My Fault

Chelsea's birthday

I was glad the weather was nice because Chelsea’s birthday party was going to be outside the whole time. I had some white capris on, a black studded belt, and a purple and black striped tank top. My hair was nice and straight and I had some makeup on. Slipping on my Vans, I walked out of my room and walked into the living room where Johnny was waiting. His black skinny jeans hugged his legs and his green Fox shirt looked extremely good on him. He stood up and smiled at me before grabbing my hand and walking out of the house. Tom agreed to let Johnny drive us considering we didn’t want to be the only ones to be dropped off by a guardian.

The ride wasn’t too bad. We mostly talked and listened to music. Johnny also smoked a couple of cigarettes. When we got there, there were already several cars parked along the street. We were a few minutes late but I knew Chelsea wouldn’t mind. Johnny parked the car and we walked in the direction of Chelsea’s house. Everyone was in the backyard, so we made our way to the gate and opened it. There were many people there. Some family and the others from school. She had tables filled with food, punch, and beverages.

It was a classic scene from a movie: when one person walks into a room or an area and all the rest of the people stare at them. That’s how it was. Everyone’s eyes were on me, and I knew why. I hadn’t been to school so I was sure rumors had gone around. They knew I had been the one to kill my family. They knew everything.

I ducked my head and walked over to Chelsea. I felt so embarrassed and upset. She was standing by a couple of friends and when I neared she wrapped me in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here!” She exclaimed.

“Yeah, same.” I said in a soft voice.

I hadn’t thought about the consequences of going to Chelsea’s party, all I cared about was being there for my best friend. I wished I could speed up time so this would all be over with.

The first couple of hours of the party went by slowly. Many people had come up to me saying many things like:

“So did you do it on purpose?”

“I heard you were in jail.”

“I heard you lived with some freaks or something.”

“How did you feel when it happened?”

“Did you hate your family?”

“Why aren’t you in school?”

“Did you try to kill yourself?”

“Murderers don’t belong here.”

“You just dropped off the face of the Earth.”

“Why are you even here?”

The questions and statements drove me insane, but I tried to play it cool, especially around Chelsea. She was so happy having me here since we barely saw each other anymore. I didn’t know if Johnny knew I was struggling, but he didn’t say anything. Whenever someone came up to me and asked me something about my family he would hug me tightly. I liked that about him: always being protective and caring.

It was now time for Karaoke. Chelsea’s dad had set up a small stage in the backyard with speakers next to it. Everyone gathered around the stage while Chelsea walked up and talked into the microphone. “Alright, everyone! Time for a little singing fun, who wants to go first?” She asked.

There were a few hands, then a girl walked up to the stage. She sang My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion. She sang beautifully, then walked off the stage while everyone clapped. A few more people went up after her, and then no one else wanted to sing. Chelsea tried getting more people up, but everyone was nervous. She turned to me and smiled.