Half Full

Chapter 12

"Don't worry about him, he can be a little...intense sometimes, but he will be over it in no time. I'm sure he already is." Sam is trying on her fourth dress in front of the mirror. "What do you think? Is this one slutty enough?" She brushes her hands along the red tube dress that shows way too much in my opinion.

"Did you find a job in a strip club?" I shake my head at her choice of clothes for another date with the same guy she was out with yesterday. "So far so good Sam, if you're still seeing that guy it means your brother doesn't know about him." I jump on the bed and open my laptop.

"The cherry will be popped today." I can see her proud smile in the mirror.

"What? You sure it's not too early for that? I mean you've been seeing this guy for what? Two weeks?" I honestly don't understand why she thinks she needs to rush into things.

"No silly." She laughs. "Ryder will find out today as I'm sure he will be at the Omegas' party."

Yeah. Ok. My bad.

"That could be interesting." I open my emails and scroll through them, deleting all the spam from each website I ever visited.

"Tell me about it." She rolls her eyes and then turns to me abruptly.

"You have to come. As a buffer."

"A what?" I know what she means but I don't see how my presence will help things go more smoothly.

"He doesn't know you, so he won't flip out in front of you if you tag along with us." I meant to say something, anything, like for example, the fact that I sort of do know him; or the fact that I don't have any interest in going to a frat party. Ever again. But she already grabbed one of my dresses from the closet and before I know the dress is lying next to me on my bed.

"I'm not going Sam, sorry. I will be praying for you, though." I probably won't but maybe that will make her feel better.

"No, you are going and that is the most brilliant idea I have had in a while."

"Your last idea of sneaking out with Mr. Hottie didn't work out so well." I crack a smile and keep scrolling over my 1K emails. Yes, I don't like to check my inbox. And yes, then I have to spend tons of time deleting stuff.

"That one didn't, but tonight will. He never confronts me or any of the boys in front of people and I will make sure that Ty is always next to me, so I don't give Ryder a chance to talk to him alone." She kicks God knows which pair of shoes off her feet. "Come on, he will be here in like ten minutes."

"I'm not going Sam, I'm sorry." I have no intentions of getting up and putting some stupid dress on to be a buffer between my horny roommate and her brother.

She sighs and walks towards me." Ok, listen, Payton, I really, really like this guy and I know he likes me too. I really want this thing to work. And it's not like we just met." She stops for a second "We were together in the first year, not for long," she shrugs " thanks to my stupid ass brother, but there was something." She picks up the dress and holds it out to me. "Please. I will owe you forever."

I hate this. I don't want to be an ass roommate, or an ass friend and say no, but she doesn't understand, and I don't expect her to because I have never said or explained anything. She never asked me, and even if she did ask, I would probably avoid the conversation.

"I don't go to parties, Sam." I hear my own weak voice and I know myself well enough to realise I'm probably going to cave in any second now.

"Just this once." She bats her fake eyelashes at me and pulls this gorgeous smile of hers, biting on her bottom lip. Move that her brother can pull off much better.

I rub my face with my palms and try to calm down the voices in my head. Don't go! Look what happened after the last party you went to! And there is that voice of hope, that faint, shaky voice trying to break through, ' it will be ok, you are in a different place now, with different people'.

"There is no chance in hell that I will wear that dress." I roll off my bed and head for the closet. I pick a pair of skinny white jeans and one of the loose tops.

"You will look like a nun."

"You want me to go or not?" I turn around and face her.

"Wear whatever you want." She holds her hand up in surrender. "I'm just saying."

There is knock on the door as I pull the top over my head.

Here we go.

Live or die.

I will probably regret this.