Handle With Care

01

TWO YEARS EARLIER

My best friend, Alice, had always called the shots. She liked feeling powerful and in control, and she especially liked acting older than she was. I, on the other hand, preferred to play it safe, but with my overbearing need to please people, that preference was always outweighed by Alice's methods of persuasion.

"Please," She begged me now, for what had to be the fifteenth time in the past hour. "We've got to break you out of that shell of yours."

"I would have no problem going if it were just a normal party," I countered. "But, Al, I've never even been to that side of town. My mom is totally freaked out by all the rumors she hears about it. Not to mention, the party is being held at a group home. I mean, is that even allowed?"

"Nope," She smirked, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "But Tony Starling doesn't care."

Despite her protests of wanting to socialize with different types of people, we both knew Tony was the real reason Alice was attempting to drag me across town to a party where we wouldn't even know anyone. Tony was a senior, and he looked like he could kill someone with his bare hands. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd done so before.

"Parties are the only place where seniors will actually interact with sophomores," Alice whined, her green eyes in the puppy dog formation she had long ago perfected. "All the alcohol blurs the lines between the grades."

I groaned, not wanting to go to this party but also not wanting to be a buzzkill when my best friend held such high hopes for this night. "Are you sure your cousin Lauren doesn't mind driving us?" I asked reluctantly.

Alice clapped, letting out a slight shriek. "I adore you, thank you! I promise you won't regret it!"

To a certain extent, Alice was right. There were parts of that night that I wouldn't dream of regretting, but there were also parts that would haunt me for the rest of my life.

• • •

"Watch where you're going," A deep voice shouted, and I glanced behind me to see two burly looking guys bump into each other. Seconds later, beer splashed across the carpet, and I stepped aside to keep from getting any on my feet.

Alice was already buzzed, and she'd gone into the kitchen to partake in a game of spin the bottle. That was one thing her puppy dog eyes could not convince me to do, so I was stuck standing alone in the living room. I took a sip of the vodka Alice had gotten me when we first arrived, regretting it as soon as the drink burned its way down my throat. However, the burly guys were still shouting at each other, so I took a larger sip, only in hopes of drowning them out.

I suddenly felt hot, and I clumsily climbed the nearby stairs in hopes of finding a bathroom where I could reapply my deodorant. As I reached the top, the music began to fade, and only a few people stood in the hallway. Opening the door that I assumed was the bathroom, I jumped back when I saw four people hovered around the sink. One of them turned around and slammed the door in my face, causing me to jump one again, only this time, I hit something.

"Easy there," a deep voice chuckled, and I turned to see a dark haired boy smirking at me. What shocked me most about him, though, was the purple and blue bruise that stained his eye. I wondered if that was from tonight.

"Sorry," I blushed. "I'm not much of a party person."

"Yeah," He laughed. "It's kind of written all over your face. Who are you, anyway?"

"Rosalie," I replied, holding out my hand to shake his. He raised an amused eyebrow, but shook it nonetheless.

"Greyson," He responded. "So, Rosalie who doesn't like parties, why are you here?"