Holly

The Party

The dress I am wearing covers my chest and arms but exposes my legs. Ira is wearing a spaghetti strap pink dress. We look like polar opposites, and no one would guess that we grew up like sisters.

It is cold and breezy outside so Ira and I hustle into the house after we get out of the car. Megan is at the door greeting people when we walk in. Ira immediately goes for the drinks, and I follow.

"What is the point of the party?"

Ira looks at me confused, her mouth stuffed with cookies. She always had a sweet tooth.

"Woman, it is Megan and Michael's birthday."

"Oh..."

"Where have you been anyway? It is like we don't see you anymore."

"Umm... I have just been busy. Abuela and mom have been working and don't have time to keep up with the house."

She gives me a look like she doesn't believe me but brushes it off.

"Let's go find Michael."

Taking my hand, we weave through the crowd of people and through the large foyer. Above me is a large chandelier. Megan and Michael's parents are important politicians for the town and enjoy high society.

Ira and I walk into the large kitchen where there aren't as many people. Michael is at the large marble island serving drinks.

"Michael, where is Kaia?" Ira asks.

"She said she will be coming a bit later. Here guys." He hands us both drinks in red solo cups.

I laugh. "All of this money, and you get the cheapest alcohol?"

"What can I say, I'm frugal. We know everyone is just going to get drunk. I don't want to waste my good beer on them."

Ira pouts. "Not even for us?"

Michael playfully rolls his eyes and reaches under the counter into a small fridge. "Fine, just for you guys. Keep it on the down low though."

I am not a big beer person, but I take it anyway. I know Ira intends to enjoy herself and get tipsy tonight. The best way to keep up with her is to follow along. When she is drunk, she is a hurricane and easily prone to anger.

We go back to the crowd of people and spend the time short of dancing. Mostly me laughing at Ira and swaying my hips just a little. The more people that come the sweatier it becomes. The air is thick with sweat, and it is hard to breathe. I take a gap in the people as an opportunity to slip back into the cooler kitchen. Only a few people are in here probably trying to get away from the heat of bodies. Some are sitting by the windows, blowing the smoke from their cigarettes out of the house.

I have only had a few drinks, but it is already affecting how I am thinking. The sway of bodies remind me of the ocean. How violent the water was when Arius dragged me through it. My arms are sore from the ordeal. A small part of me is glad he didn't come. The moment I think that I feel sad for some stupid reason.

"God damn it." I whisper under my breath, pouring myself more to drink. I can't figure out these weird emotions. There is so much I don't know, and I hate it.

A few of the people in the room turn their heads to look at me but go back to either making out or hanging halfway out the window in the cold air.

A few girls enter the room and start getting very loud. They sloppily reach for a bottle of tequila and spill it. It splashes across the counter and all over my dress.

"Shit, I'm sorry lady."

"Oh, it's fine." Not really but I know what it's like to be clumsy on alcohol.

I put my beer on the counter and turn to the sink to get some of the sticky alcohol off me. When I turn around, I see a familiar face standing by the counter helping the girl up. It is Killian, that weird guy from the campfire.

He seems to know the girls and is laughing. He stops when he notices me, and his smile widens.

Shit.

"Hello, again."

"Hi." I say, trying to be nice. I reach for my beer, and he picks it up before I can grab it.

"I didn't see this beer in the cooler. Did you bring your own?" He asks, inspecting it.

"Yeah, I did." I lied.

He places it back on the counter and seems to forget about the girl he was helping. He leans on the counter towards me. "I'm still waiting for that stroll around town."

"Not happening." I nervously watch the girls and other people leave the room. It is just me and Killian alone now.

"I won't give up. I promise you I won't try anything." He steps closer to me around the counter, and I feel intimidated. He is either terrible at flirting or he is planning something. "Let's go tonight. Right now."

He steps closer and I begin to panic. "I have to go. I have to change out of this dress." I'll go to Megan's room. She is about the same size as me and I know she won't mind me raiding her closet.

He steps closer but I walk the other way around the counter and head for the door.

"You forgot something."

I pause before exiting the room and turn to see him holding my beer out to me. Panicking, I take the drink from him and leave the room.

I sigh in relief. I may be in a sweaty, gross room now but at least I am not alone with Killian. A clearly drunk Ira skips up to me, her blonde curls bouncing everywhere.

"Holly! Holly! Holly!"

I laugh. "What?"

"Kaia is here!"

Behind her I see Kaia and Atticus walk across the room. Kaia looks adorable as usual in a purple dress. Atticus, intimidating and large as usual. His mysterious atmosphere is very similar to Arius's.

Of course. They are the same species. That feels weird to say. The thought of Arius being a marine animal makes me feel weird and I take a large gulp from my beer.

"Hey, Holly and Ira. Ira, I know you have met Atticus. Atticus, this is Holly."

He reaches his hand out and I shake it. "It is nice to finally meet you, Holly." His voice is deep and his eyes intense.

Kaia seems nervous and I can gleam that she is hoping we will get along. For what reason, I have no clue. The woman loves to keep secrets.

Ira stumbles back to us from the crowd with a handful of glow sticks. "Put these on, guys."
    
I notice that a lot of people are wearing them, and the lights are a bit dimmer than they were earlier. "Seriously, Ira?"

She chuckles at me as she struggles to put the pieces together. I'm definitely going to need more alcohol if she is going to make us dance with damn glow sticks on. I take another gulp from my beer. This time it tastes a bit off.

Kaia reaches out and takes a few to help Ira. Suddenly, a crowd of rowdy boy's bump into Kaia and Ira, making them drop all the glow sticks. Atticus practically barks at the men who scatter. He glares daggers at them and steps closer to Kaia.

"My glow sticks!" Ira moans.

"Ira, we can pick them up." I roll my eyes and kneel on the ground to help her.

"I love these colors!" She struggles to kneel down to pick them up and I laugh at her.

When I go to stand up, I feel the world spin and sudden nausea rise in my throat. I stumble a bit and Kaia reaches out to hold me.

"Are you okay?"

I nod but feel sick again. The world starts to spin, and I feel really tired. I look at the beer in my hand.

"Shit."

I try to think about who might have done it, but my head starts to pound. I get a whiff of the alcohol on my dress, and it makes the headache worse. I managed to stand up fully. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"Want me to come?" Ira asks, still sitting on the floor with her glow sticks.

"No, I'll be fine. Tell Megan I am going to use one of her dresses. Someone spilled tequila all over me."

I stumble away from the group and up the stairs. My world spins as I struggle to make my way to the bathroom. I feel bile rise in my throat again and stumble into Megan's room and then into her bathroom. Shutting the door with my foot, I open the toilet and lean over it gagging. Nothing comes up but I keep leaning over the toilet, trying to will the nausea away.

I hear the door open behind me and groan into the toilet. "I'm fine, Kaia. Go back downstairs."

I feel it. He doesn't even have to speak. "You don't look so good."

Instantly, his deep voice makes me feel better. The only downside to hearing his voice are the butterflies in my stomach. I really don't need my stomach to move anymore.

I sit back on the floor and lean my back against the wall and face him. He is wearing actual clothes this time. The same ones from the diner but this time with shoes. He isn't grinning at me like I thought he would be. He is just silently watching me, eyes not leaving mine. The alcohol and whatever was in my drink still mixes in my mind. My movements are slow as I let out a sigh and push my hair out of my face.

"You came."

He silently sits on the other end of the bathroom. "I did."

"I didn't drink this much. I think someone put something in my drink."

"Who?" He suddenly sounds angry.

"I have no clue. Maybe..." I stop talking as I clamber for the toilet and throw everything up. I feel his strong hands move my hair out of my face as I embarrass myself in front of him and throw up all of the cookies I ate.

After emptying my stomach, I sit back down on the floor and close my eyes. The swaying and chanting of people downstairs reminds me of the ocean again. When my eyes are closed, I picture the waves rising and falling across a blue sheet.

"You know, my dad taught me to surf." I say with my eyes still closed. "It is the only thing I have left of him."

"You only surf alone. Don't you surf with him?"

I open my eyes to see him across the room again, sitting on the floor. "He died about a year ago. In a car accident." The room is silent for a long moment. It isn't awkward but intense. Neither of us look away from each other.

"I'm sure he was a good man. Mine wasn't." He says quietly.

"My dad worked as a contractor for construction companies. What did yours do?"

"He killed people." The room is silent again after he answers. I let that sink in but the spiked alcohol doesn't let me feel anything.

I feel the nausea fade and replace itself with exhaustion. I guess this is the part of the spiked drink where I pass out. I try my best to stay awake but can't help when my head drops forward and my eyes close.

Ice cold water splashes on my head and I am suddenly drenched. I gasp and wake with a start. "What the hell?"

I hear a deep laugh and my chest flutters. I push my hair out of my face to see Arius still on the other side of the room laughing at me. The smile on his face is contagious and I have to fight a smile. It is the best expression I have ever seen on his face.

"How the hell did you do that?!"

He raises his hand and turns it in the air. Water comes out of the sink and floats in the air for a moment. He turns his hand again and it returns to the sink and down the drain. I stare at him in disbelief.

"Since when..."

"How do you think I can throw you around in the ocean?" That makes sense, but he can freaking water bend? "Both Atticus and I can do it."

"Can others do it too?"

He frowns. "I don't know. I guess they can."

I go to stand up but slip on the wet floor. He stands up and grabs a towel from the towel rack. Draping it over my shoulders, he helps me up. I look down at my drenched clothes and hair.  "We can't have a quiet moment together, can we?"

He chuckles. "No."

"Why did you come?" I look up at him. He is standing very close to me and I'm really enjoying it.

"Don't think that it means I want to keep this deal."

Of course, he won't tell me. "Yes, it does."

He glares at me, a common expression on his face. He grumbles under his breath and pulls me to start walking out of the room.

"You didn't answer my question. You are giving it a chance, aren't you?" I push.

He doesn't say anything, but I can tell it is annoying him.

"Let's get you home."