arms seemed even darker from the moonlight. They were highlighted against his skin though he was golden tan.
My voice couldn’t work. “What are you doing here?” I sounded hoarse.
My heart was pounding. I couldn’t get enough air.
His top lip curved upwards in a smile, but he still kept the sneer on his face. I never knew how he could do that, but he had perfected it from when we were in junior high. “What? You got those virginal panties on now?” His eyes flashed a warning to me. “What do you think I’m doing here?”
I swung away. Why could he affect me so much?
“Hey!” He raised his voice a notch. “It’s the big night for us, Alex. Come on. Who else would I be with tonight? Only you and me. We’re the only ones.”
I lowered my head. He was right. My heart slowed a bit. No one else could understand. No one else had loved Ethan like we had.
But that didn’t mean I wanted to think about my big brother at that moment. So I swung back and rushed out, “I saw Sarah at the bonfire. She looks pretty.” I wet my lips. When had they gone so dry? “Do you think you’ll ever get back together with her? I think she still loves you.”
He stared at me for a moment and then snorted. When he raised his hand, I saw the flask for the first time. He was drunk. Of course, he was drunk. I blinked back rapid tears. He only talked to me when he was drunk, but no—that wasn’t correct. There were lots of times when he had been drunk and he ignored my calls, my looks, or my pleas for any comfort he could’ve provided.
“Are you serious?” He rolled his eyes and for some reason, it seemed savage when it came from him. He fixed me with another penetrating stare. “Come on, Alex. What are we doing here?”
“You’re on my car.”
He snorted again and raised the flask once more. “It’s Ethan’s car.”
“He gave it to me.”