36
Mackenzie
I woke up the next morning with sore leg muscles and ankle blisters from the new roller-skates. I didn’t let it bother me though. I was too excited about the party and seeing Chase again. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him and had fallen asleep with a smile on my face. It even made dealing with Mattzilla less daunting.
As it turned out, she did a complete one-eighty, which made me very uneasy. It happened the moment I made it to my locker. Not only was she actually civil, but she apologized for being such a bitch the last few days.
“I took it all out on you… because… I’d been so angry with Chase.” She looked around the hallway and then lowered her voice as people walked by. “He broke up with me the week before and I thought that maybe it was because you two had hooked up.”
“I didn’t even know Chase until this week,” I replied, wondering if she’d finally come to her senses or if this was all an act. “And, for the record, we’re just friends.”
Mattie swung her blonde hair over her shoulder and sniffed. “Honestly, I don’t care either way. I’ve realized that he’s a player and that I shouldn’t blame anyone for his actions but Chase. Anyway, I just want you to know I’m sorry for being so horrible. You didn’t deserve the way I treated you and if you don’t wanna forgive me, I totally get it. I know I probably wouldn’t.”
As sincere as she looked, I still didn’t quite trust her. But, I accepted her apology. I was tired of the drama and just wanted her to leave me alone. “It’s fine. I get it.”
She looked relieved. “Thank you. Anyway, a word of advice - if you do start going out with him, be careful. Bruce told me that the asshole was cheating on me the entire time we were together.”
“We’re just friends,” I repeated. “But, thanks for the warning.”
“No problem.” She turned and leaned back against the locker next to mine. “There’s a party tonight. I don’t know if you heard, but everyone’s showing up. I’m trying to decide if I want to even go. I don’t want to see him there. I’ll probably get drunk and tell him off or something.”
More like “definitely”.
She stared at me as if waiting for some kind of a reaction. When I didn’t respond, she continued. “Do you know if he’s planning on being there?”
“I have no idea.”
She bit her lower lip. “Darn. Well, if you hear he’s going, could you maybe let me know? I don’t want to run into him so I’ll just find something else to do.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Sure.”
“Thanks. I’ll give you my number. You can text me or whatever.”
“Okay.”
We exchanged phone numbers and then I watched her take off down the hallway, still very much apprehensive at the turn of events. My gut told me not to trust anything she said or did. For all I knew, she was setting me up to fall.
“Okay, what in the hell was that about?” Kara asked, coming up behind me.
I told her.
Kara snorted. “Wow, maybe she’s discovered Midol?”
I chuckled. “I don’t know. It was really weird.”
“Just be careful. She might be planning on destroying you from a different angle.”
“Yeah. I’ve been thinking the same thing.”
“So, you’re still going to the party tonight?”
I nodded. “I might be getting a new truck tonight, too. Not new, new. Used. You know what I mean.”
Her eyes widened. “Really? That’s awesome.”
I told her about the conversation I’d had with my grandma. “We’re going to take a look at it when she’s finished at the shop.”
“Cool. What time do you think you’ll be back?”
“Before eight.”
“Okay. Text me when you get home and I’ll pick you up.”
“Sounds good.”
The bell rang.
She slung her backpack over her shoulder. “Dammit, I have a test first hour. I almost forgot about it.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks. See you at lunch?”
“Yeah,” I replied.
If Mattie being nice wasn’t strange enough, Chase acted cold and distant. It was as if last night had never even happened.
“Bad morning?” I asked when we were in Chemistry class.
He grunted.
“Do we need a Snickers bar?” I joked.
The look on his face told me that what he really needed was for me to shut the fuck up.
I opened up my folder and pulled out my homework. “Whatever.”
We didn’t talk for the rest of the hour. As hot as he was, his mood swings were exhausting. I didn’t know what his problem was, but I didn’t deserve the attitude.
The rest of the day went pretty quickly and I didn’t see much of Mattie or Chase. Neither of them made and appearance in the lunchroom. I had a feeling they were both trying to avoid each other.
Or maybe they were making up?
I didn’t care anymore.
As far as I was concerned, they could have each other. I was done drooling over Chase. Hot or not, he wasn’t worth it.
After last period, Kara drove me home and I spent the next hour trying to decide on an outfit to wear to the party. In the end I picked out a cropped fuzzy black sweater, light colored jeans, and a pair of black, suede ankle boots. As I was getting ready to take a shower, my cell phone rang. It was Gus.
“I just wanted to make sure we were still on for tomorrow,” he said.
“Yeah, of course.”
“Cool. I’ll pick you up around six. I made dinner plans, so don’t eat.”
“Oh, where?”
“It’s a surprise,” he replied with a smile in his voice.
“Okay.”
The next question threw me off guard. “Have you talked to Chase Adams at all?”
“Not really,” I replied, wondering if he’d found out about Chase giving me a ride to and from work. “Why?”
“Just wondering. I heard he broke up with his girlfriend.”
“Yeah, I heard something about that too.”
“Do you know if he’s dating anyone?”
I grinned. “Why, are you interested?”
He snorted. “Ha, ha. Funny. No, I was just curious.”
Maybe he was curious about Mattie and really did like her?
I wanted to ask but thought it might sound tacky. Especially since we had a date tomorrow.
“I don’t have any idea if he’s seeing anyone else. Probably.”
“Probably?” he replied.
“Yeah. Someone mentioned he’s a player. Other than that, I don’t know and I don’t care,” I replied softly.
“Glad to hear. He’s definitely got a bad rep in our school, too.”
I raised my eyebrow. “Why? Has he dated a lot of girls there?”
“Hell, no. They know better. He’s just known as being an arrogant, know-it-all dickhead.”
“Oh, is that all?” I joked.
He chuckled. “Yeah. Oh, I’ve got another call coming in. I need to take it.”
“No problem. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
“Yeah, looking forward to it.”
After hanging up with Gus, I took a shower, spent extra time on my hair and makeup, and made myself something for dinner. When my grandmother finally arrived home, I couldn’t wait to see the truck and get on with the night.
“That must be it,” Grandma Rae said as we pulled into Lenny’s. There was a dark, red smaller-sized pickup parked in front of the building.
We parked next to it and then went into the service station. A few minutes later, Lenny showed us the truck and let me take it for a test-drive.
“So, what do you think?” he asked when we returned.
“It wasn’t bad,” I replied, answering how she’d coached me. Although it was much bigger than what I was accustomed to driving, which was her Volkswagen Beetle, I loved it.
“Thank you for letting us see it
. I think we might have to look around a little bit more, though. It’s out of our budget,” Grandma Rae added.
Lenny scratched his head. “Really? By how much.”
Fortunately, in the end, they agreed upon a lower price and she wrote him a check.
When grandma and I were alone in the parking lot, I threw my arms around her in delight. I’d never owned a vehicle and it felt like a dream-come-true. “Thank you so much,” I said, tearing up with joy.
She patted my back lovingly. “You’re welcome, dear.”
“I’ll pay you back every cent.”
“I know. We’ll figure out a payment plan that you can afford. But, I am going to pay half. That part won’t be a loan.”
“Really?”
“Yes, think of it as your Christmas-slash-birthday present for the next twenty years,” she joked.
“That’s fine by me.” I thanked her again and then followed her back to the house in the truck.
“I’ll call my insurance guy in the morning. You should be able to drive it to school,” Grandma Rae said when we were home.
“Okay.”
“When are you leaving for the party?”
I looked at my phone. It was almost eight. “I have to call Kara. She’s supposed to pick me up soon.”
“Okay. Stay safe,” she reminded me.
“I will.”
I sent Kara a message and she congratulated me on the new truck.
Kara: I can’t wait to see it. You wanna drive tonight?
Me: No insurance yet. I’ll drive next time.
Kara: No prob.
She told me that she was on her way and as I was responding, Mattie sent me a text.
Mattie: Did you find out about Chase?
Me: He was grumpy. I didn’t ask. Sorry.
Mattie: Okay. Thanks anyway.
Me: No problem.
I put my phone away, still feeling a little weirded out by her change of attitude. As much as I didn’t want to see her at the party, I had a feeling she was going to be there. As far as Chase was concerned, I suspected she just wanted to be prepared.
Kara picked me up about fifteen minutes later and we arrived at Jason’s house around eight-thirty.
“Wow,” I murmured as we drove through a private gate toward a house that was the size of a hotel. “His parents must be loaded.”
“Yeah. One of his dads is a record producer or something.”
“He has two?”
She nodded. “They’re gay. I think he was adopted or one of them is his biological dad. I’m not totally sure.”
“Oh, okay.”
The house was breathtaking and looked like something out of a Hollywood movie. It was a huge estate, surrounded by a large gated fence and perfectly manicured bushes and trees. As we drove closer, I noticed a large water fountain with an elephant blowing water out of its trunk.
“Now that is super cute. I can’t even imagine having that kind of money,” I murmured, staring at the fountain.
“I know. Wow, look at the turnout already. I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised.”
There were already dozens of cars parked along the private road and more vehicles pulling up behind us.
“Does he have a lot of parties?”
“A few. This is only the second one I’ve been to. He had a pool party in June. It got a little out of hand.”
“What happened?”
“A couple of guys became really drunk and began fighting, before Jason broke it up. There was blood everywhere. They’re banned from attending any other parties though. Nobody else wants to cause any problems, so it should be a pretty mellow night.”
“What were they fighting about?”
“I don’t know. I heard they were playing Beer Pong. I’m sure they just got drunk and stupid.”
We parked and then got out of the car.
“Oh, wow. It sounds like he might have hired a band for tonight,” she said, as we heard music coming from the house. “Let’s go inside.”
I slung my purse over my shoulder and began following her past the long row of cars. One of them was a familiar Mustang.
“Looks like Chase is here. I wonder if Mattie will be showing up,” Kara said, noticing it too.
“If she does, there might be more blood,” I mused. “
“That’s right. They broke up.” Kara smiled. “I wonder if he’s here with another girl?”
My stomach twisted. As irritating as he was, the thought of Chase being there with a date made me ill.
“I guess we’ll find out,” I murmured.
When we made it to the front door, Kara was about to knock when it opened on its own. Two people came stumbling out - a tall, muscular guy and a blonde who I recognized was friends with Mattie. They’d both obviously had started drinking pretty early on.
“Hey, Kyle. Shelly. You guys leaving already?” Kara asked.
“No, we’re going for a… walk,” Kyle said with a mischievous grin.
Shelly giggled.
Kara winked. “Have fun.”
He picked up Shelly and started carrying her toward a tall, white, wooden gazebo that was in the corner of the yard.
“He’s going to drop her,” Kara remarked as we stared at them.
Kyle could barely walk straight as it was. I bit my lower lip, hoping he didn’t hurt her. Shelly was actually nice compared to the rest of the A-squad girls I’d found. She’d even smiled at me before in the hallway. “Yeah.”
“Let’s go inside.” Kara stepped through the front door and looked at me. “It sounds like everyone is in back.”
I followed her through the gorgeous home, even more in awe at the inside of the place. Everything looked expensive and it shocked me that Jason was even risking having such a party. I could only imagine what could get broken or go missing.
“Must be rough, huh?” Kara said as we walked up to the sliding glass door, which led to an enormous back yard.
My eyes widened. “Wow.”
It really was like being at a fancy resort. There was a huge entertainment area with outdoor furniture, a fireplace, and an oversized barbecue. Beyond that was a large underground swimming pool with a waterfall and grotto.
We stepped outside and followed the line of bamboo torches to a Tiki bar, where we found Sonny serving alcohol. It was crowded and took us a while to get to him. Noticing Kara first, he smiled and started flirting with her. She pretended not to notice, which I thought was funny.
“What do you ladies want to drink? We have beer, wine coolers, or Schnapps,” he said over the loud rap music playing in the background.
Kara looked at me. “What do you want?”
“I’ll just have a wine cooler,” I replied, remembering the promise I’d made to my grandmother. If I came home trashed, she’d never forgive me. Wine coolers were pretty tame.
She nodded. “Me, too.”
He opened up two strawberry ones and handed them to us.
“Thanks,” we said in unison.
“No problem. Thank Jason. He went all out.”
“We will,” she replied.
We walked away from the line and Kara started digging in her purse. “Shoot, I think I left my phone in the car,” Kara said, searching with her left hand.
“Should we go back and get it?”
She sighed. “No. Maybe later. It’s almost dead anyway. I forgot to charge it. I think my brain is almost dead today too,” she joked.
I smiled.
We both turned around and there stood a guy I’d yet to meet, holding a tall mug of beer. A very hot one with blonde hair, pulled back into a small bun, and soft brown eyes. Tan and muscular, he was almost as good looking as Chase.
Almost.
“Oh, hey Jason. Great party,” Kara said smiling.
He grinned back. “Thanks. I try not to disappoint.”
“Well, you definitely didn’t tonight.” She looked at me. “This is Mackenzie.”
His eyes shifted to me. “How’s it going?”
Inviting me?
I felt like such a dumb-shit. I glanced toward Kara who looked amused.
“No problem. Do either of you play Beer Pong? I’m up next and need a partner,” he replied.
“I’m driving, so I don’t want to get drunk. Mackenzie can do it though,” Kara said.
I blinked. “I can?”
“Excellent,” Jason said. “Let’s go.”
Crap.
We followed him back into the house, to the basement. As we were descending the stairs, I could hear a multitude of voices cheering someone on followed by a roar of laughter.
“Bruce, you feelin’ okay, buddy?” a guy asked, sounding amused.
“Fuck you. Set ‘em back up again for another round,” Bruce replied.
I groaned inwardly.
He literally was the last person I wanted to run into.
“Hold up. My partner and I are playing next,” called Jason. He grabbed my hand and guided me into the entertainment room, where a group of guys surrounded a long table, lined at both ends with red plastic cups.
One of them was Chase.
Our eyes met.
His turned steely.
37
Chase
When Jason rounded the corner with Mackenzie, and Kara, I almost spilled my beer. Although I knew she’d be at the party, I’d been having so much fun that I’d temporarily forgotten about her and the bullshit. Now that we were face-to-face, I had to remind myself that the only way I could get back at her, and pay for the damage to my car, was to win the bet with Gus.
“Wait, which girl is going to be your partner?” Bruce asked.
Jason put his arm around Mackenzie’s shoulder. “She is. Mackenzie, right?”
She nodded.
“Fine. I get Kara,” Bruce said.
“I’m only playing if I don’t have to drink,” Kara said.
Bruce let out a long, obnoxious burp. “You’re drinking right now. What’s the difference?”
Before she could reply, I cut in. “Kara, you can be my partner. I’ll even drink for you.”
Kara grinned. “You haven’t seen me play. You might be crawling out of here. You sure about that?”
After Burn (High School Bully Romance) (Diamond Lake High School Book 1) Page 16
