But I wasn’t going without Beck. She was my best friend and as long as I could talk her into going, we were going to go together.
Which was why we were currently piled into Mandy’s—that older college girl friend I’d met—car blasting music so loud that we couldn’t hear each other talk over it. Me and Beck were singing along to some dumb song that was playing while Mandy danced ridiculously as she drove. Mostly it was just head bobbing and banging with a few random arm movements thrown in.
We had the windows rolled down, the faster we went the more the air rushed in through the windows, blowing our hair all over the place. The air was crisp, but not cold. It smelled like the ocean and home. We laughed as we sped along.
Neither Beck nor I had ever gone to a college before, much less to a college party. We’d been to several high school parties, but they were mostly lame. The few times kids risked alcohol, the police usually got involved. When I told Mandy this, she’d rolled her eyes at me and said, “Please. No one cares in college. Everyone knows you’re doing it, so as long as you don’t throw it back in the cops’ faces, they don’t give a shit.”
I hadn’t questioned at the time why Mandy was friends with us, but looking back it seemed strange. Why would a college girl be interested in hanging out with a couple of sixteen year old girls?
But we didn’t sweat it then. All we cared about was living.
We arrived at the party and it was packed. Mandy had to park her car along the road, because there was nowhere else. The garage, the driveway and pretty much everywhere else conceivable was taken up by all kinds of cars. Some were junkers held together with little more than duct tape, while others looked like they probably cost more than my house.
Mandy led the way to the house, smiling and waving to a few people as she made her way to the door. I followed behind her, and Beck followed behind me. I could sense her nervous energy and knew that she was a little unsettled about the whole thing without even looking at her.
Beck’s thing was books and school, not the parties. I’d asked her one time why she went to them, or why she was even friends with me then, and she’d replied that I evened her out. Too much of anything wasn’t good for anyone. I was the best way to keep her balanced and that was why we were such good friends.
I reached my hand out behind me, offering it to Beck. I felt her hand slip into mine and when I glanced back over my shoulder at her, she smiled at me gratefully.
I grinned back. “This is going to be awesome!”
The party was insane. People were everywhere, all holding red Solo cups, doing shots and dancing to the music which was blaring throughout the downstairs. Outside, people were hanging out on the porch and some were even sitting in the hot tub or jumping into the pool.
It was madness, and it was awesome. I couldn’t stop grinning.
Mandy disappeared inside somewhere, getting lost amongst the faces as she headed towards a group of friends.
I headed straight for the kitchen, dragging Beck along with me. She looked less excited than I did at all of the people, but she did her best to put on a bright smile and go with the flow. I appreciated the effort she was putting in.
When we reached the kitchen, I immediately went for a red Solo cup. There were a bunch of college guys in the kitchen, I can’t remember if they were cute or not, but they all seemed to look the same to me. They were laughing about something that was apparently hysterical to them at least.
They were standing by the keg, so I went in their direction with my cup. Beck lingered by the counter, looking around uncertainly. She wasn’t above drinking or anything. Usually, she didn’t drink anywhere near as much as I did, but she wasn’t against having a good time either and when she was around people she knew, it was totally fine for her to get her drink on.
But right now, that was hard. She didn’t really know the area we were in and she didn’t know any of the people there other than me. We were in new territory and she was probably a little scared to say the least. But me? I was all about enjoying this experience to the fullest.
When I offered my cup to one of the guys to get filled up with the beer from the keg, he grinned at his friends before turning back to me. He eagerly took my cup and filled it up. I yelled a thank you at him, trying to be heard over the music, and then I headed back over to Beck. Grabbing her hand, we headed back to the living room.
I wasn’t really concerned about keeping track of Mandy—she knew her way around this place, obviously, I mean, it was her invite that got us here—but Beck was the smart one and she wanted to keep track of everyone who had come to this party together. Namely, us.
“Where’s Mandy?” she yelled in my ear, the booming music still almost covering up her words.
I shook my head, then took a deep drink of my beer. It tasted gross—I’d never enjoyed the taste of beer or much of any alcohol really, but I liked the buzz I copped off of it, so I’d endure the taste—but I swallowed it down easily enough. “I don’t know,” I yelled back in answer to Beck. “She’s got to be around here somewhere.”
And she did. I doubted she had bailed on the party already, much less without us. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t outside or upstairs or just plain old lost in the massive crowd that was moving and grooving together as one unit, dancing to the music in a fluid way I’d never really seen before.
It was like everyone knew the steps that went to a specific song whenever it came on. Like it was all practiced or something. It was really strange.
I couldn’t help the good time I was having. I downed the rest of drink and put my cup down on a table that was already littered with empty ones, half empty ones, and ones that were still nearly full. Reaching out, I grabbed ahold of Beck’s hand and yanked her towards the dance floor.
“C’mon!” I yelled out to her.
We spent what seemed like forever dancing. I had a few more drinks and we danced some more. Beck made me eat some crackers that she found in the kitchen, and I drank some more. I don’t think Beck had more than a single beer.
After a while, the party seemed to slow. Either that, or it was all the alcohol in my system. I was lying on the couch, grinning from ear to ear like an idiot. Beck was beside me, kneeling down.
“I think it’s about time to go!” she said, close to my ear so I could actually hear her.
I laughed at her. “What? But the party’s just starting?”
She frowned and shook her head. “I’m going to go find Mandy.” Then she got up.
I laughed at that, too, though it wasn’t really funny. Mandy was our ride home and if she forgot about us or we just lost track of her after the party was over, then neither of us knew how we’d manage to get home that night.
But none of that matter much to me. In fact, I didn’t even think about it. I was too busy lounging around in my drunkenness, enjoying my first college party.
Then there was the guy sitting beside me. He told me I was very pretty. I was pretty sure I laughed at him. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought he was the guy from the kitchen. One of them, they all looked the same.
I remember his hand on my leg and then—Beck was there, screaming at him. She got me up off the couch and together we stumbled out of the house.
“I couldn’t find Mandy,” she told me and we had to call a cab.
But I remembered that night as the best night of my life for a long time afterwards.
Now that I was in college, I’d realized the truth. It wasn’t all that great of an experience, these college parties. I should have learned my lesson that night with Beck and Mandy, but I was hardheaded and rebellious to say the least. Even though some part of me had to acknowledge that what happened that night was bad, the rest of me was pigheaded enough to keep charging forward.
It was Beck’s death that really finally brought me around. I wished I could say it didn’t take something so awful happening for me to finally shape up, but that was the truth. There was nothing else that was going to change me.
The memory of the party reminded me staunchly of why I was here in the first place. I needed to find Miranda.
I looked around, but didn’t see her. She had likely been swallowed up by the crowd, or she was getting more to drink, which was not something that made me feel better in the least. I decided the best place to start really looking for her was the kitchen. If there were drinks, which I was sure there obviously was, then they would be in the kitchen and if Miranda was looking for another drink, then that was where she was probably headed.
I wasn’t sure where it was, so I had to explore a bit. I came across a staircase, so clearly there was at least a second story, maybe a third. I didn’t pay much attention to the house as I’d come up and it had been dark. Although the house had been lit up, the upper levels hadn’t been. Most parties took place almost exclusively on the ground floor—or out on the porch—so the upper floors weren’t lit and I couldn’t really tell how many stories there were from the outside anyway.
Reaching the kitchen, I glanced around at the multitude of faces searching for either Miranda or Kass. Or the twins, even. Anyone who might be able to lead me back to Miranda. But the kitchen was packed, too, and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to find anyone.
Someone tried to shove a drink into my hand. I took it purely out of instinctual reaction. I didn’t want it to fall to the floor and make a mess, so I gripped the cup as the other person let go. Looking down at the amber liquid that swirled inside it, I couldn’t deny that I was tempted.
God did I want a drink. Badly.
It had been so long now, and it was for the best, I knew, but that didn’t mean I didn’t crave the ugly, bitter taste of alcohol. I remembered how fun it was to drink, how much I’d enjoyed doing it in high school. It took the complications of life away and made everything, if only for a night, easier to deal with.
Even with the bitch of a headache in the morning and the disaster that was the hangover, it had been worth it to my high school self to drink to her heart’s content.
Now, as I stared down into the cup, I contemplated taking a sip. Just a quick, brief sip that was barely anything at all. It didn’t really count, did it? I bit my lip, thinking of how much easier my life would be if I just had a little alcohol in my system. Suddenly, all the drama that had been swirling around in my world would drift away and I could easily laugh and have fun with everyone else, not worrying about every little thing.
The temptation was real and so clear that I almost lifted it to my lips, but before I could give in I shook my head. I didn’t need to do this. I wasn’t that girl anymore. I shoved my cup onto the counter and moved on. I was here looking for someone to keep them from making a very easy, seductive mistake.
Miranda didn’t seem to be in the kitchen, so I headed out back towards the living room. I didn’t see her. I didn’t see anyone I knew, really. No Kass, no Mason or Mark, no James. It looked like everyone at the whole school was here—except for the people I was looking for.
“Miranda!” I tried calling out, trying to raise my voice above the sound of the music, but it was a lost cause. I couldn’t even hear myself. My call was drowned out by the sounds of the party.
Frustrated, I dug into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I tried calling Kass. It rang three times before she picked up.
“Hello?”
“Kass?” I said through the phone, holding a finger into my ear so that I could hear her. “Where are you?”
The echo of the music through the phone threw me off. I needed to get outside or at least somewhere inside that was quieter than here so that I could hear Kass.
“What?” she called through the phone. She seemed to be having a hard time hearing me, too. “Addy, what did you say? I can’t hear you.”
I made my way to the back yard. There were still a lot of people out there, partying and drinking, shouting and making a ton of noise. But the music was fainter out here at least. Even with people splashing into the pool and laughing obnoxiously, it was a lot easier to hear now.
“Kass, it’s Addy. Where are you?” I asked into the phone, still speaking loudly because I knew that Kass still had the music blaring in her ear.
“I’m at the party, remember?” she shouted back at me.
I made a frustrated noise, crossing one arm over my chest and latching it onto the other against the chill of the night air. If I’d had that drink, probably I wouldn’t even notice it. I was sure that the water in the pool was warm and all and that was part of the reason that no one outside was complaining of the chill in the air, but I also knew that getting out of the water wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience.
“I know you’re at the party!” I told her. “But where at the party?”
“Are you here, too?” she said in surprise and what I thought was at least a little bit of eagerness. She’d never really known me to do the party thing.
I nodded, though she couldn’t see me. “Yeah, I’m trying to find someone, anyone I know, but there are too many people here.”
“We’re over by the staircase. Check on the first corner landing,” she told me.
The ‘we’ gave me a little bit of hope. “Who else is with you?”
The music blared over her through the phone and I couldn’t make out what she said. “What?” I asked, putting my finger in my ear again to block out the noises on my end.
“I’m with Mason and James,” she told me and effectively dashed my hopes.
I don’t know why I’d been thinking that maybe she was with Miranda, but I had hoped. Still, finding at least someone I knew was a start. I could search more for Miranda after I found Kass and them. “Alright,” I told her. “I’m headed that way. Keep your phone handy in case I can’t find you guys.”
“Okay,” she told me, still just excited that I’d come at all.
We hung up, and I headed back inside. It seemed even louder now that I’d gotten used to the far lower volume level outside and I had to resist the temptation to plug my ears so I didn’t have to deal with it. Heading towards where I remembered the staircase being, I had to shove past a bunch of different people. They were all drunk, not even realizing that someone was trying to get through and probably they didn’t even realize when I pushed them aside to get past.
I reached the staircase and found no one there. Kass had said to go to the first landing, so I managed to get myself actually on the staircase and headed up. There were at least only a few people actually on the stairs, so that was one less thing to worry about.
It didn’t sound like fun to deal with me breaking my neck at this party on top of everything else.
I found Kass standing with Mason and James on the first landing. When Kass spotted me, she let out a squeal of delight and hugged me as soon as I reached her. Her red plastic cup sloshed around as she did so, spilling a little on my jacket.
“I can’t believe you came!” she shouted at me, her face beaming as she grinned at me.
I hugged her back, then shook my head. “I’m not going to stay,” I told her, which caused her mood to drop instantly. “I’m looking for Miranda. Have you guys seen her?”
James and Mason shared a look. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but it didn’t look good. Maybe worried? Kass nodded her head in answer to my question and pointed.
“There!”
I looked behind me, back towards the living room. Thanks to the vantage of being on the stairs, I was able to see through the crowd a little easier. And sure enough there was Miranda—being pressed into the couch by some large guy who was holding her hands above her head, effectively pinning her down.
“Shit.”
THE END
Stay tuned for WRECKED 5, coming soon! It will be the FINAL book in the series.
Copyright @ 2015 Rachel Hanna
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actu
al events is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Rachel Hanna www.RachelHannaRomance.com
Wrecked Book 4 Page 6
